The shurangama mantra The shurangama mantra | Page 236

【THE SHURANGAMA SUTRA _ EXTRACTION.】
believe that there is eternal extinction
after death. 8:73
”This is called ‘when an agreeable
state of samadhi enters one’s mind,
lacking the wisdom to control oneself
and mistakenly engaging in lustful
behavior.’ If he understands, then
there is no error. This experience
does not indicate sagehood. 8:77
”[This is called ‘the mental state of
samadhi dissolving so that one loses
sight of what is right.’] If he
understands, then there is no error.
This experience does not indicate
sagehood. 8:74
”But if he considers himself a sage,
then a demon of desire will enter his
mind. He will become an outspoken
advocate of lust, calling it the Way to
Bodhi. He will teach his lay followers
to indiscriminately engage in acts of
lust, calling those who commit acts of
lust his Dharma heirs. The power of
spirits and ghosts in the Ending Age
will enable him to attract a following
of ordinary, naive people numbering
one hundred, two hundred, five or six
hundred, or as many as one thousand
or ten thousand. When the demon
becomes bored, it will leave the
person’s body. Once the person’s
charisma is gone, he will run afoul of
the law. He will mislead living
beings, so that they fall into the
Relentless Hells. Lacking proper
samadhi, he will certainly fall. 8:78
”But if he considers himself a sage,
then a demon of emptiness will enter
his mind. He will slander the holding
of precepts, calling it a ‘Small
Vehicle Dharma.’ He will say, ‘Since
Bodhisattvas have awakened to
emptiness, what is there to hold or
violate?’ This person, in the presence
of his faithful danapatis, will often
drink wine, eat meat, and engage in
wanton lust. The power of the demon
will keep his followers from doubting
or denouncing him. After the ghost
has possessed him for a long time, he
may consume excrement and urine,
or meat and wine, claiming that all
such things are empty. He will break
the Buddha’s moral precepts and
mislead people into committing
offenses. Lacking proper samadhi, he
will certainly fall. 8:75
”Ananda, all ten of these states may
occur in dhyana as one’s mental
effort interacts with the feeling
skandha. 8:80
”Further, in this state of samadhi, the
good person sees the disintegration of
the form skandha and understands the
feeling skandha. He savors the state
of illusory clarity, and it deeply
enters his mind and bones. Boundless
love may suddenly well forth from
his mind. When that love becomes
extreme, he goes insane with greed
and lust. 8:77
”Dull and confused living beings do
not evaluate themselves.
Encountering such situations, in their
confusion they fail to recognize them
and say that they have become sages,
thereby uttering a great lie. They will
fall into the Relentless Hells. 8:80
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