摩訶止觀 5.93

5.93

攬五陰通稱眾生，眾生不同：攬三途陰，罪苦眾生；攬人天陰，受樂眾生；攬無漏陰，真聖眾生；攬慈悲陰，大士眾生；攬常住陰，尊極眾生。《大論》云：「眾生無上者，佛是。」豈與凡下同？《大經》云：「歌羅邏時名字異，乃至老時名字異。芽時名字異，乃至果時名字亦異。」直約一期十時差別，況十界眾生，寧得不異？故名「眾生世間」也。

Gathering the five aggregates, they are commonly called sentient beings, yet sentient beings are not identical: gathering the aggregates of the three bad paths makes suffering, sinful sentient beings; gathering human and deva aggregates makes pleasure-experiencing sentient beings; gathering outflow-free aggregates makes true, noble sentient beings; gathering compassionate aggregates makes great being (mahāsattva) sentient beings; gathering permanently abiding aggregates makes supremely honored sentient beings. The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa states: 'The unsurpassed sentient being is the Buddha.' How could he be the same as ordinary and low beings? The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra states: 'At the time of the kalala, the name is different, up to the time of old age, the name is different. At the time of the sprout, the name is different, up to the time of the fruit, the name is also different.' If even within a single lifespan there are differences among the ten stages, how could the sentient beings of the ten realms not be different? Therefore, it is named the 'realm of sentient beings.'