The Origin of Living Beings & the World in Shurangama sutra chapter VI

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Aemilius
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The Origin of Living Beings & the World in Shurangama sutra chapter VI

Post by Aemilius »

The Tathàgata Store from which Arise Both Samsàra & Nirvàna

The Buddha said: Ananda, you should know that the abso-
lute nature is completely enlightened; it is beyond name and
form and is fundamentally free from either the world or living
beings. Because of ignorance, there arises birth which is fol-
lowed by death.

The Origin of Living Beings & the World

Ananda, what are these two inversions? Because of the
mind's (arbitrary) awareness of the (underlying) bright
nature, the latter which is fundamentally enlightened be-
comes an objective (form) as opposed to a false (percep-
tion). Thus from fundamental nothingness arises actual
phenomenon. (Therefore), the existence (of ignorance) and
its creation (of the world and living beings), the causeless
cause of subjective (ignorance) and its objective creation,
and subjective (living beings) dwelling in their objective
abode (the world) have no real basis. From (Reality) which
does not abide anywhere spring the world and living beings.

The Inverted Cause of the Existence of Living Beings

(What is the inverted cause of the seeming existence of living
beings?) The faulty awareness of completely enlightened
nature creates a falsehood which has neither nature nor
basis. If you wish to restore the real, this very wish (pertains
to the samsaric mind and) is not related to absolute nature. If
the unreal mind is used to recover real nature, the latter will
be unreal and of necessity there follow illusory birth and ex-
istence as well as unreal mind and dharma which will unfold
endlessly and will gain in intensity thereby creating (new)
karma and so responses from those sharing the same karma
and subjective (living beings) dwelling in their objective
abode (the world) have no real basis. From (Reality) which
does not abide anywhere spring the world and living beings.


The Surangama Sutra (Leng Yen Ching)
Chinese Rendering by
Master Paramiti of Central
North India at Chih Chih Monastery,
Canton, China, A.D. 705

Translated by Upasaka Lu Kuan Yu (Charles Luk)
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Astus
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Re: The Origin of Living Beings & the World in Shurangama sutra chapter VI

Post by Astus »

「佛言:「阿難!當知妙性圓明離諸名相,本來無有世界眾生,因妄有生因生有滅」
(T19n945p138b7-8)

The Buddha said, “You should know, Ānanda, that the wondrous enlightened nature is endowed with perfect understanding. It is apart from all names and attributes, and in it, at the fundamental level, there are no worlds and no beings. It is because of delusion that there is coming into being, and because there is coming into being, there is ceasing to be.”
(The Śūraṅgama Sūtra - A New Translation, p 314)

「阿難!云何名為眾生顛倒?阿難!由性明心,性明圓故;因明發性,性妄見生。從畢竟無成究竟有,此有所有非因所因,住所住相了無根本,本此無住,建立世界及諸眾生」
(b12-16)

“What is the distorted phenomenon that we call beings, Ānanda? The enlightened nature of the true mind that understands is such that its understanding is perfect and complete. But, Ānanda, from this understanding, another understanding may be created as another entity, and from that other entity, a deluded awareness will come into being. Thus from within the original state which has no attributes whatever, that which has definite attributes comes into being.
“Neither what comes into being nor what it comes into being from are based on anything, nor are they a basis for anything. Beings and the worlds they dwell in have no foundation, and yet, despite their having no foundation, beings and the worlds come into being.
(p 314-315)

「迷本圓明是生虛妄,妄性無體非有所依。將欲復真,欲真已非真真如性,非真求復宛成非相,非生非住非心非法,展轉發生生力發明,熏以成業同業相感,因有感業相滅相生,由是故有眾生顛倒。」
(b16-20)

“Confusion about the original perfect understanding results in delusion, but this delusion has no essential nature of its own; it is based on nothing. One may wish to return to what is real, but to wish for the real is already a falsification. The true nature of the suchness of reality is not a reality that one can seek to return to. If one were to try to return to it, one would merely experience something that does not have the attributes of reality.
“Through their mutual interaction, there comes into being what does not really come into being, as well as what does not really abide, what is not really the mind, and what are not really phenomena. From the force of their coming into being, an understanding is created, and its influence leads to activity subject to karma. Similar karma mutually attracts, and because of the karma of this mutual attraction, there is a coming into being and then a ceasing to be. This is the reason for the distorted phenomenon of beings.”
(p 315-316)
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?

2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.

3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.

4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.


1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
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Aemilius
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Re: The Origin of Living Beings & the World in Shurangama sutra chapter VI

Post by Aemilius »

Thanks very much. It is a modern and clear translation. I have also compared the CTTB Shurangama sutra translation of this particular topic. Their translation of Chapter VI is titled Volume Six.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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