New Dunhuang Version Six Patriarchs Platform Sutra

Author: Yang Zengwen
Editor:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-05-01
Features: In Chinese Buddhism, Chan (Zen) is one of the most nationally distinctive sects. The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (Liu Zu Tan Jing), which records the life and teachings of Huineng (638-713), is the only Buddhist text revered as a "sutra" in Chinese Buddhist literature. It is a foundational scripture for Chan, advocating that all people are born with the same nature as the Buddha and can achieve liberation as long as they self-realize and have confidence, as expressed in the phrase "know the mind, see the nature, and become a Buddha on one's own." This book is divided into three parts: first, a collated edition of the Dunhuang new manuscript of the Platform Sutra; second, appendices including the Song Dynasty Huixin edition of the Platform Sutra discovered in Japan's Dapeng Temple, as well as various important documents and materials related to Huineng and the Platform Sutra; third, a lengthy essay discussing the Platform Sutra and its philosophy.