SAGATHAKAM: Verses from the LANKAVATARA SUTRA translated by Phillip Medhurst Kindle Edition

The section of verses in the Lankavatara Sutra, with the sanskrit text published alongside a new translation into English by Phillip Medhurst. The Lankavatara Sutra was translated into Chinese in 443 C.E. This appendix of 884 verses appeared in the second Chinese translation of 513 C.E. “With one thought as cause and another as condition, so things evolve, and once a particular idea is born, on it proceeds through the cycle of samsara. All things are like maya, a dream, the Gandharvas’ city. One should know that it’s down to our own discrimination appearing like a mirage or a reflection of the moon in water. By detachment from habitual behaviour we may find suchness and the right knowledge that is based on it.” (Translation from the sanskrit by Phillip Medhurst). The Sagathakam is spoken by a Buddha who predates Buddha Shakyamuni. He says: “I teach the dharma in order to guide sentient beings to nirvana’s safe haven. My mother is Vasumati, my father Prajapati the sage. I belong to the Katyayana clan, and my name is Viraja Jina. In obedience to my vows I shall become a wandering mendicant expounding the doctrine in a thousand ways.”Anyone interested in Zen should read this text. The Lankavatara Sutra is the foundational Sutra of Yogacara (mind-only) Buddhism; these verses contain all the salient teaching in the Sutra, and more besides. Debate will continue as to its relationship with the larger text; there are strong arguments for it being an independent composition which pre-dates the prose of the Lankavatara, composed in verse to assist oral transmission. The translator Phillip Medhurst (a former Christian minister) has established a sound reputation for interpreting Buddhism to western audiences; his translations of the Shurangama Mantra and the Prajna-vara-Paramitaya Carya (believed to be the core text of the Prajnaparamita literature) are also available from Amazon. Read more