Category Archives: The Śūrańgama Sūtra

The Siren’s Call

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Vajragoni

Then King Prasenajit, for the sake of his father, the late king, arranged on the day of mourning a vegetarian feast and invited the Buddha to the side rooms of the palace. He welcomed the Tathagata in person with a vast array of superb delicacies of unsurpassed wonderful flavors and himself invited the great Bodhisattvas. read more

Posted in The Śūrańgama Sūtra | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Return to Shravasti

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Vajragoni

Thus I have heard.

At one time the Buddha dwelt at the city of Shravasti in the sublime abode of the Jeta Grove. read more

Posted in The Śūrańgama Sūtra | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Preliminary Reflection: The Surangama Sutra

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Vajragoni

Cultivation of the Bodhi-mind is impossible without having a Sambodhic-Spirit that is first nurtured through Deep Samadhis; likewise Samadhis never reaches maturity without determined penetration through layers of accumulated habit energy leaking incessantly from the Alaya-receptacle. The Surangama Sutra is a Mind-manual that best delineates the process wherein both cultivation and Samadhi are procured and then employed to mine the Prajña-storehouse of Noble Wisdom. The procurement is initiated via a careful, meticulous, and precise surgery that peels back layer after layer of defiled garbha that clings like a cancerous scab across the face of Pure-Mind. Ānanda serves as the patient and the Tathagata is the brilliant surgeon who operates on his clouded-Alayic-clogged-mind thus healing and revealing the pure tissues of one’s inherent Buddha-nature. At times the surgery will appear tedious and boring for any rabid-reader who tries to skim through the Sutra without slowing-down their monkey-mind that interminably yearns for immediate sensate gratification. The Buddhadharma is not some kind of cheap-grace that offers instant enlightenment. It demands proper cultivation along the way and years of devoted Sutra study and disciplined dhyana. Like one mining for pure-gold it takes effort and a determined spirit that will not buckle under the least sign of difficulty, but resolutely works hard to win the dharma-prize of the marvelous mani-pearl of Noble Wisdom. read more

Posted in The Śūrańgama Sūtra | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Coming in March: The Śūrańgama Sūtra

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Vajragoni

In this super-sonic speed samsaric whirlpool we find ourselves in these days, it’s all too easy to get caught up in the Tsunami-wave of it all and lose track of one’s essential centeredness in the Buddhadharma. The Śūrańgama Sūtra is an indispensible Mind-tool that empowers both the seasoned student and, even more so, the inexperienced adapt to never lose sight of one’s spiritual foundation in the Mahayana. It is not some kind of a limited and sectarian vehicle, but rather intrinsically the seed-bed from which diverse schools like the Yogācāra and Esoteric-Vajarānā, C’han and Zen, Mādhyamaka and in particular—the Tathagata-garbha school of Zen—all find common doctrinal themes and special accentuation on cultivating one’s meditational practices with a specific impetus on Samādhi. One could say that the Śūrańgama Sūtra is a catechism for the Buddhadharma; in this sense, its foundational underpinning is a must for the serious student. Also, the Śūrańgama Mantra contained therein can prove to be a stabilizing and protective source for one’s spiritual-life. As the Fifty Demonic States of Mind will reveal later on, there is much destabilizing and even outright destructive forces (even at infinitesimal levels) at work unbeknownst most of the time, yes forces that seek to disrupt and even destroy one’s advancement along the way of the Mahayana. read more

Posted in The Śūrańgama Sūtra | Tagged | Leave a comment