注大乘入楞伽經 2.210

2.210

Generally speaking, verses (gāthās) have four different kinds, and their Sanskrit terms also differ; they still possess eight purposes, which will not be cited in full here. Now I shall directly clarify their general outline: First, simply when thirty-two syllables are completed, it constitutes one verse; second, recited verses (gāthā), also called direct verses, which teach the Dharma in verse without summarizing the prose; third, reiterative verses (geya), which repeat the prose, either to explain it again for those of dull faculties, or for later followers, or to further illuminate the previous explanation; fourth, collected and bestowed verses, meaning that few words gather many meanings to bestow upon others for recitation and upholding. Now within this sūtra, they are subsumed under the second and third of the previous four. However, whenever prose and recited verses are compared, there is a paradigm of five pairs: presence and absence, broad and concise, separation and combination, prior and posterior, and hidden and manifest. When coming to the text, one should examine them carefully.