Lengyanjing 楞嚴經

Lengyanjing 楞嚴經 or Surangama Sutra, full title Dafo ding Rulai miyin xiuzheng liaoyi zhu pusa wanxing shoulengyan jing 大佛頂如來密因修證了義諸菩薩萬行首楞嚴經 "Sutra of the heroic progress of the Great Buddha's Peak, on the definitive meaning of the secret cause for cultivation and attainment by all Bodhisattvas in myriad practices", also known as Zhong Yindu Nalantuo daodaochang jing 中印度那爛陀大道場經 "Sutra of the Great Teaching Hall of Nālandā in Central India", common abbreviations Shoulengyan jing 首楞嚴經 "Sutra of heroic progress", Da foding jing 大佛頂經 "Sutra of the Great Buddha's Peak" and Da foding shoulengyan jing 大佛頂首楞嚴經, is an important scripture of Chinese Buddhism.

It was translated into Chinese by the Tang-period 唐 (618-907) monk Paramiti (Ch. Bolamidi 般剌蜜帝, fl. 705), with a length of 10 juan. There are various legends about its translator, but most scholars believe that Paramiti was from Central India. He resided at a monastery (mahāvihāra, Ch. da daochang 大道場) in Guangzhou 廣州 (in today's Guangzhou province), where he recited the text from the initiation section. The words were originally translated into Sanskrit by the monk Meghaśikhara 彌伽釋迦 from the Wuchang Kingdom 烏萇國, and the manuscript was recorded by Fang Rong 房融 and verified by Huaidi 懷迪. A shorter translation with the title Shoulengyan sanmei jing 首楞嚴三昧經 had been translated by Kumārajīva (Ch. Jiumoluoshi 鳩摩羅什, 344-413). From the Song period 宋 (960-1279) on, commentators such as Zixuan 子璿 (965-1038) questioned the origins of the scripture. In modern times, some have even suspected that it might have been composed by a Chinese author.

Throughout Chinese history, the Surangama Sutra has been regarded as one of the principal Buddhist scriptures. During the Qing period 清 (1644-1911), figures such as lCang-skya Qutughtu translated it into Tibetan, and editions were published in all four official languages, Chinese, Manchu, Tibetan, and Mongolian.

The preface (Xufen 序分) of the scripture recounts how the Buddha sent Mañjuśrī (Ch. Wenshushili 文殊師利) to protect Ānanda (Ch. Anan 阿難) from the temptations of the nāga maiden, Mātaṅga's (Ch. Modengjia 摩登伽) daughter, ensuring he did not break his precepts. Manjushri also instructed Ānanda in meditation, enabling him to cut off afflictions and reveal the pure and luminous nature of the eternal true mind. The main teachings (Zhengzong fen 正宗分) of the sutra expound that all phenomena in the world are none other than the wondrous and clear original mind of Bodhi (Puti miaoming yuanxin 菩提妙明元心); the mind is refined and complete, embracing all directions. Beings fail to recognise the "pure and wondrous nature of their own mind" (xing jing miao ti 性淨妙體), which causes them to cycle through birth and death. Therefore, one should practise meditation to dispel all "perverted" (diandao 顛倒) views. Through successive stages of cultivation, the Ten Faiths (shixin 十信), the Ten Abodes (shizhu 十住), the Ten Practices (shixing 十行), the Ten Transfers of Merit (shi huixiang 十回向), the Four Preparatory Practices (si jia xing 四加行), the Ten Grounds (shidi 十地), the Equal Enlightenment (dengjue 等覺), and the Wondrous Enlightenment (miaojue 妙覺), progressing from lower to higher levels, one ultimately attains perfect enlightenment and achieves the supreme path. The third part of the text, called "dissemination" (Liutong fen 流通分), emphasises that the sutra should be eternally transmitted to benefit future generations and all sentient beings.

There are more than a hundred commentaries on the sutra, including Zixuan's Lengyanjing yishu 楞嚴經義疏, Zhiyuan's 智圓 (976-1022) Lengyanjing shu 楞嚴經疏, Xianhui's 咸輝 Lengyanjing yihai 楞嚴經義海, Jiehuan's 戒環 Lengyanjing yaojie 楞嚴經要解, Wang Anshi's 王安石 (1021-1086) Lengyanjing xinjie 楞嚴經新解, Weize's 惟則 (c. 1280-1350) Lengyanjing huijie 楞嚴經會解, Zhuhong's 祩宏 (1535-1615) Lengyanjing moxiang ji 楞嚴經摸象記, Deqing's 德清 (1546-1623) Lengyanjing tongyi 楞嚴經通議, Yuancheng's 圓澄 (1561-1626) Lengyanjing yishuo 楞嚴經臆說, Chuandeng's 傳燈 (1554-1628) Lengyanjing yuantong shu 楞嚴經圓通疏 and Lengyanjing xuanyi 楞嚴經玄義, Zhixu's 智旭 (1599-1655) Lengyanjing xuanyi 楞嚴經玄義, Puji's 普寂 (651-739) Lengyanjing lüeshu 楞嚴經略疏, and Xinglong's 興隆 Lengyanjing yishu xianmi youxuan ji 楞嚴經義疏顯密幽玄記. More than 40 commentaries were authored by Japanese monks.