The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (Volume 1, Volume 2)

Author: (Tang) Huineng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-08-01
Features: Since the introduction of Buddhism during the period between the Han and Jin dynasties, a large number of Buddhist scriptures were translated and introduced to China. According to Buddhist tradition, only works that record the teachings of the Buddha, Sakyamuni, are called "Sutras," with one exception—Huineng, a monk from the Tang Dynasty. His teachings were later compiled by his followers and titled the "Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch." Huineng (638–713), also known as Huigen, was of the secular surname Lu. His ancestral home was Fanyang (capital now in southwest Beijing), and he was born in Xinxing, Nanhai (now part of Guangdong). In his youth, he studied Zen under the fifth patriarch Hongren and, due to his verse, "The Bodhi tree is fundamentally without branches, the bright mirror is also not a platform; originally there is nothing, where can dust be attached?" he was recognized by Hongren, entrusted with the robe and bowl, and became the sixth patriarch of Zen. Later, he taught at the Baolin Temple in Caoxi, Shaoguan, establishing the Southern School of Zen and promoting its teachings. The "Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch" is formally titled the "Platform Sutra of the Master Huineng's Dharma," abbreviated as the "Platform Sutra," and consists of one volume, compiled by Huineng's disciple Fazhan. It argues based on the principle that "the mind-nature is inherently pure" and promotes the idea of "seeing the mind and realizing the nature," advocating the abandonment of external texts and the direct pointing to the mind, achieving enlightenment instantly. This greatly advanced the spread of Buddhism. The position of Zen in the history of Chinese Buddhism was thus established.