金剛般若經依天親菩薩論贊略釋秦本義記卷上 1.48

1.48

[Sūtra:] "'In the final five hundred years after the Tathāgata's passing:'" The subsequent text is instruction. The text again has two parts: first, general instruction; second, specific instruction. Within the general, there are three parts: first, clarifying the time of faith; second, clarifying the virtues of faith; third, clarifying the characteristics of faith. This is the first, clarifying the time of faith. According to the Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra, five kinds of firmness are spoken of: in the first five hundred years, firmness in liberation; in the next five hundred years, firmness in meditative concentration; in the next five hundred years, firmness in broad learning; in the next five hundred years, firmness in merit; in the next five hundred years, firmness in strife. Now, saying "the final five hundred years" corresponds to the fifth five-hundred-year period. In this evil age, there will be those who can give rise to faith.