Shurangama Sutra (with commentary) (English)

by Hsuan Hua | 596,738 words

This is the English translation of the Shurangama Sutra with Commentary By The Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua. The Shurangamasutra is an influential Mahayana Buddhist text affecting Korean and Chinese Buddhism, especially Zen/Chan. It includes teachings on Buddha-nature, Yogacara, and Tantric or esoteric Buddhism (such as Vajrayana). Topics discussed i...

The Buddha shows its characteristic is constant flux

K2 He shows its characteristic is constant flux.

Sutra:

That is why, in this world, movement brings about sounds, sounds bring about forms, forms bring about smells, smells bring about contact, contact brings about tastes, and tastes bring about awareness of dharmas. The random false thinking resulting from these six creates karma, and this continuous revolving becomes the cause of twelve different categories.

Commentary:


That is why, in this world, movement brings about sounds. Because of the appearance of movement, the defiling object of sounds arises. Sounds bring about forms. Once the defiling object of sounds exists, the defiling object of forms comes into being. Forms bring about smells. Forms influence the arising of smells. Smells bring about contact, contact brings about tastes, and tastes bring about awareness of dharmas. The random false thinking resulting from these six creates karma. The "six" refer to forms, sounds, smells, tastes, contact, and dharmas. These six create scattered false thoughts and together they play tricks. They are a gang of thieves. They plunder and rob. They create karma. And this continuous revolving becomes the cause of twelve different categories. The interactions of the six defiling organs make continuous karma, which divides into twelve distinct types. From this, beings undergo continual rebirth in the six paths.

Sutra:

And so, in the world, sounds, smells, tastes, contact, and the like, are each transformed throughout the twelve categories to make one complete cycle.

Commentary:


And so, in the world, sounds, smells, tastes, contact, and the like, that is, forms, sounds, smells, tastes, contacts, and dharmas, are each transformed throughout the twelve categories to make one complete cycle. There is one change after another as they go through the twelve categories, until a complete revolution is made. These changes can be explained in two ways: first, each defiling sense-object relates to each category of beings, so that there are womb-born sounds, egg-born sounds, and so forth, up to and including womb-born dharmas, and egg-born dharmas. The other explanation is that each kind of being complete with the six faculties goes through each category of rebirth in a sequence, based on the weight of its particular karma. Thus if one's thinking is predominant, one becomes first an egg-born being, and so forth.

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