止觀輔行傳弘決 6.9

6.9

Three, regarding the analysis of the four gates: the initial text explains the necessity of the gates. In order to access the principle, the sixteen gates all break views and thought. Now, having explained entering emptiness and breaking views and thought, one must further analyze the gates that are capable of entering; for this reason, the various gates must be explained. Although the various gates all possess wisdom and severance, gradual and non-gradual, views and thought obstruct alike; hence the gates must be clarified. If the gate itself accesses the middle, this is the primary intent of the present text; the remaining three—the capability and the object—serve to reveal the ultimate perfection, and between them they constitute sixteen gates of contemplation for this contemplation. Furthermore, if one understands the various gates, contemplating the various sūtras and treatises becomes lucidly clear, for the various sūtras and treatises do not go beyond the sixteen.