教觀綱宗 1.18

1.18

Sudden has two meanings: First, the sudden teaching division, meaning that when the Buddha first attained the Way, what was suddenly expounded for people of great capacity is restricted only to the Avataṃsaka. (Throughout his lifetime, those teachings that directly expound the great Dharma beyond the realms, not shared with the three vehicles, such as the Brahmajāla and Perfect Enlightenment sūtras, should all be included in this division. This is called using the distinct to define the shared, and subsuming the shared into the distinct.) Second, the sudden teaching characteristic, meaning attaining correct enlightenment at the initial arousal of the mind, the non-duality of nature and practice, and the identity of essence between sentient beings and Buddhas; these meanings are present in all the Vaipulya and Prajñā sūtras.