The shurangama mantra The shurangama mantra | Page 247

【THE SHURANGAMA SUTRA _ EXTRACTION.】
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. 8:172
like waves subsiding to become clear,
calm water. This is the end of the
formations skandha. This person will
then be able to transcend the turbidity
of living beings. Contemplating the
cause of the formations skandha, one
sees that subtle and hidden false
thoughts are its source. 8:180
”Ananda, when the good person who
is cultivating samadhi has put an end
to the thinking skandha, he is
ordinarily free of dreaming and idle
thinking, so he stays the same
whether in wakefulness or in sleep.
His mind is aware, clear, empty, and
still, like a cloudless sky, devoid of
any coarse sense-impressions. He
contemplates everything in the world
- the mountains, the rivers, and the
earth - as reflections in a mirror,
appearing without attachment and
vanishing without any trace; they are
simply received and reflected. He
does away with all his old habits, and
only the essential truth remains.
8:174
”Ananda, you should know that when
the good person has obtained proper
knowledge in his practice of
shamatha, his mind is unmoving,
clear, and proper, and it cannot be
disturbed by the ten kinds of demons
from the heavens. He is now able to
intently and thoroughly investigate
the origin of all categories of beings.
As the origin of each category
becomes apparent, he can
contemplate the source of the subtle,
fleeting, and pervasive fluctuation.
But if he begins to speculate on that
pervasive source, he could fall into
error with two theories of the absence
of cause. 8:181
”From this point on, as the origin of
production and destruction is
exposed, he will completely see all
the twelve categories of living beings
in the ten directions. Although he has
not fathomed the source of their
individual lives, he will see that they
share a common basis of life, which
appears as a mirage - shimmering and
fluctuating - and is the ultimate,
pivotal point of the illusory faculties
and sense objects. This is the region
of the formations skandha. 8:179 ”First perhaps this person sees no
cause for the origin of life. Why?
Since he has completely destroyed
the mechanism of production, he can,
by means of the eight hundred merits
of the eye organ, see all beings in the
swirling flow of karma during eighty
thousand eons, dying in one place
and being reborn in another as they
undergo transmigration. But he
cannot see beyond eighty thousand
eons. 8:182
”Once the basic nature of this
shimmering fluctuation returns to its
original clarity, his habits will cease, ”Therefore, he concludes that for the
last eighty thousand eons living
beings in the ten directions of this
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