大乘起信論裂網疏 1.20

1.20

問：偈中先言除疑去執，後言起信；今文先言發起淨信，後言斷諸疑執，何耶？答：若約自行，則除疑去執起信，如秤兩頭，低昂時等，無有先後。若約化他，則自先發起大乘淨信，乃能斷諸眾生疑暗邪執，令佛種性相續不斷也。故雖重述，無重繁過。

Question: In the verse he first spoke of removing doubt and casting off grasping, and later spoke of arousing faith; now in the text he first speaks of arousing pure faith, and later speaks of severing doubts and graspings. Why is this? Answer: If considered in terms of one's own practice, then removing doubt, casting off grasping, and arousing faith are like the two ends of a balance scale—their lowering and rising occur at the same time, without before or after. If considered in terms of transforming others, one must first oneself arouse pure faith in the Mahāyāna, and only then can one sever the darkness of doubts and erroneous graspings of all sentient beings and cause the Buddha-gotra to continue unbroken. Therefore, although it is restated, there is no fault of redundant repetition.