Tag Archives: Suzuki

Does the Lanka Deny the Ātman?

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Vajragoni

There is a familiar passage from the Lankavatara Sutra (Chapter two, XXVIII) that differentiates between the Tathagata-garbha and the ātman as taught by non-Buddhists. Once again the question needs to be addressed, “which ātman” is it referring to? The following is the translation from Suzuki followed by Bhattacharya’s own translation which will be copied out in full from his book. Notice how Suzkui uses “ego” as self while Bhattacharya has ātman: read more

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A Mystical Odyssey through the Sagathakam

Posted on December 1, 2018 by Vajragoni

As mentioned back in August, our winter series will be based on the concluding segment of The Lankavatara Sutra entitled Sagathakam. The title succinctly translates as Verse Anthology. Red Pine writes of the significance of this final section of the sutra: read more

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The Avatamsaka Saga

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Vajragoni

The Gandavyūha-sūtra is the final segment in the larger Avatamsaka portrait. The Avatamsaka is the most prominent scripture in the Hua-yen. Colossal in scope, bold in execution, and incomparable in terms of evocative, even psychedelic imagery, the Avatamsaka is like going on an acid-trip without the acid. The actual full-Sanskrit title is Buddhāvatamsaka-mahāvaipulya-sūtra. According to the Hua-yen tradition the Sutra was actually taught by the Buddha himself, believing it to be the only authentic expression of the Buddha’s Enlightenment. While still sitting beneath the Bodhi-Tree it is said that the Buddha partook in the Sagaramudra–samadhi (Ocean-Seal-Samadhi) and afterwards spoke the Truth of the Avatamsaka, or the direct-expression of the Dharmadhātu to Bodhisattvas and Devas, Nagas, and others who were in attendance from the ten-directions of the Cosmos. According to legend the actual sūtra was obtained from the Ancient Naga Palace by Nāgārjuna. Its authorship has been widely contested, yet it is obvious that this superb and voluminous text could not have been written solely by one person alone. Yea, its unsurpassed wisdom indicates that its source could only have come from the inspirations of the Primordials themselves. The following is an inspired snapshot of a Primordial holding the blessed Bodhi-seed: read more

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The Mahāyāna-shraddhotpāda-shāstra

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Vajragoni

We next will be exploring perhaps the most significant document, alongside the Lankavatara Sutra, for adherents of Unborn Mind Zen as well as the best concise-systematic treatment of the Mahayana as a whole. This ‘Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana’ is attributed to the great early Buddhist philosopher and poet, Aśvaghosha: read more

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A Day in the Life

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Vajragoni

A day in the “apparent” life of a Lankavatarian is just that…it transcends all notions of apparency that usually dwarfs most people between the ironclad mountains of realism and nihilism. As such, a Lankavatarian is “marked with the mark of suchness.” “I focus on the personal realization of detachment, on transcending deluded views, on transcending the views of what exists or does not exist that are perceptions of one’s own mind, on obtaining the threefold liberation, on being marked with the mark of suchness, on examining self-existence based on personal realization, and on transcending the views of the existence or nonexistence of what is real.” (Red Pine, pg. 195) Suzuki marvelously breaks this understanding down in his monumental work, Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra: read more

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