大乘法苑義林章 1.7

1.7

辨大乘者，《涅槃經》中第六卷說「聲聞乘法猶如初種未得果實，是故不應依聲聞乘，如是名為不了義也。大乘之法即應依止，是名了義。」若依此理，諸大乘經皆名了義，聲聞乘等名不了義。然《瑜伽論》四十五說「云何菩薩修正四依？謂諸菩薩於如來所，深植正信、深植清淨，一向澄清，唯依如來了義經典，非不了義。了義經典為所依故，於佛所說法毘奈耶，不可引奪。」廣如彼說。故大乘中，應言佛說三藏教法有不了義，以勸當依了義經故。既爾，如何《涅槃經》說大乘經典名為了義？此理不然。豈諸大乘皆為了義？如契經說婬欲即是道，覺不堅為堅。又說諸法皆無生無滅密義趣經。又《瑜伽》說「不了義教者，謂契經、應頌、記別等經。」豈大乘經中無契經等？又說菩薩殟波陀慳具戎尼等，故大乘經非皆了義。由如是理，雖無正文，今以義釋了不了義，略有四重：一法印非印門、二詮常非常門、三顯了隱密門、四言略語廣門。

Determining the Mahāyāna: Fascicle 6 of the *Nirvāṇa-sūtra* says, "The Śrāvakayāna teachings are like seeds newly planted that have not yet yielded fruit; therefore, one should not rely on the Śrāvakayāna—this is called neyārtha. One should rely upon the teachings of the Mahāyāna—this is called nītārtha." If one follows this reasoning, all Mahāyāna sūtras are called nītārtha, while the Śrāvakayāna and so forth are called neyārtha. However, fascicle 45 of the *Yogācārabhūmi* says: "How does a bodhisattva cultivate the four correct reliances? Namely, a bodhisattva implants deep, correct faith and deep purity in the Tathāgata, thoroughly clarified, relying solely upon the Tathāgata's nītārtha classical scriptures, not on the neyārtha ones. Because nītārtha scriptures serve as the reliance, in the Dharma and Vinaya spoken by the Buddha, one cannot be led astray," as explained at length there. Therefore, in the Mahāyāna, one should say that among the teachings of the three piṭakas spoken by the Buddha, there are those of neyārtha, because of the exhortation that one should rely on the nītārtha sūtras. If so, why does the *Nirvāṇa-sūtra* say that the Mahāyāna scriptures are named nītārtha? This reasoning does not hold. Can it be that all Mahāyāna scriptures are nītārtha? For example, sūtras say that sensual lust is itself the path, or perceiving the impermanent as permanent. They also speak of sūtras with intentional import stating that all dharmas are without arising and without ceasing. Furthermore, the *Yogācārabhūmi* says: "Neyārtha teachings are sūtras, geyas, vyākaraṇas, and such sūtras." Could it be that within Mahāyāna sūtras there are no sūtras and so forth? It also says that a bodhisattva who acts greedily like an *upātta* possesses the vinaya, and so forth; therefore, Mahāyāna sūtras are not all nītārtha. Because of such reasoning, although there is no explicit text, we now explain nītārtha and neyārtha through their meaning, which briefly has four layers: 1. The gate of being sealed versus not sealed by Dharma seals; 2. The gate of expressing the permanent versus the impermanent; 3. The gate of explicit versus hidden and esoteric; 4. The gate of brief words versus expansive speech.