佛祖統紀 4.7

4.7

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').