傳燈錄曰：「禪有深淺階級，悟我空偏真之理而修者，是小乘禪。悟吾法空所顯真理而修者，是大乘禪。若頓悟自心本來清淨，元無煩惱，無漏智，本自具足，此心即佛，依次而修者，是上乘禪。按佛教本分大小二乘。以大乘為上乘，小乘為下乘。自禪宗興起，自謂超乎二乘之上，別立上乘禪之名焉。」
The Mahāyāna Ch'an (Zen) School, which considers that it alone attains the highest realization of Mahāyāna truth. Hīnayāna philosophy is said only to realize the unreality of the ego and not the unreality of all things. The Mahāyāna realizes the unreality of the ego and of all things. But the Ch'an school is pure idealism, all being mind. This mind is Buddha, and is the universal fundamental mind.
一上乘禪 指頓悟自心之禪。禪宗自謂超乎大、小二乘之上，故別立此名。據景德傳燈錄載，禪有深淺階級，悟「我空偏真」之理而修者，是小乘禪；悟「我法皆空」所顯真理而修者，是大乘禪。若頓悟自心本來清淨，原無煩惱，本自具足無漏之智，此心即佛，依次而修者，即是上乘禪。p951