Zen Three Scriptures

Author: Li Yingwu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: This book is composed of the Lengye Jing (Lankavatara Sutra), the Jingang Jing (Diamond Sutra), and the Weimojie Jing (Vimalakirti Nirde?a Sutra).
The Lengye Jing takes the meaning of "separating names and eliminating phenomena" as its core, with the purpose of "illusion has no nature." It presents the teachings of five factors, three natures, eight consciousnesses, and two non-selflessness, establishing the theoretical foundation for the Mahayana Yogācāra school. It embodies self-awareness of sages and uses the method of refuting minor errors to distinguish right from wrong.
The Jingang Jing elucidates the principle of "no self in all phenomena." It is divided into two parts. Monk Zhuo said the first half expounds the emptiness of living beings, while the second half discusses the emptiness of phenomena. The wise man and Ji Zang argued that the first half was spoken to the audience of the first session, while the second half was for the audience of the second session; the first half was for those with sharp roots, while the second half was for those with dull roots.
The Weimojie Jing promotes the Mahayana Praj?ā (wisdom) thought, criticizes the one-sidedness of the Hinayana school, and is traditionally called "refuting partiality and praising completeness." If the Praj?ā Jing reflects how one should return from the transcendent world to the human world, thus promoting the spirit of ascetic bodhisattvas like Tanwujie, then the Weimojie Jing reflects how Buddhists should regard the worldly as the transcendent, thereby creating the image of a Vimalakīrti-style lay bodhisattva and pioneering the so-called "lay Buddhist movement."
This book includes three classic texts of Buddhist Chan (Zen) school: the Lengye Abhadharmārtha-ratnāvalī Sutra, the Jingang Praj?āpāramitā Sutra, and the Weimojie Suoyu Jing.