南宗頓教最上大乘摩訶般若波羅蜜經六祖惠能大師於韶州大梵寺施法壇經 1.47

1.47

The Master went to Caoxi Mountain and carried out his teaching in the two prefectures of Shao and Guang for over forty years. If we speak of his disciples, monks and laity together, there were about three to five thousand people; they cannot be fully recounted. If we speak of the essential tenet, the Platform Sūtra was transmitted, taking this as the standard. If one did not obtain the Platform Sūtra, one had no transmission. One had to know the place where the Dharma was conferred, the year, the month, the day, and the personal name, entrusting them successively to one another. Without receiving the Platform Sūtra, one is not a disciple of the Southern School. Those who have not obtained the transmission, though they preach the Dharma of the sudden teaching, do not know the root, and ultimately cannot avoid dispute. Those who have obtained the Dharma simply encourage practice; disputation is a mind of victory and defeat, which runs contrary to the Buddha-path."