Ananda and Modenca lady was brought back to the Assembly
Feeling remorse about almost breaking the monastic precepts when the Modenca lady cast the spell upon Ananda
With Pure Kamma , Ananda request the Buddha to teach him the Mind-ground of all Buddhas
the 3 sutra which is very much emphasis in Chinese Chan Buddhism by periods
Lankavatatara (before Tang Dynasty ) -> Diamond Sutra (During Tang Dynasty especially Patriach Hui Neng -> Shurangama Sung Dynasty Sung Dynasty to Ching Dynasty
Shurangama mean the illuminous Mind-grounds of all Buddha , Great Wisdom and away from Humanly desire of sexual experience
Thus begin the first exploration of Shurangama sutra
any question ?
http://www.purifymind.com/ShurangamaSutra.htm
In fact shurangama sutra is for the monks and nuns to recite as it is the powerful sutra to dispel our root cause of samsara - carnal desire
It is said that ,if we not heavily bound by Emotion and sexual desire ,we wont be reborn in Saha world
Indeed Sexual desire and actions is one that keep us suffering in the human ,animal realms
Sutra of the Foremost Shurangama at the Great Buddha's Summit Concerning the Tathgata's Secret Cause of Cultivation, His Certification to the Complete Meaning and all Bodhisattvas' Myriad Practices.
· Translated during the T'ang Dynasty by Shramana Paramiti from Central India.
· Reviewed by Shramana Meghashikara from Udyana.
· Certified By Shramana Huai Ti from Nan Lo Monastery on Lo Fu Mountain.
· Edited by Bodhisattva-precepts Disciple Fang Yung of Ching He, former Censor of State, and concurrently Attendent and Minister, and Court Regulator.
Tathagata secret cause of cultivation - becos the Tathagatha practise in secret which is not revealed on extinguishing carnal desire in the causal ground
Out of Compassion ,tathagatha teaches the whole assembly
In the Bodhisattva Myriad Practise - 25 Bodhisattva arose to mention their
practice , the 18 method via the 5 skandhas
Shurangama is the Mirror to show the true face of Mara and all deviant practitioner of modern times
It show the way to avoid the wrong path ,which wrong path will plunge into hell for ego and lies to the sentient beings
Deviant Practitioner made Great Lies about their attainment and is heavy in karma
The Buddha said to Ananda, "It is as you say, that experience of delight actually occurs because of your mind and eyes. If you do not know where your mind and eyes are, you will not be able to conquer the wearisome dust.
"For example, when a King's country is invaded by thieves and he sends out his troops to suppress and banish them. The troops must know where the thieves are.
"It is the fault of your mind and eyes that you flow and turn. I am asking you specifically about your mind and eyes: Where are they now?"
Ananda said to the Buddha, "World Honored One, all the ten kinds of living beings in the world alike maintain that the conscious mind dwells within the body; and as I regard the Tathagata's blue lotus-flower eyes, they too are on the Buddha's face.
I now observe that these prominent organs, four kinds of defiling objects, are on my face, and so, too, my conscious mind actually is within my body."
The Buddha said to Ananda, " You are now sitting in the Tathagata's lecture hall looking at the Jeta Grove. Where is it at present?"
"World Honored One, this great many-storied pure lecture hall is in the Garden of the Benefactor of the Solitary. At present the Jeta Grove is in fact outside the hall."
In this section, Buddha points out slowly the need to find out the culprit of the monkey mind ,and nab it so as to held it under leash, so one will not create bad karma and leads to disaster
“Thus” satisfies the Fulfillment of Faith. All sutras spoken by the Buddha begin with the Six Fulfillments:
the Fulfillment of Faith;
the Fulfillment of Hearing;
the Fulfillment of Time;
the Fulfillment of a Host – one who speaks the Dharma;
the Fulfillment of a Place; and,
the Fulfillment of an Audience.
fulfilment is categorisation by tientai Buddhism
http://www.shurangama.com/Buddhism-Sanskrit-Sutra-Shastra-Tripitaka/Thus_I_Have_Heard_Buddhist_Sutra_Commentary.htm#Ayurvedic-Distance-Learning-Article-Top
3. To resolve the assemblyÂ’s disputes.
The Buddha had many disciples who were old cultivators – senior members of the assembly who had much more Way-virtue than Ananda. Ananda had just recently attained the fourth stage of Arhatship, while among the assembly were many who had long been fourth-stage Arhats. If Ananda had simply spoken the sutras, most of them would not have paid him due respect. But by saying “Thus I have heard,” he made it clear that what they were about to hear was not a sutra spoken by Ananda himself, but rather a sutra he heard the Buddha speak. Therefore, no one could argue.
in chinese we refer to it as leng yan
this is a simplified name , as chinese culture tends to abbreviated alot of sutra titles
the actual name is shou leng yan (shurangama )
and the whole sutra should be called Da fo ding shou leng yan ,ru lai mi ying jing
full information from wikipedia can be found here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shurangama_Sutra