廬山蓮宗寶鑑 3.4

3.4

Ci'en's Tongzan states: 'The past virtuous masters of this land comprehensively classified the sūtras and treatises into four schools: first, the school establishing nature; second, the school refuting nature; third, the school refuting characteristics; and fourth, the school revealing the real. The Nirvāṇa, Avataṃsaka, Saddharmapuṇḍarīka, and so forth reveal the meaning of the true and real middle way, hence abandoning the conjured city to return to the treasure trove, and so on; thus, the Amitābha-sūtra is of the fourth school. Classifying the teachings according to the texts, there are only three teachings. Inferring the schools by category, there are eight schools: first, the school where both self and dharmas exist; second, the school where dharmas exist but there is no self; third, the school where dharmas have no going or coming; fourth, the school where the present combines the provisional and the real; fifth, the school where conventional truth is false and ultimate truth is real; sixth, the school where all dharmas are nominal only; seventh, the school where ultimate truth is entirely empty; and eighth, the school where the perfectly real accords with principle. Therefore, the Avataṃsaka and the Amitābha-sūtra are subsumed by the eighth school.'