四明尊者教行錄 3.58

3.58

Answer: In some cases, every [passage] requires four interpretations; in other cases, each has its own textual exposition. The ways of responding to capacities are manifold and cannot be reduced to a single rule. For example, when the Great Master interprets the Sūtra of Invoking Avalokiteśvara, from the symptoms of illness up through fixing the thought, counting breaths, and hearing the dhāraṇī to gain benefit, he explains them throughout with reference to ten kinds of practitioners—meaning that every [passage] requires four interpretations. But when he interprets the Visualization Sūtra, it is directed specifically at capacities suited for the sudden, not admitting of gradual entry—meaning each has its own textual exposition. Or, a single sūtra may fully clarify the four teachings, each having its own textual exposition, as in the case of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa. The reason four interpretations are required is that both collection and teaching carry [the four] (the Sūtra of Invoking Avalokiteśvara); that each has its own textual exposition is because the collection carries them while the teaching does not (the Visualization Sūtra). Therefore one knows that the doctrinal characteristics of the Vaipulya are difficult to clarify and cannot be treated uniformly.