The Ta chih tu lun [The Treatise on the Great Prajñāpāramitā] says, “One man plows, and another plants.”²¹⁵ To cultivate many practices is like planting seeds. Wisdom which destroys delusion is like plowing. This is the meaning of “to advance on the path and lose further rebirth”²¹⁶ The [first] forty-one stages all include ten dharmas [of suchlike characteristics].

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I was unable to locate the source for this quote. Compare the Biblical passage “For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor” (John 4:37-38). return

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In T’ien-t’ai philosophy, “advancing on the path” refers to the gradual awakening of the wisdom of the middle path in the Perfect Teachings from the first stage of the Ten Abodes to the final fruit of Buddhahood. “Losing further rebirth” refers to the severance of ignorance and thus deliverance from the saṃsāric world of transformations. return