肇論 1.71

1.71

The Named One said: "Since nirvāṇa cuts off the realm of conceptual measurement, it transcends outside the six sense objects; neither transcending nor abiding, the mysterious path exists alone. This, then, is the ultimate path that exhausts principle and fulfills nature, wondrously one and without differentiation. In principle it should be so. Yet the Fangguang jing says: 'The paths of the triyāna all possess differences based on the unconditioned.' The Buddha said: 'Formerly, when I was a bodhisattva named Māṇava, I already entered nirvāṇa in the presence of Dīpaṃkara Buddha.' At the time of the bodhisattva Māṇava, upon the seventh stage he first attained the forbearance of non-arising, and then advanced to cultivate three stages. If nirvāṇa is one, there should not be three; if there are three, it is not ultimate. If it is the ultimate path, yet there are differences of ascending and descending. Among the different teachings of the various sūtras, how does one determine the center?"