佛祖統紀 44.21

44.21

The author remarks: According to Ning Tonghui's Outline of the Buddhist Monastic History, amṛta is used as a metaphor for nirvāṇa, and the precepts are the first portal for entering nirvāṇa; thus its name is manifested from the fruit. Now, what is called separately establishing a Mahāyāna precept platform means that one first receives the full śrāvaka precepts in the various regions, and later comes to this place to additionally receive the bodhisattva precepts, following the principle that in the latter age after the opening and revealing, both the vehicle and the precepts are urgent for those who have renounced household life.