Shurangama Mantra

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Illustration of the Śūraṅgama Mantra's "Heart Mantra" (hṛdaya): Oṃ anale anale viśade viśade vīra vajradhare bandha bandhani vajrapāṇi phaṭ hūṃ trūṃ phaṭ svāhā.
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The Shurangama or Śūraṅgama mantra is a

dhāraṇī or long mantra of Buddhist practice in East Asia. Although relatively unknown in modern Tibet, there are several Śūraṅgama Mantra texts in the Tibetan Buddhist canon. It has strong associations with the Chinese Chan Buddhist
tradition.

The mantra was, according to the opening chapter of the

Ananda before he had become an arhat. It was again spoken by the Buddha before an assembly of monastic
and lay adherents. [2]

Like the popular six-syllable mantra "

Five Tathagatas, especially Bhaisajyaguru
. It is often used for protection or purification, as it is often recited as part of the daily morning session in monasteries.

Within the Śūraṅgama Sūtra , the Sanskrit incantation (variously referred to as

dhāraṇī or mantra) contained therein, is known as the Sitātapatroṣṇīṣa dhāraṇī, The "Śūraṅgama mantra" (Chinese: 楞嚴咒) is well-known and popularly chanted in East Asian Buddhism, where it is very much related to the practice of the "White Parasol Dhāraṇī" (Chinese: 大白傘蓋陀羅尼) of Sitatapatra. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is the "White Umbrella" (Wylie: gdugs dkar).[citation needed
].

History

In 168-179 CE, the Gandharan monk Lokakṣema arrives in Han China and translates the Śūraṅgama Sūtra into Classical Chinese.

The currently popular version of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra and Śūraṅgama mantra were

Oddiyana after Empress Regnant Wu Zetian
retired in the year 705.

The Śūraṅgama mantra was promoted and popularised by the Chan monk Hsuan Hua in North America and the Sinophone world, who valued it as fundamental to Buddhism's existence.

Commentary

The dhāraṇī is often seen as having magical apotropaic powers. It is associated with the deity Sitātapatra, a protector against supernatural dangers and evil beings.[3] According to the Chan Buddhist monk Venerable Hsuan Hua, the dhāraṇī contains five major divisions, which "control the vast demon armies of the five directions":[4]

  • In the East is the Vajra Division, hosted by Akṣobhya
  • In the South, the Jewel-creating Division, hosted by Ratnasaṃbhava
  • In the center, the Buddha Division, hosted by Vairocana
  • In the West, the Lotus Division, hosted by Amitābha
  • In the North, the Karma Division, hosted by Amoghasiddhi

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Śūraṅgama Sūtra Translation Committee of the Buddhist Text Translation Society, 2009, p. xviii.
  2. ^ Śūraṅgama Sūtra Translation Committee of the Buddhist Text Translation Society, 2009, p. xviii.
  3. ^ Shaw, Miranda. Buddhist Goddesses of India. Princeton University Press, Aug 25, 2015.
  4. ^ Hua 1975.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yamantaka.
  • Hsuan Hua. "The Shurangama Mantra -- The Efficacious Language of Heaven and Earth". Professor Ron Epstein's Online Educational Resources.
  • [1] and [2] and [3] The Śūraṅgama Sūtra Translation Committee of the Buddhist Text Translation Society. (2009). The Śūraṅgama Sūtra: With Excerpts from the Commentary by the Venerable Master Hsüan Hua: A New Translation. Ukiah, CA, USA: Buddhist Text Translation Society.
    ISBN 978-0-88139-962-2
    .
  • "Common Bonding Practices for the Buddha Families". studybuddhism.com.
  • Recitation of the Shurangama Mantra, Master Chan Yun (audio)
  • The Shurangama Mantra (Mahā-tathāgatoṣṇīṣa-śūraṃgama-mantra)
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