金剛般若經依天親菩薩論贊略釋秦本義記卷上 1.2

1.2

In preparing to explain this sūtra, there are five sections of analysis: first, identifying the causes and conditions of the teaching; second, determining the central thesis of the sūtra; third, clarifying the location and assembly; fourth, recounting the translations; fifth, directly explaining the text and its meaning.

First, concerning identifying the causes and conditions of the teaching, there are ten points:
1. To expound the bodhisattva practice. As the sūtra says: "Now listen attentively, and I shall explain it for you. Good men and good women who give rise to the aspiration for anuttarā samyaksambodhi should thus abide and thus subdue their minds," and so forth.
2. To accord with the Dharmas of all Buddhas. As the sūtra says: "Subhūti, what do you think? Has the Tathāgata expounded any Dharma?" Subhūti said: "Bhagavat, the Tathāgata has expounded nothing." The explanation says: The preaching of all Buddhas is identically designated as non-preaching.
3. To counteract and eliminate clinging to self and dharmas. As the sūtra says: "If in the future era, in the final five hundred years, there are sentient beings who hear this sūtra, have faith and understanding, accept and uphold it, these persons will be foremost and most rare. Why is this? These persons have no notion of a self, notion of a person, notion of a sentient being, or notion of a soul. What is the reason? The notion of a self is indeed a non-characteristic; the notion of a person, notion of a sentient being, and notion of a soul are indeed non-characteristics," and so forth. The explanation says: Here, the initial "Why is this?" counteracts and eliminates clinging to self; the subsequent "What is the reason?" counteracts and eliminates clinging to dharmas.
4. To intercept and sever the seeds and actualities of doubt. The seeds of doubt refer to warding off those of the future, as the sūtra says: "One cannot perceive the Tathāgata by bodily marks," up to the subsequent passage, "Do not form this thought," and so forth. The actualities of doubt refer to guarding against those that have already arisen, as the sūtra says: "The Buddha told Subhūti: 'Do not speak thus,'" and so forth.
5. To give rise to inferential faith and realized faith. Inferential faith is as the sūtra says: "You should know that these persons have not planted roots of goodness under one Buddha, two Buddhas, three, four, or five Buddhas, but have planted roots of goodness under immeasurable thousands of myriads of Buddhas. When they hear these phrases, they produce pure faith in even a single thought," and so forth. Realized faith is as the sūtra says: "Why is this? These sentient beings no longer have a notion of a self, notion of a person, notion of a sentient being, or notion of a soul; they have no notion of dharmas, nor a notion of non-dharmas," and so forth.
6. To accomplish benefit for oneself and benefit for others. Benefit for oneself is as the sūtra says: "Subhūti, a bodhisattva should abandon all characteristics and give rise to the aspiration for anuttarā samyaksambodhi," up to "The Buddha said that a bodhisattva's mind should not abide in form when practicing giving," and so forth. Benefit for others is as the sūtra says: "Subhūti, a bodhisattva should thus practice giving to benefit all sentient beings," up to "The Tathāgata speaks of all sentient beings as being non-sentient beings," and so forth.
7. To transform and extinguish light and heavy karmas. As the sūtra says: "Subhūti, if a good man or good woman accepts, upholds, reads, and recites this sūtra, and is despised by others, this person's sinful karma from previous lives, which should have led to rebirth in the miserable realms, will be eradicated because of being despised by people in the present life, and they will attain anuttarā samyaksambodhi."
8. To bring liberation from the afflictions of views and cultivation. As the sūtra says: "At that time I had no notion of a self, no notion of a person, no notion of a sentient being, and no notion of a soul," up to "When my limbs were dismembered joint by joint in the past, had I had a notion of a self, a notion of a person, a notion of a sentient being, or a notion of a soul, anger and hatred would have arisen," and so forth.
9. To reveal the causes of merit and wisdom. As the sūtra says: "A good man or a good woman gives away the seven treasures filling worlds as many as the sands of the Ganges in charity. If, furthermore, there is a person who knows that all dharmas are without self and attains patience, the merit obtained by this bodhisattva surpasses that of the previous bodhisattva." The explanation says: Knowing that all dharmas are without self and attaining patience refers to the perfection of wisdom, called the cause of wisdom because it reveals the dharmakāya. The statement that this bodhisattva's merit surpasses that of the previous bodhisattva refers to the other five perfections, called the causes of merit because they give rise to the saṃbhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya.
10. To elucidate the fruits of the real and responsive [bodies]. As the sūtra says: "If someone says that the Tathāgata comes or goes, sits or lies down, this person does not understand the meaning of what I have expounded. Why is this? The Tathāgata comes from nowhere and goes nowhere; therefore, he is called the Tathāgata." The explanation says: Characteristics such as "coming or going" elucidate the fruit of the responsive body (nirmāṇakāya); "goes nowhere" and so forth elucidate the real body (dharmakāya).