The Śūraṅgama Sūtra (, Sūtra of the Heroic March) (Taisho no. 945) is a Mahayana Buddhist Sūtra that has been influential across most forms of East Asian Buddhism, where it has traditionally been included as part of Chinese-language Tripitakas. In the modern Taisho Tripitaka, it is placed in the Esoteric Sūtra category (密教部).Taisho 945 is found in Volume 19 of the Taisho Tripitaka. The sūtra's Śūraṅgama Mantra is widely recited in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam as part of temple liturgies.
In Chinese Buddhism, it is a major subject of doctrinal study and the mantra revealed within the sūtra remains a regular part of the daily liturgy chanted in all Chinese Buddhist monasteries. It is particularly important in the Chinese Chan tradition, including both Linji and Caodong lineages, and the Chinese Pure Land Buddhist tradition (where it is considered a central scripture).Venerable Master Chin Kung; Li Ping Nan. The Awakening of Compassion and Wisdom, p. 199. In Korean Buddhism, it also remains a major subject of study in Sŏn monasteries.Benn, James A. Another Look at the Pseudo-Śūraṃgama sūtra. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 68, No. 1 (Jun., 2008), pp. 57-89, Harvard-Yenching Institute, In Japanese Buddhism, the mantra revealed in the sūtra is chanted across the three main Zen traditions of Rinzai, Sōtō and Ōbaku. The doctrinal outlook of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra is that of Buddha-nature, Yogacara thought, and esoteric Buddhism.
The sūtra was translated into Tibetan during the late eighth to early ninth century and other complete translations exist in Tibetan, Mongolian and Manchu languages (see Translations).
Title
Śūraṅgama means "heroic valour", "heroic progress", or "heroic march" in Sanskrit. The Śūraṅgama Sūtra is not to be confused with the similarly titled Śūraṅgama Samadhi Sūtra (T. 642 首楞嚴三昧經; Shǒuléngyán Sānmèi Jīng) which was translated by Kumārajīva (344–413).
The complete title preserved in Chinese 大佛頂如來密因修證了義諸菩薩萬行首楞嚴經 means:
An alternate translation of the title reads:
The title in different languages A common translation of the sūtra's name in English is the "Heroic March sūtra" (as used e.g. by Matthew Kapstein, Norman Waddell, and Andy Ferguson), or the "scripture of the Heroic Progress" (as used e.g. by Thomas Cleary). The Sanskrit title preserved in the Chinese Tripitaka is Mahābuddhoṣṇīṣa-tathāgataguhyahetu-sākṣātkṛta-prasannārtha-sarvaBodhisattvacaryā-śūraṅgama-sūtra, rendered by Hsuan Hua as "Sūtra of the Foremost Shurangama at the Great Buddha's Summit Concerning the Tathagata's Secret Cause of Cultivation, His Certification to Complete Meaning and All Bodhisattva's Myriad Practices".
The full title of the sūtra also appears as .
It is also known by abbreviated versions of the title such as or simply and more commonly .
Authorship An original Sanskrit version of Śūraṅgama Sūtra is not known to be extant and the Indic provenance of the text is in question. A Sanskrit language palm leaf manuscript consisting of 226 leaves with 6 leaves missing which according to the introduction "contains the Śūraṅgama Sūtra" was discovered in a temple in China and now resides at Peng Xuefeng Memorial Museum. But scholars have not yet verified if this is the same text or some other sūtra (like the Śūraṅgama Samadhi Sūtra).
The first catalogue that recorded the Śūraṅgama Sūtra was Zhisheng (), a monk in Tang dynasty (618-907) China. Zhisheng said this book was brought back from Guangxi to Luoyang during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. He gave two seemingly different accounts in two different books, both of which were published in 730 CE.
According to the first account found in the Kaiyuan shijiao lu (, lit: "The Kaiyuan Era Catalog of the Buddhist Tripitaka") the was translated in 713 CE by a Ven. Master Huai Di () and an unnamed Indian monk. An official envoy to the south then brought the sūtra to the capital of Chang'an. According to the second account, in his later book Xu gujin yijing tuji (續古今譯經圖記, lit: "Continuation to the History of the Translation of Buddhist Sūtras Mural Record"), the was translated in May 705 CE by Śramaṇa Pāramiti from central India, who came to China and brought the text to the province of Guangzhou. The text was then polished and edited by Empress Wu Zetian's former minister, court regulator, and state censor Fang Yong () of Qingho. The translation was reviewed by Śramaṇa Meghaśikha from Oḍḍiyāna, and certified by Śramaṇa Huai-di () of Nanlou Monastery (南樓寺) on Mount Luofu (羅浮山). Again, an official envoy to the south brought a copy of the sūtra to Chang'an.
According to Jia Jinhua, who studied and cross-referred a number of external documents related to both accounts that Zhisheng gave, the two accounts do not conflict but rather complement each other, with the Kaiyuan shijiao lu written first and the Xu gujin yijing tuji written later once Zhisheng had acquired more details about the sūtra's translation and transmission.Yang, W., & 楊維中. (2001). Lun Lengyan jing de zhenwei zhizheng jiqi foxue sixiang. 論楞嚴經的真偽之爭及其佛學思想 [On the Controversy over the Authenticity of the Suram. gama-sutra and the Buddhist Thoughts of the Sutra]. Zongjiaoxue Yanjiu, 1, 59-66. Jia demonstrates that the two accounts derive from two versions of the sūtra that were in circulation, reflecting two versions of the text produced under different political circumstances. One version, associated with the monk Huaidi, omitted the name of the exiled official Fang Rong due to his disgrace at court. The later version, created after the political stigma had lifted, correctly credits Fang Rong as the scribe. Jia further provides detailed historical and geographical evidence to prove Fang Rong's presence in Guangzhou was feasible, thereby validating his role in the translation.
Jia states that the first version brought from Guangzhou to Chang'an, which was included in the Kaiyuan catalogue and is extant in the Fangshan stone canon, listed the translators as Huaidi and an Indian monk and was the source for the account provided in the Kaiyuan shijiao lu. He infers that the reason this version omitted Fang Rong’s name is because, at the time of the translation in 705, he was a disgraced and banished official in exile. The reason for this exile was that on 20 February 705, Zhang Yizhi (張易之) and Zhang Changzong (張昌宗), two brothers who were Empress Wu’s favoured courtiers were killed in a coup, and Fang Rong was imprisoned for his close association with the Zhang brothers before being exiled to Gaozhou on 4 March. Song dynasty (960-1279) records by the monk Zuxiu (祖琇) recorded that Fang Rong arrived in Guangzhou in the fourth month and was invited by the Prefect of Guangzhou to take part in translating the Śūraṃgama-sūtra. The Tang court soon offered pardons to officials implicated in the affair involving the Zhang brothers, issuing amnesties and summoning officials back to court from the winter of 705 to the spring of 707, but Fang Rong unfortunately died in exile in Gaozhou. Jia then infers that Zhisheng’s second account was based on a second version brought from Guangzhou to Chang'an by an official envoy at later time. Jia reasons that, by then, the reason for Fang Rong’s exile had been pardoned, so there was no more taboo on signing his name on the sūtra, hence the second version lists in full the transmitter and translator of the sūtra, including Fang Rong as the transcriber and Huaidi as the verifier of the Sanskrit meanings. This version is supported by detailed accounts of the same events and attributions from a commentary of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra by the monk Weique (惟慤), who was personally introduced to the sūtra by Fang Rong's family during a meal at their house. Extracts of Weique's commentary with regards to the authorship of the sūtra is cited by the Japanese monk Genei (玄叡) in his work, the Daijō sanron daigi shō (大乘三論大義鈔, lit: "Digest of Major Doctrines of Mahāyāna Three Treatises"), and the details regarding how he was introduced to the sūtra is cited by the Song dynasty monk Zanning[zh] (贊寧) in his historical work, the Song gaoseng zhuan (宋高僧傳, lit: "Biographies of Eminent Monks of the Song dynasty"). This second version was then included in a later catalogue of Buddhist scriptures called the Zhenyuan catalogue, and is extant in various later Buddhist canons.
Traditional views In China, Taiwan and overseas Chinese communities, the sūtra is recognized as an authentic Buddhist scripture by all traditions of Chinese Buddhism such Chan, Pure Land, Tiantai and Huayan Buddhism. Many eminent historical Chinese monastics, including the patriarchs of some traditions, have praised the sūtra's teachings, and more than one hundred commentaries have been written on it, over eighty of which are extant in the Buddhist canon. The list of figures who have written commentaries on the sūtra include Zhongfeng Mingben, Yongming Yanshou (the Sixth Patriarch of the Chinese Pure Land tradition and the Third Patriarch of the Fayan tradition of Chan Buddhism), all of the Four Eminent Monks of the Wanli Era (consisting of Hanshan Deqing, Zibo Zhenke, Yunqi Zhuhong and Ouyi Zhixu, with Zhuhong being the Eighth Patriarch of the Chinese Pure Land tradition and Zhixu being the Ninth Patriarch of the Chinese Pure Land tradition as well as the Thirty-First Patriarch of the Tiantai lineage respectively), Youxi Chuandeng (the Thirtieth Patriarch of the Tiantai lineage), Taixu (a monk and activist trained in the Linji tradition of Chan Buddhism who was the mentor of several other prominent modern monastics) and Hsuan Hua (a major contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States). The sūtra has also always been classified as an authentic scripture in all Chinese-language Tripitakas, including the Taisho Tripitaka where it is placed in the Esoteric Sūtra category (密教部). It remains a major subject of doctrinal study and practice in most contemporary Chinese Buddhist traditions. In addition, the sūtra in its entirety is chanted during certain rituals like the Shuilu Fahui ceremony and the mantra revealed within the sūtra is chanted during daily morning liturgical services in contemporary Chinese Buddhist practice.
The Qianlong Emperor and the Third Changkya Khutukhtu, the traditional head tulku of the Gelug lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in Inner Mongolia, believed in the authenticity of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra. They later translated the Śūraṅgama Sūtra into the Manchu language, Mongolian and Tibetan. (see translations)