The shurangama mantra The shurangama mantra | Page 237

【THE SHURANGAMA SUTRA _ EXTRACTION.】
”In the Dharma-ending Age, after my
Nirvana, all of you should pass on the
Tathagata’s teachings, so that all
living beings can awaken to their
meaning. Do not let the demons of
the heavens have their way. Offer
protection so that all can realize the
unsurpassed Way. 8:81
of the thinking skandha, one sees that
interconnected false thoughts are its
source. 8:84
”Ananda, in the unhindered clarity
and wonder that ensues after the
feeling skandha is gone, this good
person is untroubled by any deviant
mental state and experiences perfect,
bright concentration. Within samadhi,
his mind craves its perfect brightness,
so he sharpens his concentrated
thought as he greedily seeks for
cleverness and skill. 8:85
”Ananda, when the good person who
is cultivating samadhi has put an end
to the feeling skandha, although he
has not achieved freedom from
outflows, his mind can leave his body
the way a bird escapes from a cage.
From within his ordinary body, he
already has the potential for
ascending through the Bodhisattvas’
sixty levels of sagehood. He attains
the ‘body produced by intent’ and
can roam freely without obstruction.
8:82
”At that time a demon from the
heavens seizes the opportunity it has
been waiting for. Its spirit possesses
another person and uses him as a
mouthpiece to expound the Sutras
and the Dharma. 8:87
”This person, unaware that he is
possessed by a demon, claims he has
reached unsurpassed Nirvana. When
he comes to see that good person who
seeks cleverness and skill, he
arranges a seat and speaks the
Dharma. In an instant, he may appear
to be a Bhikshu, enabling that person
to see him as such, or he may appear
as Shakra, as a woman, or as a
Bhikshuni; or his body may emit
light as he sleeps in a dark room. 8:93
”This is like someone talking in his
sleep. Although he does not know he
is doing it, his words are clear, and
his voice and inflection are all in
order, so those who are awake can
understand what he is saying. This is
the region of the thinking skandha.
8:83
”If he puts an end to his stirring
thoughts and rids himself of
superfluous thinking, it is as if he has
purged defilement from the
enlightened, understanding mind.
Then he is perfectly clear about the
births and deaths of all categories of
beings from beginning to end. This is
the end of the thinking skandha. He
can then transcend the turbidity of
afflictions. Contemplating the cause
”The good person is beguiled and
fooled into thinking that the other is a
Bodhisattva. He believes the other’s
teachings and his mind is swayed. He
breaks the Buddha’s moral precepts
and covertly indulges his greedy
desires. 8:95
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