四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 1.4

1.4

然則，前修託於律藏，指事披文而用之；則在文信於實錄，而寄緣良有繁濫。加以學非精博，臆說尤多；取類寡於討論，生常異計斯集。致令辨析釁戾，輕重倍分；眾網維持，同異區別。自非統教意之廢興，考諸說之虛實者，孰能闢重疑，遣通累，括部執，詮行相者與？

Thus, former cultivators relied on the Vinaya Piṭaka, consulting the text and applying it as affairs arose; though adhering to the text relies upon authentic records, relying upon circumstances brought forth a profusion of redundancies and confusion. Furthermore, their learning was neither precise nor extensive, and subjective opinions were especially numerous; their classification was deficient in thorough discussion, and idiosyncratic theories gathered at every turn. Consequently, in the analysis of offenses, the light and heavy became twofold divided; in the maintenance of the saṃgha's disciplinary net, commonalities and differences grew fragmented. Unless one unifies the underlying intent of the teaching's abrogations and establishments and investigates the veracity of the various assertions, who could resolve grave doubts, dispel pervasive entanglements, synthesize the sectarian tenets, and explain the forms of practice?