四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 1.4

1.4

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?