注大乘入楞伽經 7.171

7.171

Above, because the Tathāgata wished to cause sentient beings to know the meaning, he provisionally made verbal expositions to show that foolish people cling to verbal expositions and fail to attain the real meaning. Hearing this, sentient beings think: "Why did the Tathāgata not directly speak the real meaning instead of making verbal expositions, causing sentient beings to become attached and fail to attain the real meaning? Why is this?" To remove this doubt, it is clarified that one cannot directly speak the real Dharma of non-arising and non-cessation, which would cause sentient beings to give rise to the fault of nihilistic views, suspecting that there is total extinction and no three vehicles. It is precisely through skilful means that provisional letters are used to speak. If one does not speak by relying on skilful means, the Dharma of the teaching would be destroyed; with no noble ones of the three vehicles, who would speak, and for whom? Therefore, bodhisattvas should not cling to letters, but expound the Dharma in accord with what is appropriate. It clarifies that the verbal teachings of skilful means are expounded by the Tathāgatas in accordance with the differing inclinations and understandings of sentient beings' minds, so as to cause them to realise that all phenomena are only manifestations of mind, to abandon internal and external discriminations, and to transform and extinguish false consciousness—not for establishing the realm realised by the noble knowledge of the Tathāgata's self-realisation.