The shurangama mantra The shurangama mantra | Page 229

【THE SHURANGAMA SUTRA _ EXTRACTION.】
among the eighty thousand modes of
conduct, you violated only one
precept. Because your mind was
pure, all was not lost. 8:23
”Although these demons possess
tremendous enmity, they are in the
grip of their worldly passions, while
you are within wonderful
enlightenment. They cannot affect
you any more than a blowing wind
can affect light or a knife can cut
through water. You are like boiling
water, while the demons are like solid
ice which, in the presence of heat,
soon melts away. Since they rely
exclusively on spiritual powers, they
are like mere guests. 8:19
”This would be an attempt to
completely destroy your precious
enlightenment. Were it to succeed,
you would become like the family of
a senior government official who is
suddenly exiled; his family wanders,
bereft and alone, with no one to pity
or rescue them. 8:24
”Ananda, you should know that as a
cultivator sits in the Bodhimanda, he
is doing away with all thoughts.
When his thoughts come to an end,
there will be nothing on his mind.
This state of pure clarity will stay the
same whether in movement or
stillness, in remembrance or
forgetfulness. 8:25
”They can succeed in their
destructiveness through your mind,
which is the host of the five
skandhas. If the host becomes
confused, the guests will be able to
do as they please. 8:20
”When you are in dhyana, awakened,
aware, and free of delusion, their
demonic deeds can do nothing to you.
As the skandhas dissolve, you enter
the light. All those deviant hordes
depend upon dark energy. Since light
can destroy darkness, they would be
destroyed if they drew near you. How
could they dare linger and try to
disrupt your dhyana-samadhi? 8:21
”When he dwells in this place and
enters samadhi, he is like a person
with clear vision who finds himself in
total darkness. Although his nature is
wonderfully pure, his mind is not yet
illuminated. This is the region of the
form skandha. 8:26
”If his eyes become clear, he will
then experience the ten directions as
an open expanse, and the darkness
will be gone. This is the end of the
form skandha. He will then be able to
transcend the turbidity of kalpas.
Contemplating the cause of the form
skandha, one sees that false thoughts
of solidity are its source. 8:26
”If you were not clear and aware, but
were confused by the skandhas, then
you, Ananda, would surely become
one of the demons; you would turn
into a demonic being. 8:23
”Your encounter with Matangi’s
daughter was a minor incident. She
cast a spell on you to make you break
the Buddha’s moral precepts. Still,
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