Category Archives: Reflections on the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra

Dharma-mind of the Absolute

Posted on November 27, 2019 by Vajragoni

Chapter Eight: The Dharma-body of the Tathagatas

(JK) At that time the great Bodhisattva Mañjuśri questioned the Buddha and said: “World-honored One, you have taught about the Dharma body of a Tathagata. How is this Dharma body to be characterized?” read more

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Cultivating Śamatha and Vipaśyanā

Posted on November 24, 2019 by Vajragoni

The main emphasis in this chapter of the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra is the cultivation of Śamatha and Vipaśyanā. Śamatha is contemplative tranquility, or in Keenan’s translation, quietude (which we prefer since it establishes the very essence of quietude). Vipaśyanā is insight-meditation or in Cleary’s translation, observation; hence, it’s a form of meditation that mindfully and insightfully assesses different forms of dharmata and can articulate as such verbally or in writing—this present sutra is a form of Vipaśyanā. As John Powers has stated, “This chapter is one of the great scriptural locus classici for śamatha and vipaśyanā in the Mahāyāna tradition.” read more

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Ālayavijñāna: The Hallmark of the Yogācāra

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Vajragoni

Our next chapter in question for this present sutra is Number Five in the Tibetan Translation and Number Three for the Chinese. We have been following John Keenan’s numbering sequence. Basically the difference between the translations is that the Tibetan breaks-down the chapters according to the individual Bodhisattvas, whereas the Chinese bundles them together. read more

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Shredding Conceptualizations

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Vajragoni

Our next chapter clarifies the nature of ultimate meaning (paramārtha) in the panache of the Prajñāpāramitā. This method shreds all conceptionalities since they are mere inventions that are self-empty and thus lack any Real Substance [Core-Essence] or svabhāva. read more

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Citadel of the Tathagata

Posted on November 3, 2019 by Vajragoni

As mentioned in the introductory blog of this series, we will be utilizing three different translations of the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra: John Powers’s translation will be prefaced with JP; John Keenan’s by JK; and Thomas Cleary’s by TC. All three translations have great merit which will be confirmed during the exegesis. read more

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Reflections on the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Vajragoni

This series will expound upon a seminal and early text of the Yogācāra school. The Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra (Ārya-saṃdhi-nirmocana-sūtra) actually predates the proclaimed formulators of the Yogācāra school proper, Asanga and his half-brother Vasubandhu. The Sutra is comprised of different parts, the earliest being composed in India during the Second Century AD and its finalized form in the Third. One of the theories, to which I endorse, suggests that the text was written by monks or yogins who comprised exceptional Siddhis-powers and subsequently, (through visualization) inspirationally became the mouthpiece for the Buddha and the Maha-Bodhisattvas who questioned him in the text. According to one of its earliest commentators, Jñānagarbha, Saṃdhinirmocana “means ‘cutting the knots of the afflictive obstructions and the obstructions to omniscience’ through definitely freeing the profound thought [of Buddha]. It is a “sutra” because it is simply a complete statement of what is definite.” (John Powers— Two commentaries on the Samdhinirmocana-Sutra /​ by Asanga and Jnanagarbha, pg.68) read more

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