Luk Charles (tr.). The Surangama Sutra

Sri Lanka: Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc.The Surangama Sutra (Leng Yen Ching).
Chinese Rendering by Master Paramiti of Central North India at Chih Chih Monastery, Canton, China, A.D. 705.
Commentary (abridged) by Ch’an Master Han whan (1546-1623).
Translated by Upasaka Lu K’uan Yu (Charles Luk).Comment.Enlightenment in Mahayana Buddhism consists in transmuting the mind into the Great Mirror Wisdom. And so the Surangama Sutra points directly at the Mind which when stirred by the first thought creates the basic illusion of an ego and splits the Whole into subject and object. In consequence it is still a primary source for the Ch’an or Zen school.In this sutra the Buddha began by stripping Ananda of this attachment to the illusory body and mind before revealing the One Mind. To teach how this One Mind can be realized he asked twenty-five Bodhisattvas to describe the different methods by which each had attained Enlightenment. Avolokitesvara’s method was judged the most suitable for mankind today.The Buddha disclosed the cause of transmigration through the six worlds and of the attainment of the four saintly planes, describing these ten regions in some detail. Finally he detailed and warned against clinging to the various mental states experienced when practicing the Surangama Samadhi.We in the West know of the Creation according to the Bible, but readers will now find in this sutra how man and his world came into being as taught by the Buddha.