The shurangama mantra devanagari Shurangama Mantra devanagari | Page 253

【THE SHURANGAMA SUTRA _ EXTRACTION.】
he may see himself as perfectly
encompassing all worlds and say that
he contains form; or he may perceive
all external conditions as contingent
upon himself and say that form
belongs to him; or he may decide that
he relies on the continuity of the
formations skandha and say that he is
within form. 8:218
confused idea that forms do not exist
after death. 8:220
”Seeing that his form is gone, his
physical shape seems to lack a cause.
As he contemplates the absence of
thought, there is nothing to which his
mind can become attached. Knowing
that his feelings are gone, he has no
further involvements. Those
skandhas have vanished. Although
there is still some coming into being,
there is no feeling or thought, and he
concludes that he is like grass or
wood. 8:221
”In all of these speculations, he says
that forms exist after death.
Expanding the idea, he comes up
with sixteen cases of the existence of
forms. 8:218
”Then he may speculate that
afflictions are always afflictions, and
Bodhi is always Bodhi, and the two
exist side by side without
contradicting each other. 8:219
”Since those qualities do not exist at
present how can there be any
existence of forms after death?
Because of his examinations and
comparisons, he decides that after
death there is no existence.
Expanding the idea, he comes up
with eight cases of the nonexistence
of forms. 8:222
”Because of these speculations about
what exists after death, he will fall
into externalism and become
confused about the Bodhi nature.
This is the sixth external teaching,
which postulates confused theories of
the existence of forms after death in
the realm of the five skandhas. 8:220
”From that, he may speculate that
Nirvana and cause and effect are all
empty, that they are mere names and
ultimately do not exist. 8:223
”Further, in his practice of samadhi,
the good person’s mind is firm,
unmoving, and proper, and can no
longer be disturbed by demons. He
can thoroughly investigate the origin
of all categories of beings and
contemplate the source of the subtle,
fleeting, and constant fluctuation. But
if he begins to speculate on the
skandhas of form, feeling, and
thinking, which have already ended,
he could fall into error with the
”Because of those speculations that
forms do not exist after death, he will
fall into externalism and become
confused about the Bodhi nature.
This is the seventh external teaching,
which postulates confused theories of
the nonexistence of forms after death
in the realm of the five skandhas.
8:223
”Further, in his practice of samadhi,
the good person’s mind is firm,
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