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Shurangama Sutra
Śūraṅgama Sūtra
The Śūraṅgama Sūtra，楞严经 is a
Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtra, and has been especially influential in the Chán school
of Chinese Buddhism.
An original Sanskrit version of Śūraṅgama Sūtra has not been found yet, and
nobody knows its full Sanskrit name. The complete title preserved in Chinese
version is 大佛頂如來密因修證了義諸菩薩萬行首楞嚴經 and may be translated as:
The Sūtra on the Śūraṅgama Mantra Spoken from above the Crown of the Great
Buddha's Head, and on the Hidden Basis of the Tathagata's Myriad Bodhisattva
Practices Leading to Their Verification of the Ultimate Truth.
In Chinese Buddhism, it could be shorted as Chinese: 首楞嚴經 or Chinese: 楞嚴經. That
name is similar with Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra (traditional Chinese: 首楞嚴三昧經) in
Chinese, so Joseph Edkins translated it to Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra in an English
version. Then Charles Luk translated it to Śūraṅgama Sūtra. Śūraṅgama roughly
means "indestructible." The word is composed of Śūraṅ (great, absolutely), with
Gama (durable, solid).
The first catalog giving an account of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra was Zhi-sheng
(Chinese: 智昇), a monk of the Tang Dynasty. Zhi-sheng said this book was brought
back from Guangxi to Luoyang during the Kaiyuan era. He gave two different
accounts in two different books, which were published in 730 CE.
1.According to the first account, in his book Buddhist texts catalogue of
Kaiyuan era(Chinese: 開元釋教錄), the Śūraṅgama Sūtra was translated about in 713 CE
by a monk Huai-Di (Chinese: 懷迪) with an unnamed Indian monk.
2.According to the second account, in his later book The story
about this translation of Buddhist scriptures mural (續古今譯經圖記), the Śūraṅgama
Sūtra was translated in May 705 CE by Śramaṇa Pāramiti from Central India, who
came to China and brought the text to the province of Guangzhou. The text was
then polished and edited by Empress Wu Zetian's former minister, court
regulator, and state censor Fang Rong(Chinese: 房融) of Qingho. The translation
was reviewed by Śramaṇa Meghaśikha from Oḍḍiyāna, and certified by Śramaṇa
Huai-di(Chinese: 懷迪) of Nanlou Monastery (南樓寺) on Mount Luofu (羅浮山).
Zhi-sheng didn't explain why he wrote two different record, but at the end of
The story about this translation of Buddhist scriptures mural (續古今譯經圖記) he left
a small comment, recommending readers the record at Buddish Book catalogue of
Kaiyuan era is better than The story about this translation of Buddhist
scriptures mural (續古今譯經圖記).
Dispute about this text arose in 8th century in Japan, so Emperor Kōnin sent a
monk to china, asking whether this book is forgery or not. His Chinese teacher
told him that this is was forged by Fang Yong.[h] Zhu Xi, a 12th-century Neo-confucian
who was opposed to Buddhism, believed that it was created during the Tang
Dynasty in China, and did not come from India.[3] The same point of view was
defended by the reformist Liang Qichao[i].[citation needed] Lü Cheng(Chinese:
呂澂) wrote an essay attempting to prove this book is apocryphal, named "One
hundred reasons about why Shurangama Sutra is apocryphal" (Chinese: 楞嚴百偽).
Hurvitz claims that the Śūraṅgama Sūtra is "a Chinese forgery"[unreliable
source?] but gives no reason, and Faure declares it to be "apocryphal"[5] also
without a rationale. Ron Epstein gives an overview of the arguments for Indian
or Chinese origin, and concludes:
The Sutra is probably a compilation of Indic materials that may have had a long
literary history [...] One of the difficulties with the theory that the Sutra is
apocryphal is that it would be difficult to find an author who could plausibly
be held accountable for both structure and language and who would also be
familiar with the doctrinal intricacies that the Sutra presents. Therefore, it
seems likely that the origin of the great bulk of material in the Sutra is
Indic, though it is obvious that the text was edited in China. However, a great
deal of further, systematic research will be necessary to bring to light the all
the details of the text's rather complicated construction.
A number of scholars have associated the Śūraṅgama Sūtra with the Buddhist
tradition at Nālandā. Epstein also notes that the general doctrinal position of
the sūtra does indeed correspond to what is known about the Buddhist teachings
at Nālandā during this period.
The Surangama Sutra has been translated from Chinese into Tibetan under the
command of the Qianlong Emperor. The Changkya Khutukhtu supervised the
translation of the Surangama Sutra from Chinese to Manchu language. The text was
also translated into Mongolian and Tibetan.
There are two English translations:
Charles Luk, 1967, Shurangama Sutra
Buddhist Translation Society, 2009, with a commentary by Hsüan Hua
The Śūraṅgama Sūtra contains teachings from Yogācāra,
Tathāgatagarbha, and Esoteric Buddhism. It makes use of Buddhist Logic, with its
methods of syllogism and the fourfold negation (Skt. catuṣkoṭi), first
popularized by Nāgārjuna.
Some of the main themes of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra are the worthlessness of the
Dharma when unaccompanied by samādhi power, and the importance of moral precepts
as a foundation for the Buddhist practice. Also stressed is the theme of how one
effectively combats delusions that may arise during meditation.
Ron Epstein and David Rounds have suggested that the major themes of the
Śūraṅgama Sūtra reflect the strains upon Indian Buddhism during the time of its
creation. They cite the resurgence of tribal influences, and the crumbling
social supports for monastic Buddhist institutions. This era also saw the
emergence of Hindu tantrism and the beginnings of Esoteric Buddhism and the
siddha traditions. They propose that moral challenges and general confusion
about Buddhism are said to have then given rise to the themes of the Śūraṅgama
Sūtra, such as clear understanding of principles, moral discipline, essential
Buddhist cosmology, development of samādhi, and how to avoid falling into
various delusions in meditation.
The Śūraṅgama Sūtra teaches about the Śūraṅgama Samādhi, which is associated
with complete enlightenment and Buddhahood. This samādhi is also featured
extensively in the Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra, another Mahāyāna text. It is equally
praised in the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, where it is explained by the
Buddha that this samādhi is the essence of the nature of the Buddha and is
indeed the "mother of all Buddhas." The Buddha also comments that the Śūraṅgama
Samādhi additionally goes under several other names, specifically Prajñāpāramitā
("Perfection of Wisdom"), the Vajra Samādhi ("Diamond Samadhi"), the Siṃhanāda
Samādhi ("Lion's Roar Samādhi"), and the Buddhasvabhava ("Buddha-nature").
In addition to the sūtra's contents, the Sanskrit ritual speech contained in it
is known in Chinese as the Léngyán Zhòu (楞严咒), or Śūraṅgama Mantra. It is
well-known and popularly chanted in East Asian Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the
dhāraṇī is known as the "Sitātapatra Uṣṇīṣa Dhāraṇī" (Ch. 大白傘蓋陀羅尼). This is
sometimes simplified in English to "White Canopy Dhāraṇī" or "White Parasol
Dhāraṇī." In Tibetan traditions, the English is instead sometimes rendered as
the "White Umbrella Mantra." The dhāraṇī is extant in three other translations
found in the Chinese Buddhist canon, and is also preserved in Sanskrit and
Tibetan.
According to Venerable Hsuan Hua, the dharani contains five major divisions,
which "control the vast demon armies of the five directions":
1.In the East is the Vajra Division, hosted by Akṣobhya Buddha;
2.In the south, the Jewel-creating Division, hosted by Ratnasaṃbhava Buddha;
3.In the center, the Buddha Division, hosted by Vairocana Buddha;
4.In the West, the Lotus Division, hosted by Amitābha Buddha;
5.In the North, the Karma Division, hosted by Amoghasiddhi Buddha.
Famous paragraphs
Shurangama Vows
The expedients to Samadhi
Maha-stamaprapta Bodhisattva's preachment on being mindful of the Buddha
Avalokitesvara's Dharma-Gate -- Enlightened through the gateway of ear
The four clear and decisive instructions on purity
Shurangama Mantra
In-depth explanation on causes and retributions
The skandha-demons of fifty classes
Further Reading:
Sūtra du Cœur Heart Sutra The Diamond Sutra
Les Entretiens de Confucius Yi Jing, le Livre des Mutations
Shurangama Sutra Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
张律师感谢您的访问。