Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra (One of The Most Important Texts of Mahayana Buddhism in Which Almost all Its Principal Tenets are Presented Including the Teaching of Zen)

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The Lankavatara Sutra is a prominent Mahayana Buddhist text. The Sutra draws upon the concepts and doctrines of Yogacara and Buddha-nature. In this book ‘Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra’, the author has studied the association of Lankavatara with Japanese Zen Buddhism and Chinese Chan Buddhism, with more emphasis on popular Zen. The Nepalese Buddhists also consider ‘The Lankavatara Sutra’ as one of the nine canonical texts. The author has written the book in a systematic manner and has also included a Sanskrit-Chinese-English glossary for the benefit of scholars and students, enhancing the book for the general readers interested in this text.

Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki was a well known Buddhist scholar, known for his important publications on Zen Buddhism. He was a professor at Otani University, Japan. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1963.

While preparing a second series of Essays in Zen Bud dhism, the author thought it desirable for the reader to know something more about the Lankavatara than had been sketched out in the First Series To do this he had to study the sutra more thoroughly, and as he was doing so, his interest in it grew stronger and wider. Then, he came to the conclusion that his study of the Lankavatara might be published independently and even prior to the second series of Zen Essays. The result is this book now before the reader.

The Lankavatara is a Mahayana text difficult in more than one way to understand perfectly as to its meaning and also in its proper historical setting. But its importance as giving most of the fundamental tenets of Mahayana Buddhism has urged the author to publish whatever results he has gained so far in his study. They are no doubt short of being quite satisfactory from a strictly scholarly point of view, but the author's earnest wish is to open the way, if he could so hope, for further study and more thorough going investigation of the text. Mahayana Buddhism is just beginning to be known in the West As to the appreciation of its full significance we have to wait patiently for some years yet to come.

1. THE CHINESE AND THE TIBETAN TRANSLATIONS The Lankavatara Sutra is one of the nine principal Mahayana texts in Nepalese Buddhism; in China and Japan it also occupies an important position in the philosophy of Mahayana Buddhism as containing the doctrines of Mind only, Tathagata-garbha, and Alayavijnana, and again in the literature of Zen Buddhism. The study of the sutra, how ever, owing to various reasons has not been very popular. The publication of the Sanskrit text in 1923 by the late Dr. Bunyu Nanjo has evidently revived the general interest in it though to a limited extent. The full title of the sutra in Sanskrit reads:

which, liberally translated, means "A Mahayana sutra called Lankavatara containing the noble orthodox teaching of Buddhism." Lankavatara literally is "entering into Lanka" while Lanka is one of the islands in the south of India. It is popularly identified with Ceylon, but scholars are not quite certain about it. "Entering" probably refers to the Buddha's coming over to the island. The sutra is supposed to have been delivered by the Buddha while staying there. The dialogue takes place between him and Mahamati who is the chief one of the Bodhisattvas assembled there. It is unusual for a Buddhist sutra to be delivered in such an out-of-the-way place as Lanka, a solitary island in the middle of the ocean. Compared, however, with the The Avatamsaka which was given partly in mythical heavens, the Lanka has a more earthy foundation even when it is re garded as preached for the benefit of Ravana, Overlord of the Rakshasas.

**Contents and Sample Pages**