佛祖統紀 3.38

3.38

無量義云。摩訶般若。華嚴海空。宣說菩薩歷劫修行。涅槃經明五行。大論不共般若斷於別惑。此並別教義。別者不共之名。八教名義者。直說於大。時部居初名頓。中間三味引小向大名漸。一音異解互不相知名祕密。聞小證大聞大證小名不定。經律論三含藏法義名三藏。三乘共行。利根菩薩通別通圓。故名通。獨菩薩法次第斷證。別前藏通別後圓教。故名別。教理智斷行位因果一切圓融。故名圓。

The *Wuliangyi jing* states: 'The great prajñā, the Huayan oceanic emptiness, proclaims the bodhisattvas' practice across kalpas.' The *Nirvāṇa Sūtra* clarifies the five practices. The *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa* speaks of non-shared prajñā severing distinct delusions. These all pertain to the meaning of the Distinct Teaching. 'Distinct' (bie) is a term for what is non-shared. As for the names and meanings of the eight teachings: directly preaching the great, coming first in time and section, is called the Sudden. The three flavors in between that lead the small toward the great are called the Gradual. One voice with different understandings where listeners are unaware of one another is called the Secret. Hearing the small and realizing the great, or hearing the great and realizing the small, is called the Indeterminate. The Tripiṭaka containing the Dharma teachings across sūtras, vinaya, and śāstras is called the Tripiṭaka [Teaching]. Practiced jointly by the three vehicles, where sharp-rooted bodhisattvas connect to the Distinct and connect to the Perfect, it is called the Connecting [Teaching]. Belonging exclusively to bodhisattvas, with sequential severance and realization, distinguished from the preceding Tripiṭaka and Connecting teachings and distinguished from the subsequent Perfect Teaching, it is called the Distinct [Teaching]. Teaching, principle, wisdom, severance, practice, stage, cause, and effect being entirely harmonious and fused, it is called the Perfect [Teaching].