佛祖統紀 4.7

4.7

二者。為末世比丘畜不淨物（失戒）樂誦外典不教佛經（失乘）於佛法中起斷滅見。夭傷慧命亡失法身。使乘戒俱失。故更扶三藏廣開常宗設三種權扶一圓實。故名扶律談常教（雜見大經玄籤及四教儀）若言不許諸惡比丘畜八不淨。是戒門事門（此即扶律義。案律云。八不淨者。一田園。二種植。三穀帛。四畜人僕。五養禽獸。六錢寶。七褥釜。八象金飾床及諸重物。此之八物顯過不應）若說如來實不畢竟入於涅槃。及遮外典。此是乘門理門（此即談常義。據經合云。如來實不畢竟涅槃。方是談常。今籤文云。如來畢竟入於涅槃。此脫實不兩字今用經補足）若末代諸惡比丘破戒。說如來無常。及讀外典。則並無乘戒。失常住命。賴由此經扶律談常。則乘戒具足。故知此經為贖常住命之重寶（籤引大經云。若人藏積七寶。為未來穀貴賤。侵值遇惡王。為用贖命。乃當出用。諸佛祕藏亦復如是。為未來世諸惡比丘。畜不淨物。為四眾說。如來畢竟入於涅槃。讀誦外典不教佛經如是等惡出現世時。為滅諸惡為說是經。是經若滅佛法則滅）。

Second, for the monks of the degenerate age who store impure objects (losing the precepts), take pleasure in reciting non-Buddhist texts and do not teach Buddhist scriptures (losing the vehicle), and give rise to views of annihilation within the Buddha's Dharma, cutting short the wisdom-life and losing the Dharma-body, causing both vehicle and precepts to be lost, he therefore further upheld the Tripiṭaka, broadly opened the lineage of permanence, and established the three kinds of expedients to support the one perfect and real; hence it is called the teaching that upholds the vinaya and expounds the permanent (found scattered in Dajing xuanqian and Sijiao yi). If one says not permitting evil monks to store the eight impure things, this is the precept-gate and the phenomenon-gate (this is the meaning of upholding the vinaya. According to the vinaya, the eight impure things are: first, fields and gardens; second, crops and plantings; third, grains and silks; fourth, keeping servants and maids; fifth, rearing birds and beasts; sixth, money and jewels; seventh, mattresses and caldrons; eighth, gold-decorated beds of ivory and various heavy goods. Pointing out the faults of these eight items, they are not permissible). If one speaks of the Tathāgata truly not entering final nirvāṇa, and forbidding non-Buddhist texts, this is the vehicle-gate and the principle-gate (this is the meaning of expounding permanence. According to the sūtra, it should state 'the Tathāgata truly does not enter final nirvāṇa' to be expounding permanence; now the Qian text states 'the Tathāgata enters final nirvāṇa,' which omits the two characters shi bu [truly not], which is now supplemented using the sūtra). If in the degenerate age evil monks break precepts, speak of the Tathāgata as impermanent, and read non-Buddhist texts, then they possess neither vehicle nor precepts and lose the permanent life; relying on this sūtra to uphold the vinaya and expound permanence, vehicle and precepts are both complete. Thus one knows that this sūtra is a great treasure that ransoms the permanent life (The Qian quotes the Great Sūtra: 'If a man stores the seven treasures, when grain is expensive or cheap in the future, or when encountering an evil king, they are to be brought out and used to ransom his life. The secret treasury of the Buddhas is also like this. When in future ages evil monks store impure things, preach to the four assemblies that the Tathāgata enters final nirvāṇa, recite non-Buddhist texts and do not teach Buddhist scriptures—when such evils appear in the world, this sūtra is preached to extinguish all evils. If this sūtra perishes, the Buddha-Dharma will perish').