法苑珠林 93.37

93.37

述曰。此之一教亦有權實。言權教者。據毘尼律中。世尊初成道為度麁惡凡夫。未堪說細。且於漸教之中說三種淨肉離見聞疑不為己殺。鳥殘自死者。開聽食之。先麁後細。漸令離過。是別時之意。不了之說。若據實教。始從得道至涅槃夜。大聖殷勤始終不開。

The commentary states: This single teaching also contains the provisional and the real. As for the 'provisional teaching', according to the Vinaya, when the World-Honoured One first attained awakening, in order to ferry across crude and coarse ordinary people, they were not yet capable of receiving subtle [teachings]. For the time being, within the gradual teaching, he spoke of three kinds of pure meat—free from seeing, hearing, or suspecting [that it was killed for oneself]—as well as meat leftover by birds or of natural death, permitting it to be eaten. Leading them first from the crude to the subtle, he gradually caused them to abandon error. This was with an intention for a particular period, an inexplicit statement. If based on the real teaching, from the time he first attained the Way up to the night of nirvāṇa, the Great Sage earnestly never permitted it from beginning to end.