弘明集 4.35

4.35

答曰。後身著戒云云未詳所謂慈護者。誰氏之子。若據外書報應之說。皆吾所謂權教者耳。凡講求至理曾不析之。聖言多採譎怪以相扶翼。得無似以水濟水乎。

[The opponent] answers: As for the statement, “in future existences they abide by the precepts,” and so on, it is not yet clear whose son this so-called “Protector with Loving-kindness” (Cihuxiang/Maitreya) is. If we base ourselves on the accounts of retribution found in external texts, these are all merely what I would call provisional teachings. Whenever examining the ultimate principle, you have never analyzed it; the words of the sages largely adopt the bizarre and extraordinary to prop up their claims—is this not like trying to dilute water by pouring more water into it?