The Shurangama Sutra: Essential Readings for Enlightenment in Buddhism

Book Summary

The Śūraṅgama Sūtra is a significant Buddhist scripture that primarily focuses on how to dispel delusions and realize the pure mind. Its core teachings include:

1. Dispelling Delusions to Reveal Truth – Through a dialogue with Ānanda, the Buddha explains how beings become lost in illusions due to attachments and teaches the path to returning to the original pure mind.
2. The Concept of Tathāgatagarbha – The sutra expounds on the Tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature), which is inherently present in all beings. It explains that delusions obscure this inherent purity, but through practice, one can restore it.
3. Stages of Cultivation – It describes the fifty types of mental demons (skandha-māras), the ten faiths, ten abodes, ten practices, ten dedications, and ten bhūmis (bodhisattva stages), guiding practitioners through progressive levels of realization while warning against pitfalls in practice.
4. The Importance of Precepts – The sutra emphasizes the necessity of maintaining moral discipline (śīla), stating that adherence to precepts is the foundation for wisdom and liberation.
5. Perfect Penetration Methods – It introduces twenty-five methods of meditation, with a special focus on Avalokiteśvara’s ear-consciousness meditation (ear-root perfect penetration method), which teaches practitioners to return to their true nature through deep listening.

Overall, the Śūraṅgama Sūtra stresses the principles of “dispelling delusions to realize truth” and “letting go of attachments to attain awakening.” It serves as a crucial guide for Mahāyāna practitioners in their pursuit of self-exploration, overcoming ignorance, and realizing their intrinsic Buddha-nature.

Excerpt from the original text

Enlightenment in Mahàyàna Buddhism consists in transmut-

ing the mind into the Great Mirror Wisdom. And so the

øåraïgama Såtra 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 såtra the Buddha began by stripping ânanda of

this attachment to the illusory body and mind before reveal-

ing the One Mind. To teach how this One Mind can be real-

ised he asked twenty-five Bodhisattvas to describe the

different methods by which each had attained Enlighten-

ment. Avolokitesvara’s method was judged the most suitable

for mankind today.

Commentary(abridged) byCh’an Master Hanshan

Master Han Shan (1546–1623) was a renowned Chan (Zen) master of the Ming Dynasty and one of the "Four Great Masters of the Ming Dynasty," along with Zibo, Lianchi, and Ouyi.

He advocated the integration of Chan and Pure Land practices, emphasizing the complementary nature of chanting Amitabha Buddha’s name and Zen meditation. He also promoted the harmony of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, and extensively studied and commented on key Buddhist scriptures, such as the Śūraṅgama Sūtra and the Avataṃsaka Sūtra.

His major works include The Collected Writings of Master Han Shan, Commentary on the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, and Outline of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. Dedicated to the revival of Buddhism, Master Han Shan left a profound influence on Chinese Buddhist thought.