十二門論宗致義記 1.4

1.4

First, as for the causes for the arising of the teaching, there are briefly ten causes for composing treatises such as this: First, it is due to the power of the treatise master's original vows. Since this Nāgārjuna abided in the first bhūmi, by reason he ought, through the power of his vows, to propagate the Dharma and embrace sentient beings after the Buddha's extinction, this being what he had to do. Furthermore, the treatise master saw scriptures such as the Laṅkāvatāra, where the Buddha had already prophesied that I would in the future ignite the torch of the true Dharma and extinguish the banner of deviant views; therefore, by reason he ought to broadly compose various treatises to assist this auspicious proclamation. Second, because after the Buddha's extinction non-Buddhists vied in arising, deviant doctrines became confused, and they slandered the Buddha-Dharma, it was composed to refute them and lead them back to what is correct. Third, because the followers of the two vehicles did not believe in the Mahāyāna, it was composed to refute their divergent attachments and turn them toward the Mahāyāna. Fourth, because people erroneously understood true emptiness in the Mahāyāna and remained stuck in sentimental attachments, it was composed to cause them to break through sentiment and see the correct principle. Fifth, it was composed to reveal the truth and culmination of the Mahāyāna, so that they would faithfully accept it without doubt. Sixth, it was composed with the wish to briefly show that the true emptiness of Mahāyāna prajñā is the most essential and wondrous, and that only by relying on it can the myriad practices be accomplished. Seventh, it was composed with the wish to explain the deep and wondrous meanings within the Mahāyāna sūtras, making them manifest. Eighth, it was composed to cause those of a certain capacity, who attain awakening by relying on the explanations of treatises, to enter the true Dharma on this basis. Ninth, it was composed with the wish to assist the Buddha in propagating the transformation after the Buddha's extinction, to protect the Mahāyāna Dharma, and to make it abide for a long time. Tenth, it was composed to broadly propagate and disseminate this Mahāyāna Dharma with beautiful phrases and wondrous verses, thereby accomplishing an offering of Dharma to repay the Buddha's benevolence.