Lankavatara sutra

No cover — Red Pine: Lankavatara sutra (2012, Counterpoint)

English language

Published Jan. 5, 2012 by Counterpoint.

(1 review)

"Having translated The Diamond Sutra and The Heart Sutra, and following with The Platform Sutra, Red Pine now turns his attention to perhaps the greatest Sutra of all. The Lankavatara Sutra is the holy grail of Zen. Zen's First Patriarch, Bodhidharma, gave a copy of this text to his successor, Hui-k'o, and told him everything he needed to know was in this book. Passed down from teacher to student ever since, this is the only Zen sutra ever spoken by the Buddha. Although it covers all the major teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, it contains but two teachings: that everything we perceive as being real is nothing but the perceptions of our own mind and that the knowledge of this is something that must be realized and experienced for oneself and cannot be expressed in words. In the words of Chinese Zen masters, these two teachings became known as "have a …

"Having translated The Diamond Sutra and The Heart Sutra, and following with The Platform Sutra, Red Pine now turns his attention to perhaps the greatest Sutra of all. The Lankavatara Sutra is the holy grail of Zen. Zen's First Patriarch, Bodhidharma, gave a copy of this text to his successor, Hui-k'o, and told him everything he needed to know was in this book. Passed down from teacher to student ever since, this is the only Zen sutra ever spoken by the Buddha. Although it covers all the major teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, it contains but two teachings: that everything we perceive as being real is nothing but the perceptions of our own mind and that the knowledge of this is something that must be realized and experienced for oneself and cannot be expressed in words. In the words of Chinese Zen masters, these two teachings became known as "have a cup of tea" and "taste the tea." This is the first translation into English of the original text used by Bodhidharma, which was the Chinese translation made by Gunabhadra in 443 and upon which all Chinese Zen masters have relied ever since. In addition to presenting one of the most difficult of all Buddhist texts in clear English, Red Pine has also added summaries, explanations and notes, including relevant Sanskrit terms on the basis of which the Chinese translation was made. This promises to become an essential text for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding or knowledge of Zen. "--

1 edition

schmudde reviewed Lankavatara sutra by Red Pine

Review of 'Lankavatara sutra' on Goodreads

5 stars

The Lankavatara Sutra is an investigation into reality as we perceive it. The Sutra attempts to point to an ultimate reality (bhutakoti) from within our perceived reality. Many who read this book will get caught on the thing doing the pointing (the sutra) and not the thing itself (bhutakoti) because the text is attempting to describe an ungraspable and unteachable thing.

The evasiveness of the concept makes the Sutra a necessarily difficult read. I do not believe it is a good place to start for curious philosophers or nascent Buddhists. However, it offers a tremendous amount for the prepared mind and Red Pine's footnotes are invaluable.

Neither the Sutra nor the translator are afraid of repeating themselves. This was tremendously helpful for me. For example, consider the attributes of knowledge - how learning changes the way we act and think. The Lankavatara Sutra claims that fully embodying the Dharma has …

The Lankavatara Sutra is an investigation into reality as we perceive it. The Sutra attempts to point to an ultimate reality (bhutakoti) from within our perceived reality. Many who read this book will get caught on the thing doing the pointing (the sutra) and not the thing itself (bhutakoti) because the text is attempting to describe an ungraspable and unteachable thing.

The evasiveness of the concept makes the Sutra a necessarily difficult read. I do not believe it is a good place to start for curious philosophers or nascent Buddhists. However, it offers a tremendous amount for the prepared mind and Red Pine's footnotes are invaluable.

Neither the Sutra nor the translator are afraid of repeating themselves. This was tremendously helpful for me. For example, consider the attributes of knowledge - how learning changes the way we act and think. The Lankavatara Sutra claims that fully embodying the Dharma has no attributes nor does it not have no attributes. It's pretty confusing. The "third way" - the path between having no attributes and having attributes - appears throughout the Lankavatara Sutra. The Buddha points out the frivolity of the distinction through analogy. Pieces of the ocean cannot be sliced into distinct sections and yet the ocean's wave are a distinct phenomenon with no clear beginning or end.

This is just one such analogy that appears in many different forms with many different contexts. I can't say that I live in a world full of rich emptiness after reading this Sutra, but I can say it has helped me enjoy a cup of tea.

Subjects

RELIGION / Buddhism / Zen (see also PHILOSOPHY / Zen)