Information about Platform Sutra

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The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (Chinese: 六祖壇經, fully 南宗頓教最上大乘摩訶般若波羅蜜經六祖惠能大師於韶州大梵寺施法壇經), is a Buddhist scripture that was composed in China. It is one of the seminal texts in the Chan/Zen schools. It is centered on discourses given at Shao Zhou temple attributed to the sixth Chan patriarch, Huineng. The key topics of the discourse are sudden enlightenment, the direct perception of one's true nature, and the unity in essence of śīla, dhyāna and prajñā. The Southern Chan or "Sudden Enlightenment" school of Chan Buddhism based its doctrine on this extremely influential scripture.

Chapter One presents autobiographical material, telling the story of how Huineng became enlightened, became a Patriarch, fled to the South, and eventually assumed his public role.

Chapter Two is a lecture on prajna, given after a recitation of the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra. "When our mind works freely without any hindrance, and is at liberty to 'come' or to 'go', we attain Samadhi of Prajna, or liberation. Such a state is called the function of 'thoughtlessness.' But to refrain from thinking of anything, so that all thoughts are suppressed, is to be Dharma-ridden, and this is an erroneous view."

In Chapter Three, Huineng answers questions from a lay audience. Huineng discusses the famous story of Bodhidharma telling Emperor Wu of Liang that his good deeds would bring him no merit. Next, he discusses the Pure Land of the West, asserting the greater importance of one's inner state compared to one's physical location. This leads to a conclusion in which Huineng asserts that lay practice outside of a monastery is preferable to following the forms of monastic renunciation without inner practice.

In the chapter on his final instructions, Huineng instructs his accomplished disciples, "after my entering nirvana, each of you will be the Dhyana Master of a certain district. I am, therefore, going to give you some hints on preaching, so that you may keep up the tradition of our School."

"First mention the three categories of Dharmas, and then the thirty-six 'pairs of opposites' in the activities of the bodhicitta. Then teach how to avoid the two extremes of 'coming in' and 'going out.' In all preaching, stray not from the bodhicitta. Whenever someone puts a question to you, answer in the antonyms, so that a pair of opposites will be formed, such as coming and going. When the interdependence of the two is entirely done away with there would be, in the absolute sense, neither coming nor going... Whenever a question is put to you, answer it in the negative if it is an affirmative one; and vice versa. If you are asked about an ordinary man, tell the questioner something about a sage; and vice versa. From the correlation or interdependence of the two opposites the doctrine of the Middle Way may be grasped. If someone asks what is darkness, answer thus: Light is the root condition and darkness is the reciprocal condition. When light disappears, darkness appears. The two are in contrast to each other. From the correlation or interdependence of the two the Middle Way arises."

The Platform Sutra was first compiled some time between 700 and 720 by Huineng's disciple Fahai. Two copies dated to between 830 and 860 have been found in the Mogao Caves and both are thought to be based on an edition from about 780. In 1056, the Chinese monk Qisong produced a larger edition. In 1291, Tsungpao produced the edition that became part of the Ming Dynasty Chinese Buddhist canon. This canonical version, apparently based on the Qisong edition, is about a third longer than the Mogao Caves version, and structured differently. In the 1920s, Japanese scholar Yabuki Keiki produced an edition based on one of the Mogao Caves texts (the only one known at the time), dividing the text into fifty-seven sections. In 1934, D. T. Suzuki published an edition based on the Mogao Cave text, but incorporating corrections from the Tsungpao edition. In 1993, the Chinese Buddhist scholar Yang Zengwen published an annotated edition of the second Mogao Caves text (which has fewer errors than the first Mogao Caves text). (Pine, 2006, Introduction)

The first published translation into English was based on the Tsungpao edition, completed by Wong Mou-Lam in 1930, and published by the Yu Ching Press of Shanghai.^[1]

The Suzuki edition, the Tun-Huang text (敦煌), was translated into English by Wingcit Chan in 1963, and again in 1967 by Philip Yampolsky.

Shoemaker & Hoard published a translation and commentary by Red Pine, based on the second Mogao Caves text, in 2006.

Three Jewels (Buddha · Dharma · Sangha) · Four Noble Truths · Noble Eightfold Path · Nirvana · Middle Way