大乘百法明門論開宗義決 1.16

1.16

去來同現皆實有等者。彼作是執。若法自相安住。此法真實是有。此若未來無者。彼時應未受自相。此若過去無者。彼時應退失自相。若無未來誰生現法。而現在法得成果耶。若無果者則無彼果。寧說現在而為因耶。若定無者諸法自相應不成就性不真實。既許現法是其實有。寧撥過未為非有耶。應問彼曰。去來兩相與現在相為異不異。若不異者。立三世相不應道理。若是異者。去來實有不應道理。又更問。汝墮三世法為是常耶為無常耶。若是常者。其體凝然。墮於三世不應道理。為無常者。於三世中恒是實有不應道理。

Regarding "past and future, like the present, are all real entities," and so forth: they make the following clinging: if a dharma abides in its own characteristic, this dharma truly exists. If it were non-existent in the future, at that time it would not yet have received its own characteristic. If it were non-existent in the past, at that time it would have lost its own characteristic. If there were no future, what would produce the present dharma so that the present dharma could become a fruition? If there were no fruition, then there would be no fruition of that [cause]; how could one speak of the present being a cause? If they were definitively non-existent, the own-characteristics of dharmas would not be established and their natures would not be real. Since you grant that present dharmas are real entities, why reject the past and future as non-existent? One should ask them: are the two characteristics of past and future different or not different from the characteristic of the present? If they are not different, establishing the characteristics of the three times is unreasonable. If they are different, the past and future being real entities is unreasonable. Furthermore, ask them: are the dharmas belonging to the three times that you hold permanent or impermanent? If they are permanent, their substantial entities being motionless and unchanging, yet belonging to the three times, is unreasonable. If they are impermanent, being constantly real entities within the three times is unreasonable.