The Lankavatara Sutra A Mahayana Text

Translated for the first time from

the original Sanskrit by

Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki

☸ CONTENTS

Preface xi Introduction xiii CHAPTER ONE. RAVANA, LORD OF LANKA, ASKS FOR INSTRUCTION 3 (1)* CHAPTER TWO. COLLECTION OF ALL THE DHARMAS 22 (22) § I. Mahamati Praises the Buddha with Verses 22 (22) § II. Mahamati's "One Hundred and Eight Questions" 23 (23) § III. "The One Hundred and Eight Negations" 31 (34) § IV. Concerning the Vijnanas 33 (37) § V. Seven Kinds of Self-nature (svabhava) 35 (39) § VI. Seven Kinds of First Principle (paramartha), and the Philosophers' Wrong Views regarding the Mind Rejected 35 (39) § VII. Erroneous Views held by Some Brahmans and Sramanas Concerning Causation, Continuation, etc.; The Buddhist Views Concerning Such Subjects as Alayavijnana, Nirvana, Mind-only, etc.; Attainments of the Bodhisattva 36 (40) § VIII. The Bodhisattva's Discipling himself in Self-realisation 39 (43) § IX. The Evolution and Function of the Vijnanas; The Spiritual Discipline of the Bodhisattva; Verses on the Alaya-ocean and Vijnana-waves 39 (43) § X. The Bodhisattva is to Understand the Signification of Mind-only 44 (49) § XI(a). The Three Aspects of Noble Wisdom (aryajnana) 44 (49) § XI(b). The Attainment of the Tathagatakaya 45 (50) § XII. Logic on the Hare's Horns 46 (51) § XIII. Verses on the Alayavijnana and Mind-only 49 (54) § XIV. Purification of the Outflows, Instantaneous and Gradual 49 (55) § XV. Nishyanda-Buddha, Dharmata-Buddha, and Nirmana-Buddha 51 (56) § XVI. The Sravaka's Realisation and Attachment to the Notion of Self-nature 52 (58) § XVII. The Eternal-Unthinkable 53 (59) § XVIII. Nirvana and Alayavijnana 55 (61) § XIX. All Things are Unborn 55 (62) § XX. The Five Classes of Spiritual Insight 56 (63) § XXI. Verses on the Triple Vehicle 58 (65) § XXII. Two Classes of the Icchantika 58 (65) § XXIII. The Three Forms of Svabhava 59 (67) § XXIV. The Twofold Egolessness (nairatmyadvaya-lakshana) 60 (68) § XXV. Assertion and Refutation (samaropapavada) 62 (70) § XXVI. The Bodhisattva Assumes Various Personalities 64 (72) § XXVII. On Emptiness (sunyata), No-birth, and Non-duality 65 (73) § XXVIII. The Tathagata-Garbha and the Ego-soul 68 (77) § XXIX. A Verse on the Philosophers' Discriminations 70 (79) § XXX. The Four Things Needed for the Constitution of Bodhisattvahood 70 (79) § XXXI. On Causation (Six Kinds), and the Rise of Existence 72 (82) § XXXII. Four Forms of Word-discrimination 75 (85) § XXXIII. On Word and Discrimination and the Highest Reality 76 (86) § XXXIV. Verses on Reality and its Representations 77 (88) § XXXV. Mind-only, Multitudinousness, and Analogies, with an Interpolation on the Dualistic Notion of Existence 78 (88) § XXXVI. The Teaching (dharmadesana) of the Tathagatas 84 (96) § XXXVII. Four Kinds of Dhyana 85 (97) § XXXVIII. On Nirvana 86 (98) § XXXIX. Two Characteristics of Self-nature 87 (99) § XL. Two Kinds of the Buddha's Sustaining Power (adhishthana) 87 (100) § XLI. On the Chain of Causation (pratityasamutpada) 90 (103) § XLII. Words (abhilapa) and Realities (bhava) 91 (104) § XLIII. On Eternality of Sound (nityasabda), the Nature of Error (bhranta), and Perversion (viparyasa) 92 (106) § XLIV. On the Nature of Maya 95 (109) § XLV. That All Things are Unborn 96 (110) § XLVI. On Name, Sentence, Syllable, and Their Meaning 97 (112) § XLVII. On Inexplicable Statements (vyakritani) 98 (114) § XLVIII. All Things are and are not (Verses on Four Forms of Explanation) 99 (115) § XLIX. On the Sravakas, Srotaapanna, Sakridagamin, Anagamin, and Arhat; on the Three Knots (samyojani) 100 (116) § L. The Intellect (buddhi), Examining and Discrimnating 105 (122) § LI. The Elements, Primary and Secondary 106 (123) § LII. The Five Skandhas 107 (124) § LIII. Four Kinds of Nirvana and the Eight Vijnanas 108 (126) § LIV. The False Imagination Regarding Twelve Subjects 110 (127) § LV. Verses on the Citta, Parikalpita, Paratantra, and Parinishpanna 112 (130) § LVI. The One Vehicle and the Triple Vehicle 114 (133) CHAPTER THREE. ON IMPERMANENCY 118 (136) § LVII. Three Forms of the Will-body (manomayakaya) 118 (136) § LVIII. The Five Immediacies (pancanantaryani); Desire as Mother and Ignorance as Father 120 (138) § LIX. The Buddha-nature (buddhata) 122 (140) § LX. The Identity (samata) of Buddhahood and its Four Aspects 122 (141) § LXI. Not a Word Uttered by the Buddha; Self-realisation and an Eternally-abiding Reality 123 (142) § LXII. On Being and Non-Being; Realism and Nihilism 125 (144) § LXIII. Realisation and Word-teaching 127 (147) § LXIV. Discrimination, an External World, Dualism, and Attachment 129 (149) § LXV. The Relation between Words (ruta) and Meaning (artha) 133 (154) § LXVI. On Knowledge, Absolute (jnana) and Relative (vijnana) 135 (156) § LXVII. Nine Transformations (parinama) 137 (158) § LXVIII. The Deep-seated Attachment to Existence 138 (160) § LXIX. Self-nature, Reality, Imagination, Truth of Solitude, etc 141 (163) § LXX. The Thesis of No-birth 144 (166) § LXXI. True Knowledge and Ignorance 146 (169) § LXXII. Self-realisation and the Discoursing on it 148 (171) § LXXIII. On the Lokayatika 149 (173) § LXXIV. Various Views of Nirvana 157 (182) § LXXV. Is Tathagatahood Something Made? Its Relation to the Skandhas, to Emancipation, to Knowledge 161 (187) § LXXVI. The Tathagata Variously Designated; Relation Between Words and Meaning; Not a Word Uttered by the Buddha 164 (191) § LXXVII. Causation, No-birth, Self-mind, Nirvana 170 (197) § LXXVIII. Verses on No-birth and Causation 172 (200) § LXXIX. Various Views of Impermanency 176 (204) CHAPTER FOUR. ON INTUITIVE UNDERSTANDING 182 (211) § LXXX. Perfect Tranquillisation Attained by Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Bodhisattvas; Stages of Bodhisattvahood 182 (211) CHAPTER FIVE. ON THE DEDUCTION OF THE PERMANENCY OF TATHAGATAHOOD 187 (217) § LXXXI. Permanency of Tathagatahood 187 (217) CHAPTER SIX. ON MOMENTARINESS 190 (220) § LXXXII. The Tathagata-garbha and the Alayavijnana 190 (220) § LXXXIII. The Five Dharmas, and Their Relation to the Three Svabhavas 193 (224) § LXXXIV. The Five Dharmas 197 (228) § LXXXV. Tathagata and Sands of the Ganga 198 (229) § LXXXVI. Momentariness; the Eight Vijnanas 202 (234) § LXXXVII. Three Kinds of the Paramitas 204 (236) § LXXXVIII. Views on Momentariness; Discrimination 206 (238) CHAPTER SEVEN. ON TRANSFORMATION 207 (240) § LXXXIX. On Transformation 207 (240) CHAPTER EIGHT. ON MEAT-EATING 211 (244) CHAPTER NINE. THE DHARANIS 223 (260) SAGATHAKAM 226 (264) APPENDIX 297

(Rev. 2)

PREFACE

It is more than seven years now since I began the study of the Lankavatara Sutra quite seriously, but owing to various interruptions I have not been able to carry out my plan as speedily as I wished. My friends in different fields of life have been kind and generous in various ways, and I now send out to the perusal of the English-reading public this humble work of mine. There are yet many difficult and obscure passages in the Sutra, which I have been unable to unravel to my own satisfaction. All such imperfections are to be corrected by competent scholars. I shall be fully content if I have made the understanding of this significant Mahayana text easier than before, even though this may be only to a very slight degree. In China Buddhist scholars profoundly learned and endowed with spiritual insights made three or four attempts extending over a period of about two hundred and fifty years to give an intelligible rendering of the Lankavatara. It goes without saying that these have helped immensely the present translator. May his also prove a stepping board however feeble towards a fuller interpretation of the Sutra!

The present English translation is based on the Sanskrit edition of Bunyu Nanjo's published by the Otani University Press in 1923.

I am most grateful to Mr Dwight Goddard of Thetford, Vermont, U. S. A., who again helped me by typing the entire manuscript of the present book. To Assist me in this way was indeed part of the object of his third visit to this side of the Pacific. Says Confucius, "Is it not delightful to have a friend come from afar?" The saying applies most appropriately, to this case.

It was fortunate for the writer that he could secure the support and help of the Keimeikwai, a corporation organised to help research work of scholars in various fields of culture; for without it his work might have dragged on yet for some time to come. There is so much to be accomplished before he has to appear at the court of Emma Daiwo, to whom he could say, "Here is my work; humble though it is, I have tried to do my part to the full extent of my power." The writer renders his grateful acknowledgment here to all the advisers of the Society who kindly voted for the speedy culmination of this literary task—a task which he tenderly wishes would do something towards a better appreciation by the West of the sources of Eastern life and culture.

Whatever literary work the present author is able to put before the reader, he cannot pass on without mentioning in it the name of his good, unselfish, public-minded Buddhist friend, Yakichi Ataka, who is always willing to help him in every possible way. If not for him, the author could never have carried out his plans to the extent he has so far accomplished. Materially, no visible results can be expected of this kind of undertaking, and yet a scholar has his worldly needs to meet. Unless we create one of these fine days an ideal community in which every member of it can put forth all his or her natural endowments and moral energies in the direction best fitted to develop them and in the way most useful to all other members generally and individually, many obstacles are sure to bar the passage of those who would attempt things of no commercial value. Until then, Bodhisattvas of all kinds are sorely needed everywhere. And is this not the teaching of the Lankavatara Sutra, which in its English garb now lies before his friend as well as all other readers?

Thanks are also due to the writer's wife who went over the whole manuscript to give it whatever literary improvement it possesses, to Mr Hokei Idzumi who gave helpful suggestions in the reading of the original text, and to Professor Yenga Teramoto for his ungrudging cooperation along the line of Tibetan knowledge.

Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki

Kyoto, November, 1931 (the sixth year of Showa)

INTRODUCTION

For those who have already read my Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra1, no special words are needed here. But to those who are not yet quite familiar with the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism an expository introduction to the principal theses of the Lanka may be welcome. Without something of preliminary knowledge as to what the Sutra proposes to teach, it will be difficult to comprehend the text intelligently. For thoughts of deep signification are presented in a most unsystematic manner. As I said in my Studies, the Lanka is a memorandum kept by a Mahayana master, in which he put down perhaps all the teachings of importance accepted by the Mahayana followers of his day. He apparently did not try to give them any order, and it is possible that the later redactors were not very careful in keeping faithfully whatever order there was in the beginning, thus giving the text a still more disorderly appearance. The introduction that follows may also serve as one to Mahayana Buddhism generally.

I

The Classification of Beings

From the Mahayana point of view, beings are divisible into two heads: those that are enlightened and those that are ignorant. The former are called Buddhas including also Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and Pratyekabuddhas while the latter comprise all the rest of beings under the general designation of bala or balaprithagjana—bala meaning "undeveloped", "puerile", or "ignorant", and prithagjana "people different" from the enlightened, that is, the multitudes, or people of ordinary type, whose minds are found engrossed in the pursuit of egotistic pleasures and unawakened to the meaning of life. This class is also known as Sarvasattva, "all beings" or sentient beings. The Buddha wants to help the ignorant, hence the Buddhist teaching and discipline.

1 Published by George Routledge and Sons, London. 1930. Pp. xxxii+464.

The Buddha

All the Buddhist teachings unfold themselves around the conception of Buddhahood. When this is adequately grasped, Buddhist philosophy with all its complications and superadditions will become luminous. What is the Buddha?

According to Mahamati the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva, who is the interlocutor of the Buddha in the Lanka, the Buddha is endowed with transcendental knowledge (prajna) and a great compassionate heart (karuna). With the former he realises that this world of particulars has no reality, is devoid of an ego-substance (anatman) and that in this sense it resembles Maya or a visionary flower in the air. As thus it is above the category of being and non-being, it is declared to be pure (visuddha) and absolute (vivikta) and free from conditions (animitta). But the Buddha's transcendental wisdom is not always abiding in this high altitude, because being instigated by an irresistible power which innerly pushes him back into a region of birth and death, he comes down among us and lives with us, who are ignorant and lost in the darkness of the passions (klesa). Nirvana is not the ultimate abode of Buddhahood, nor is enlightenment. Love and compassion is what essentially constitutes the self-nature of the All-knowing One (sarvajna).

The Buddha as Love

The Buddha's love is not something ego-centered. It is a will-force which desires and acts in the realm of twofold egolessness, it is above the dualism of being and non-being, it rises from a heart of non-discrimination, it manifests itself in the conduct of purposelessness (anabhogacarya). It is the Tathagata's great love (mahakaruna) of all beings, which never ceases until everyone of them is happily led to the final asylum of Nirvana; for he refuses as long as there is a single unsaved soul to enjoy the bliss of Samadhi to which he is entitled by his long spiritual discipline. The Tathagata is indeed the one who, endowed with a heart of all-embracing love and compassion, regards all beings as if they were his only child. If he himself enters into Nirvana, no work will be done in the world where discrimination (vtkalpa) goes on and multitudinousness (vicitrata) prevails. For this reason, he refuses to leave this world of relativity, all his thoughts are directed towards the ignorant and suffering masses of beings, for whom he is willing to sacrifice his enjoyment of absolute reality and self-absorption (samadhi-sukhabhutakotya vinivarya).

Skilful Means

The essential nature of love is to devise, to create, to accommodate itself to varying changing circumstances, and to this the Buddha's love is no exception. He is ever devising for the enlightenment and emancipation of all sentient beings. This is technically known as the working of Skilful Means (upayakausalya). Upaya is the outcome of Prajna and Karuna. When Love worries itself over the destiny of the ignorant, Wisdom, so to speak, weaves a net of Skilful Means whereby to catch them up from the depths of the ocean called Birth-and-Death (samsara). By Upaya thus the oneness of reality wherein the Buddha's enlightened mind abides transforms itself into the manifoldness of particular existences.

There is a gem known as Mani which is perfectly transparent and colourless in itself, and just because of this characteristic it reflects in it varieties of colours (vicitra-rupa). In the same way the Buddha is conceived by beings; in the same way his teaching is interpreted by them; that is, each one recognises the Buddha and his teaching according to his disposition (asaya), understanding (citta), prejudice (anusaya), propensity (adhimukti), and circumstance (gati). Again, the Buddha treats his fellow-beings as an expert physician treats his patients suffering from various forms of illness. The ultimate aim is to cure them, but as ailments differ medicines and treatments cannot be the same. For this reason it is said that the Buddha speaks one language of enlightenment, which reverberates in the ears of his hearers in all possible sounds. Upaya may thus be considered in a way due to the infinite differentiation of individual characters rather than to the deliberate contrivance of transcendental wisdom on the part of the Buddha.

One Buddha with Many Names

All the Buddhas are of one essence, they are the same as far as their inner enlightenment, their Dharmakaya, and their being furnished with the thirty-two major and the eighty minor marks of excellence are concerned. But when they wish to train beings according to their characters, they assume varieties of forms appearing differently to different beings, and thus there are many titles and appellations of the Buddha as to be beyond calculation (asamkhyeya).

One noteworthy fact about this—the Buddha's assuming so many names, is that he is not only known in various personal names but also given a number of abstract titles such as No-birth, Emptiness, Suchness, Reality, Nirvana, Eternity, Sameness, Trueness, Cessation, etc. The Buddha is thus personal as well as metaphysical.

The Lanka here does not forget to add that though the Buddha is known by so many different names, he is thereby neither fattened nor emaciated, as he is like the moon in water neither immersed nor emerging. This simile is generally regarded as best describing the relation of unity and multiplicity, of one absolute reality and this world of names and forms.

Transformation-bodies of the Buddha

While the Trikaya dogma is not yet fully developed in the Lanka, each member of the trinity is treaceable in such ideas as Dharmata-buddha, Vipaka-buddha, and Nirmana-buddha. The notion of the transformation-body inevitably follows from the Buddha's desire to save the ignorant whose minds are not enlightened enough to see straightway into the essence of Buddhahood. As they are not clear-sighted, something is to be devised to lead them to the right path, and this something must be in accord with their mentalities. If not, they are sure to go astray farther and farther. If they are not capable of grasping Buddhata as it is, let them have something of it and gradually be developed. The theory of Upaya (skilful means) is also the theory of Manomayakaya, will-body. As the incarnation of a great compassionate heart, the Buddha ought to be able to take any form he wishes when he sees the sufferings of sentient beings. The will-body is a part of the Buddha's plan of world-salvation. This is one of the reasons why Buddhism is often regarded as polytheistic and at the same time pantheistic.

The Bodhisattva and His Ten Vows

In Mahayana Buddhism the Buddha is not the only agent who is engaged in the work of enlightening or saving the world. While he is able to transform himself into as many forms as are required by sentient beings, he is also assisted by his followers or "sons" (putra, suta, or aurasa) as they are called in the Mahayana sutras. Bodhisattvas are thus the sons of the Buddha and apply themselves most arduously and most assiduously to the cause of Buddhism. In fact, the actual work of world-salvation, we can say, is carried on by these spiritual soldiers under the leadership of the Buddha. The latter is sometimes felt to be too remote, too serene, too superhuman, and his sight is often lost in the midst of our worldly struggles. But the Bodhisattva is always with us, and ever ready to be our confidant, for he is felt by us to share the same passions, impulses, and aspirations which are such great disturbing, though ennobling too, forces of our human life.

To state the truth, sentient beings are all Bodhisattvas, however ignorant and ready to err they may be. They are all Jinaputras, the sons of the Victorious, and harbour in themselves every possibility of attaining enlightenment. The Bodhisattvas who have gone up successively all the rungs of the Bhumi ladder, and who are thus capable of extending their help over us, are really our own brethren. Therefore, Mahamati of the Lanka opens his questions generally with this: "I and other Bodhisattvas, etc." Mahamati is our mouthpiece voicing our wants and aspirations.

Thus is not the place to consider historically how the conception evolved in Buddhism whose primitive object seems to have consisted in the realisation of Arhatship. But we can state this that the essence of Bodhisattvahood is an unequivocal affirmation of the social, altruistic nature of humankind. Whatever enlightenment one gains, it must be shared by one's fellow-beings. This idea is classically expressed in the Mahayana by the so-called "Ten Vows of Samantabhadra". The Bodhisattva is a man of "inexhaustible vows'' (dasanishthapada). Without these he is not himself. To save the world, to bring all his fellow-beings up to the same level of thought and feeling where he himself is, and not to rest, not to enter into Nirvana until this is accomplished, how infinitely long and how inexpressively arduous the task may be. This is the Bodhisattva. Vowing to save all beings, which is technically known as Purva-pranidhana in Mahayana terminology, cannot even for a moment be separated from the life of the Bodhisattva.

The Buddha being surrounded by these noble-minded sons cannot fail finally to release all beings from the bondage of karma and ignorance and thirst for life. With this in view, he is always inspiring the Bodhisattvas with his sovereign power (prabhava) and sustaining (adhishthana) them in their efforts to bring enlightenment in the whole triple world.

The Ignorant

Life as it is lived by most of us is a painful business, for we have to endure much in various ways. Our desires are thwarted, our wishes are crushed, and the worst is that we do not know how to get out of this whirlpool of greed, anger, and infatuation. We are at the extreme end of existence opposed to that of the Buddha. How can we leap over the abyss and reach the other shore?

The Mahayana diagnosis of the conditions in which all sentient beings are placed is that they are all nursed by desire (trishna) as mother who is Accompanied by pleasure (nandi) and anger (raga), while ignorance (avidya) is father. To be cured of the disease, therefore, they must put an end to the continuous activities of this dualistic poisoning. When this is done, there is a state called emancipation (vimoksha) which is full of bliss. The Buddhist question is thus: "How is emancipation possible?" And here rises the Mahayana system of philosophy.

The Turning back (paravritti)

To this philosophy, a special paragraph is devoted below. I wish here to say a few words concerning the important psychological event known as Paravritti in the Lanka and other Mahayana literature. Paravritti literally means "turning up" or "turning back" or "change"; technically, it is a spiritual change or transformation which takes place in the mind, especially suddenly, and I have called it "revulsion" in my Studies in the Lankavatara, which, it will be seen, somewhat corresponds to what is known as "conversion" among the psychological students of religion.

It is significant that the Mahayana has been insistent to urge its followers to experience this psychological transformation in their practical life. A mere intellectual understanding of the truth is not enough in the life of a Buddhist; the truth must be directly grasped, personally experienced, intuitively penetrated into; for then it will be distilled into life and determine its course.

This Paravritti, according to the Lanka, takes place in the Alaya-vijnana or All-conserving Mind, which is assumed to exist behind our individual empirical consciousnesses. The Alaya is a metaphysical entity, and no psychological analysis can reach it. What we ordinarily know as the Alaya is its working through a relative mind The Mahayana calls this phase of the Alaya tainted or defiled (klishta) and tells us to be cleansed of it in order to experience a Paravritti for the attainment of ultimate reality.

Paravritti in another sense, therefore, is purification (visuddhi). In Buddhism terms of colouring are much used, and becoming pure, free from all pigment, means that the Alaya is thoroughly washed off its dualistic accretion or outflow (asrava), that is, that the Tathagata has effected his work of purification in the mind of a sentient being, which has so far failed to perceive its own oneness and allness. Being pure is to remain in its own selfhood or self-nature (svabhava). While Paravritti is psychological, it still retains its intellectual flavour as most Buddhist terms do.

Self-discipline and the Buddha's Power

As long as Paravritti is an experience and not mere understanding, it is evident that self-discipline plays an important role in the Buddhist life. This is insisted upon in the Lanka as is illustrated in the use of such phrases as "Do not rely on others" (aparapraneya); "Strive yourselves" (sikshitavyam), etc. But at the same time we must not forget the fact that the Lanka also emphasises the necessity of the Buddha's power being added to the Bodhisattvas, in their upward course of spiritual development and in the accomplishment of their great task of world-salvation. If they were not thus so constantly sustained by the miraculous power of the Buddha, they would speedily fall into the group of the philosophers and Sravakas, and they would never be able to attain supreme enlightenment and preach the doctrine of universal emancipation. Indeed, when the Buddha so wishes, even such inanimate objects as mountains, woods, palaces, etc. will resound with the voice of the Buddha; how much more the Bodhisattvas who are his spiritual inheritors!

The doctrine of Adhishthana gains all the more significance when we consider the development of Mahayana Buddhism into the doctrine of salvation by faith alone. The power of a Bodhisattva's original vows may also be judged as being derived from the Buddha. If the possibility of enlightenment is due to the Adhishthana or Prabhava of the Buddha, all the wonders that are to take place by the strength of the enlightenment must be inferred ultimately to issue from the fountain-head of Buddhahood itself.

At any rate the Mahayana idea of the Buddha being able to impart his power to others marks one of those epoch-making deviations which set off the Mahayana from so-called primitive or original Buddhism. When the Buddha comes to be considered capable of Adhishthana, the next step his devotees are logically led to take would be the idea of vicarious suffering or atonement. Giving power to another is a positive idea while suffering for another may be said to be a negative one. Though this latter is strangely absent in the Lanka, the Gandavyuha as well as the Prajnaparamita are quite eloquent in elucidating the doctrine of vicarious suffering. According to this doctrine, whatever suffering one is enduring may be transferred on to another if the latter sincerely desires out of his unselfish and all-embracing love for others, to take these sufferings upon himself so that the real sufferers may not only be relieved of them but escape their evil consequences, thus enabling him to advance more easily and successfully towards the attainment of the blissful life. This goes quite against the idea of individual responsibility. But really religious minds require this vicarious suffering for their spiritual life.

To suffer or atone vicariously is still negative and fails to entirely satisfy our spiritual needs. The latter demand that more good must be done in order to suppress the evils which are found claiming this world for their own glorification. So the Mahayanists accumulate stocks of merit not only for the material of their own enlightenment but for the general cultivation of merit which can be shared equally by their fellow-beings, animate and inanimate. This is the true meaning of Parinamana, that is, turning one's merit over to others for their spiritual interest.

As I said elsewhere, this notion of Parinamana is not at all traceable in the Lanka, which is strange. The Lanka cannot be imagined to have been compiled prior to the Prajnaparamita, nor to the Gandavyuha or Avatamsaka; if so, why this absence? How can this be explained?

Buddha the Enlightened and Sarvasattva the Ignorant

To conclude this section, Buddhism is the story of relationship between the two groups of beings: the one is called Buddha who is the enlightened, the Tathagata, the Arhat, and the other is generally designated as Sarvasattva, literally "all beings", who are ignorant, greedy for worldly things, and therefore in perpetual torment. In spite of their hankering for worldly enjoyments, they are conscious of their condition and not at all satisfied with it; when they reflect they find themselves quite forlorn inwardly, they long for real happiness, for ultimate reality, and blissful enlightenment. They look upwards, where the Buddha sits rapt in his meditation serenely regarding them with his transcendental wisdom. As he looks down at his fellow-beings inexplicably tormented with their greed and ignorance and egotism, he is disturbed, for he feels an inextinguishable feeling of love stirring within himself—the feeling now perfectly purified of all the defilements of selfishness, which embraces the whole world in pity though not attached to it. The Buddha leaves his transcendental abode. He is seen among sentient beings, each one of whom recognises him according to his own light.

Transcendental wisdom (prajna) and a heart of all-embracing love (mahakaruna) constitute the very reason of Buddhahood, while the desire or thirst for life (trishna), and ignorance as to the meaning of life (avidya), and deeds (karma) following from the blind assertion of life-impulse— these are the factors that enter into the nature of Sarvasattva, all ignorant and infatuated ones. The one who is above, looking downward, extends his arms to help; the other unable to extricate himself from entanglements looks up in despair, and finding the helping arms stretches his own to take hold of them. And from this scene the following narratives psychological, logical, and ontological, unfold themselves to the Buddhist soul.

II

Psychology

What may be termed Buddhist psychology in the Lanka consists in the analysis of mind, that is, in the classification of the Vijnanas. To understand thus the psychology of Buddhism properly the knowledge of these terms is necessary: citta, manas, vijnana, manovijnana, and alayavijnana.

To begin with Vijnana. Vijnana is composed of the prefix vi, meaning "to divide", and the root jna which means "to perceive", "to know". Thus, Vijnana is the faculty of distinguishing or discerning or judging. When an object is presented before the eye, it is perceived and judged as a red apple or a piece of white linen; the faculty of doing this is called eye-vijnana. In the same way, there are ear-vijnana for sound, nose-vijnana for odour, tongue-vijnana for taste, body-vijnana for touch, and thought-vijnana (manovijnana) for ideas—altogether six forms of Vijnana for distinguishing the various aspects of world external or internal.

Of these six Vijnanas, the Manojivnana is the most important as it is directly related to an inner faculty known as Manas. Manas roughly corresponds to mind as an organ of thought, but in fact it is more than that, for it is also a strong power of attaching itself to the result of thinking. The latter may even be considered subordinate to this power of attachment. The Manas first wills, then it discriminates to judge; to judge is to divide, and this dividing ends in viewing existence dualistically. Hence the Manas' tenacious attachment to the dualistic interpretation of existence. Willing and thinking are inextricably woven into the texture of Manas.

Citta comes from the root cit, "to think", but in the Lanka the derivation is made from the root ci, "to pile up", "to arrange in order". The Citta is thus a storehouse where the seeds of all thoughts and deeds are accumulated and stored up. The Citta, however, has a double sense, general and specific. When it is used in the general sense it means "mind", "mentation", "ideas", including the activities of Manas and Manovijnana, and also of the Vijnanas; while specifically it is a synonym of Alayavijnana in its relative aspects, and distinguishable from all the rest of the mental faculties. When, however, it is used in the form of Citta-matra, Mind-only, it acquires still another connotation. We can say that Citta appears here in its highest possible sense, for it is then neither simply mentation nor intellection, nor perception as a function of consciousness. It is identifiable with the Alaya in its absolute aspect. This will become clearer later on.

Alayavijnana is alaya+vijnana, and alaya is a store where things are hoarded for future use. The Citta as a cumulative faculty is thus identified with the Alayavijnana. Strictly speaking, the Alaya is not a Vijnana, has no discerning power in it; it indiscriminately harbours all that is poured into it through the channel of the Vijnanas. The Alaya is perfectly neutral, indifferent, and does not offer to give judgments.

Relation Between the Various Functions

Another way of classifying the Vijnanas is according to their Lakshana or modes of being, of which three are distinguishable as evolving (pravritti), as performing deeds (karma), and as retaining their own original nature (jati). From this viewpoint, all the Vijnanas are evolving and deed-performing Vijnanas except the Alaya which always abides in its self-nature. For the Vijnanas may cease from evolving and performing deeds for some reason, but the Alaya ever remains itself.

The Alaya, according to the Lanka, has two aspects: the Alaya as it is in itself, which is in the Sagathakam called Paramalaya-vijnana, and the Alaya as mental representation called Vijnaptir Alaya. These two aspects are also known respectively as the Prabandha (incessant) and the Lakshana (manifested). The Alaya is incessant because of its uninterrupted existence; it is manifested because of its activity being perceptible by the mind.

From this, we can see that the Alaya is conceived in the Lanka as being absolute in one respect and in the other as being subject to "evolution" (pravritti). It is this evolving aspect of the Alaya that lends itself to the treacherous interpretation of Manas. As long as the Alaya remains in and by itself, it is beyond the grasp of an individual, empirical consciousness, it is almost like Emptiness itself although it ever lies behind all the Vijnana-activities, for the latter will cease working at once when the Alaya is taken out of existence.

Manas is conscious of the presence behind itself of the Alaya and also of the latter's uninterrupted working on the entire system of the Vijnanas. Reflecting on the Alaya and imagining it to be an ego, Manas clings to it as if it were reality and disposes of the reports of the six Vijnanas accordingly. In other words, Manas is the individual will to live and the principle of discrimination. The notion of an ego-substance is herein established, and also the acceptance of a world external to itself and distinct from itself.

The six Vijnanas function, as it were, mechanically when the conditions are satisfied and are not conscious of their own doings. They have no intelligence outside their respective fields of activity. They are not organised in themselves and have no theory for their existence and Doings. What they experience is reported to the headquarters with no comment or interpretation. Manas sits at the headquarters and like a great general gathers up all the information coming from the six Vijnanas. - For it is he who shifts and arranges the reports and gives orders again to the reporters according to his own will and intelligence. The orders are then faithfully executed.

The Manas is a double-headed monster, the one face looks towards the Alaya and the other towards the Vijnanas. He does not understand what the Alaya really is. Discrimination being one of his fundamental functions, he sees multitudinousness there and clings to it as final. The clinging now binds him to a world of particulars. Thus, desire is mother, and ignorance is father, and this existence takes its rise. But the Manas is also a double-edged sword. When there takes place a "turning-back" (paravritti) in it, the entire arrangement of things in the Vijnanakaya or Citta-kalapa changes. With one swing of the sword the pluralities are cut asunder and the Alaya is seen in its native form (svalakshana), that is, as solitary reality (viviktadharma), which is from the first beyond discrimination. The Manas is not of course an independent worker, it is always depending on the Alaya, without which it has no reason of being itself; but at the same time the Alaya is also depending on the Manas. The Alaya is absolutely one, but this oneness gains significance only when it is realised by the Manas and recognised as its own supporter (alamba). This relationship is altogether too subtle to be perceived by ordinary minds that are found choked with defilements and false ideas since beginningless time.

The Manas backed by the Alaya has been the seat of desire or thirst (trishna), karma, and ignorance. The seeds grow out of them, and are deposited in the Alaya. When the waves are stirred up in the Alaya-ocean by the wind of objectivity—so interpreted by the Manas—these seeds give a constant supply to the uninterrupted flow of the Vijnana-waters. In this general turmoil in which we sentient beings are all living, the Alaya is as responsible as the Manas; for if the Alaya refused to take the seeds in that are sent up from the region of the Vijnana, Manas may not have opportunities to exercise its two fundamental functions, willing and discriminating. But at the same time it is due to the Alaya's self-purifying nature that there takes place a great catastrophe in it known as "turning-back". With this "turning-back" in the Alaya, Manas so intimately in relation with it also experiences a transformation in its fundamental attitude towards the Vijnanas. The latter are no more regarded as reporters of an external world which is characterised with individuality and manifoldness. This position is now abandoned, the external world is no more adhered to as such, that is, as reality; for it is no more than a mere reflection of the Alaya. The Alaya has been looking at itself in the Manas' mirror. There has been from the very first nothing other than itself. Hence the doctrine of Mind-only (cittamatra), or the Alaya-only.

The Religious Signification

The necessity of conceiving Alaya in its double aspect, (1) as absolute reality (viviktadharma) and (2) as subject to causation (hetuka), comes from the Mahayana idea of Buddhahood (buddhata). If Buddhahood is something absolutely solitary, all the efforts put forward by sentient beings to realise enlightenment would be of no avail whatever. In other words, all that the Tathagata wants to do for sentient beings would never have its opportunity to reach them. There must be something commonly shared by each so that when a note is struck at one end a corresponding one will answer at the other. The Alaya is thus known on the one hand as Tathagata-garbha, the womb of Tathagatahood, and on the other hand imagined by the ignorant as an ego-soul (pudgala or atman).

The Tathagata-garbha, therefore, whose psychological name is Alayavijnana, is a reservoir of things good and bad, pure and defiled. Expressed differently, the Tathagata-garbha is originally, in its self-nature, immaculate, but because of its external dirt (agantuklesa) it is soiled, and when soiled—which is the state generally found in all sentient beings—an intuitive penetration (pratyaksha) is impossible. When this is impossible as is the case with the philosophers and ignorant masses, the Garbha is believed sometimes to be a creator (karana) and sometimes to be an ego-substance (atman). As it is so believed, it allows itself to transmigrate through the six paths of existence. Let there be, however, an intuitive penetration into the primitive purity (prakritipurisuddhi) of the Tathagata-garbha, and the whole system of the Vijnanas goes through a revolution. If the Tathagata-garbha or Alaya-vijnana were not a mysterious mixture of purity and defilement, good and evil, this abrupt transformation (paravritti) of an entire personality would be an impossibility. That is to say, if the Garbha or the Alaya while absolutely neutral and colourless in itself did not yet harbour in itself a certain irrationality, no sentient beings would ever be a Buddha, no enlightenment would be experienced by any human beings. Logicalness is to be transcended somewhere and somehow. And as this illogical-ness is practically possible, the Mahayana establishes the theory of Mind-only (cittamatra).

Ontology and the Twofold Egolessness

In considering the theory of Mind-only, we have to be careful not to understand this term psychologically. Mind (citta) here does not mean our individual mind which is subject to the law of causation (hetupratyaya). Absolute Citta transcends the dualistic conception of existence, it belongs neither to the Vijnana-system nor to our objective world (vishaya). Therefore, in the Lanka this Citta is frequently described in ontological terms.

The most significant one is Vastu, which is found coupled with Tathata in one place (p. 147, line 6)) and with Arya in another place (p. 164, lines 9 and 10). In the first case, Vastu and Tathata are synonymously used; what is Tathata, that is Vastu. Tathata is to be rendered either "suchness", or "thatness", which is a term most frequently used in the Mahayana texts to designate the highest reality ever approachable by Prajna, transcendental wisdom; Vastu in Buddhism is usually an individual object regarded as existing externally to the Vijnanas, and so is it in most cases in the Lanka also. But evidently in this connection where Vastu is Tathata, it must mean the highest reality.

In the second case in which Arya is affixed to Vastu, the arya must be a modifier here, that is, this reality is something to be described as arya, "noble", "holy", or "worthy".

The highest reality is also called "something that has been in existence since the very first" (purvadharmasthitita, p. 241, 1. 14), or (pauranasthitidharmata, p. 143, ll. 5 and 9). As it is the most ancient reality, its realisation means returning to one's own original abode in which everything one sees around is an old familiar object. In Zen Buddhism, therefore, the experience is compared to the visiting one's native home and quietly getting settled (歸家穩坐, kuei-chia wen-tso). The Buddhas, enlightened ones, are all abiding here as gold is embedded in the mine. The ever-enduring reality (sthitita dharmata) is above changes.

To be above changes means to remain in one's own abode, not to move away from it, and for this reason reality is known as "self-abiding" (svastha, p. 199, line 4), or "remaining in its own abode" (svasthane 'vatishthate, p. 178, 1. 15).1 To keep one's own abode it to be single, solitary, absolute: hence Reality is Viviktadharma, a thing of solitude; Bhutakoti, limit of reality, which points to a similar mode of thinking. It is again Ekagra, the summit of oneness, and this summit or limit (koti) is at the same time no-summit, no-limit, because this is gained only when one makes a final leap beyond the manifoldness of things.

1 Cf. p. 124, line 1.

The more ordinary expressions given to the highest reality known as Citta are Tathata, "suchness" or "thusness", Satyata, "the state of being true", Bhutata, "the state of being real", Dharmadhatu, "realm of truth", Nirvana, the Permanent (nitya), Sameness (samata), the One (advaya), Cessation (nirodha), the Formless (animitta), Emptiness (sunyata), etc.

From these descriptions it is found natural for Mahayanists psychologically to deny the existence of an ego-soul or ego-substance in the Alaya, and ontologically to insist that the tragedy of life comes from believing in the substantiality or finality of an individual object. The former is technically called the doctrine of Pudgalanairatmya, egolessness of persons,1 and the latter that of Dharmanairatmya, egolessness of things; the one denies the reality of an ego-soul and the other the ultimacy of an individual object.

Superficially, this denial of an Atman in persons and individual objects sounds negative and productive of no moral signification. But when one understands what is ultimately meant by Cittamatra (Mind-only) or by Vivikta-dharma (the Solitary), the negations are on the plane of relativity and intellection.

The term "the Middle" (madhyama), meaning "the Middle Way'', does not occur in the Lanka proper except in its Sagathakam portion. But the idea that the truth is not found in the dualistic way of interpreting existence, that it is beyond the category of being and non-being, is everywhere emphasised in the Lanka. In fact, we can say that one of the principal theses of the Lanka is to establish the Absolute which makes a world of particulars possible but which is not to be grasped by means of being and non-being (astina-stitva). This Absolute is the Middle Way of the Madhyamaka school.

1 The conception of the Tathagata-garbha is not to be confused with that of a Pudgala or Atman. See § xxviii. For the non-existence of a personal ego-soul and the non-reality of an individual object, see especially pp. 01-62 of this translation.

Unobtainability

This going beyond all forms of dualism, however differently it may be expressed, whether as being and non-being, or as oneness and manyness, or as this and that, or as causation and no-causation, or as form and no-form, or as assertion and negation, or as Samsara and Nirvana, or as ignorance and knowledge, or as work and no-work, or as good and evil, or as purity and defilement, or as ego and non-ego, or as worldly and super-worldly, ad infinitum —this going beyond a world of oppositions and contrasts constitutes one of the most significant thoughts of the Mahayana. There is nothing real as long as we remain entangled in the skein of relativity, and our sufferings will never come to an end. We must therefore endeavour to take hold of reality, but this reality is not something altogether solitary. For in this case no one of us will be able to have even a glimpse of it, and if we had, it will turn into something standing in opposition to this world of relativity, which means the loss of solitariness, that is, the solitary now forms part of this world.

Thus, according to Buddhist philosophy, reality must be grasped in this world and by this world, for it is that "Beyond which is also Within". The Lanka compares it to the moon in water or a flower in a mirror. It is within and yet outside, it is outside and yet within. This aspect of reality is described as "unobtainable" or "unattainable" (anupalabdha). And just because it is unobtainable in a world of particulars, the latter from the point of view of reality is like a dream, like a mirage, and so on. The subtlest relation of reality to the world is beyond description, it yields its secrets only to him who has actually realised it in himself by means of noble wisdom (aryajnana or prajna). This realisation is also a kind of knowledge though different from what is generally known by this name.

Epistemology

Without a theory of cognition, therefore, Mahayana philosophy becomes incomprehensible. The Lanka is quite explicit in assuming two forms of knowledge: the one for grasping the absolute or entering into the realm of Mind-only, and the other for understanding existence in its dualistic aspect in which logic prevails and the Vijnanas are active. The latter is designated Discrimination (vikalpa) in the Lanka and the former transcendental wisdom or knowledge (prajna). To distinguish these two forms of knowledge is most essential in Buddhist philosophy.

The Lanka is decidedly partial to the use of Aryajnana instead of Prajna, although the latter has been in use since the early days of Buddhism. Aryajnana, noble wisdom, is generally coupled with Pratyatma, inner self, showing that this noble, supreme wisdom is a mental function operating in the depths of our being. As it is concerned with the highest reality or the ultimate truth of things, it is no superficial knowledge dealing with particular objects and their relations. It is an intuitive understanding which, penetrating through the surface of existence, sees into that which is the reason of everything logically and ontologically.

The Lanka is never tired of impressing upon its readers the importance of this understanding in the attainment of spiritual freedom; for this understanding is a fundamental intuition into the truth of Mind-only and constitutes the Buddhist enlightenment with which truly starts the religious life of a Bodhisattva.

This transcendental Jnana is variously designated in the Lanka. It is Pravicayabuddhi, that is, an insight fixed upon the ultimate ground of existence. It is Svabuddhi, innate in oneself; Nirabhasa, or Anabhasa (imagelessness), beyond all forms of tangibility; Nirvikalpa, beyond discrimination, meaning direct empirical knowledge before analysis starts in any form whatever; which therefore is not at all expressible by means of words (vac or ruta). The awaking of supreme knowledge (anuttarasamyaksambodhi) is the theme of the Prajnaparnmita-sutras, but in the Lanka the weight of the discourse is placed upon the realisation by means of Aryajnana of ultimate reality which is Mind-only. This psychological emphasis so distinctive of the Lanka makes this sutra occupy a unique position in Mahayana literature.

The knowledge that stands contrasted to Prajna or Aryajnana is Vikalpabuddhi, or simply Vikalpa, which I have translated "discrimination". It is relative knowledge working on the plane of dualism, it may be called the principle of dichotomy, whereby judgment is made possible. By us existence is always divided into pairs of conception, thesis and antithesis, that is, being and non-being, permanent and impermanent, Nirvana and Samsara, birth and death, creating and created, this and that, Me and not-Me, ad libitum. This is due to the working of Vikalpa. The Lakshana (form) of existence thus presented to us is not its real nature, it is our own thought-construction (vijnapti); but our Buddhi which seeks after pluralities fails to understand this fact and makes us cling to appearances as realities. As the result, the world in which we now find ourselves living ceases to be what it is in itself; for it is one we have constructed according to our own ignorance and discrimination. Reality escapes us, truth slips off our grasp, false views accumulate, wrong judgments go on adding complexities upon complexities. The habit-energy (vasana) thus created takes complete hold on the Alayavijnana, and Alaya the Absolute is forever unable to extricate itself from these encumbrances. Eternal transmigration to no purpose must be our destiny.

The Twofold Truth (satya)

The distinction between the highest truth (paramartha-satya) and conventional truth (samvriti-satya) is not explicitly held in the Lanka, but allusions are occasionally made to them; and it is said that false discrimination belongs to conventionalism (p. 131, 1. 3). Another word for conventionalism is Vyavahara, worldly experience, according to which we talk of things being born and destroyed, and also of the how, what, where, etc. of existence. This kind of knowledge does not help us to have an insight into the depths of being.

The Three Svabhavas

Another way of classifying knowledge is known as three Svabhavas in the Lanka. This is a generally recognised classification in all the schools of Mahayana Buddhism. Svabhava means "self-nature" or "self-reality" or "self-substance '', the existence of which in some form is popularly accepted. The first form of knowledge by which the reality of things is assumed is called Parikalpita, "imagined", that is, imagination in its ordinary sense. This is an illusion, for things are imagined to exist really where in fact there are none. It is like seeing a mirage which vanishes as one approaches. Imagined (parikalpita) objects have, therefore, no objective reality.

The second form of knowledge by which we examine existence is Paratantra, "depending upon another". This is a kind of scientific knowledge based on analysis. Buddhists make use of this knowledge to disprove the substantiality of individual objects, that is, the svabhavatva of things. According to them, there is nothing self-existing in the world, everything is depending for its existence on something else, things are universally mutually conditioned, endlessly related to one another. Dissect an object considered final, and it dissolves itself into airy nothingness. Modern scientists declare that existence is no more than mathematical formulae. The Mahayanists would say that there is no Svabhava in anything appealing as such to the Vijnanas when it is examined from the Paratantra point of view.

The imagined view (parikalpita) of reality does not give us a true knowledge of it, and the relativity view (paratantra) reduces it into nothingness: if so, where does our boat of enlightenment get anchored? The Lanka tells us that there is a third way of viewing existence, called Parinishpanna, "perfected", which allows us to become truly acquainted with reality as it is. It is this "perfected" knowledge whereby we are enabled to see really into the nature of existence, to perceive rightly what is meant by Svabhava, and to declare that there is no Svabhava as is imagined by the ignorant and that all is empty (sunya).

Perfect or "perfected" knowledge issues from Prajna, or Aryajnana, or sometimes simply Jnana, seeing into the suchness of things. It perceives things as they are, because going beyond the realm of being and non-being which belongs to discrimination, the principle of dichotomisation, it dives into the abyss where there are no shadows (anabhasa). This is called self-realisation (svasiddhi). So states the Lanka that as the wise see reality with their eye of Prajna, they ascertain definitely what it is, i. e. in its self-nature (bhavasvabhava) and not as is seen by the ignorant whose eye is never raised beyond the horizon of relativity.

This is again called seeing into the emptiness of things. Emptiness (sunyata), however, does not mean "relativity", as is thought by some scholars. Relativity-emptiness is on the lower plane of knowledge and does not reveal the real view of existence as it is. Emptiness taught in the Mahayana texts goes far deeper into the matter. It is the object of transcendental knowledge. As long as one stays in the world of relativity where logic rules supreme, one cannot have even the remotest idea of true emptiness or what is designated in the Prajnaparamita as Mahasunyata. The Lanka has also this kind of Sunyata mentioned as one of the seven Emptinesses (p. 94). Relativity-emptiness so called corresponds to the first of the seven Emptinesses, while the Mahayana Sunyata is Paramartha-aryajnana-mahasunyata, that is, the great void of noble wisdom which is the highest reality.

The Five Dharmas

Before concluding this section, we must not forget to mention what is known as the Five Dharmas in the Lanka making up one of the main topics of discourses. The Five Dharmas and the Three Svabhavas are different ways of classifying the same material. The Five are: Appearances (nimitta), Names (nama), Discrimination (samkalpa), Right Knowledge (samyagjnana), and Suchness (tathata). The first three correspond to the two of the Three Svabhavas, Parikalpita and Paratantra, while the last two belong to the Parinishpanna.

Our relative knowledge starts with perceiving Appearances to which Names are given. Names are then thought real and discrimination is carried on. We can say that discrimination has been with us from the first even when what is called perception has not taken place. For naming is impossible without some form of discrimination. Then the worst thing comes upon us as we begin to persuade ourselves and think that by giving Names existence has been successfully disposed of, and feel comfortable about the problems of religion. Although without naming no knowledge is possible, Right Knowledge (samyagjnana) is not to be had here. For this is the inexpressible, the unnamable, it is the meaning (artha) not to be grasped by words. In this the Lanka permits no equivocation, it most emphatically advises us not to attach ourselves to words.

The object of Right Knowledge is Suchness of things as not conditioned by the category of being and non-being. It is in this sense that ultimate reality is said to be like the moon in the water, it is not immersed in it, nor is it outside it. We cannot say that the moon is in water, for it is a mere reflection; but we cannot say that it is not there, for a reflection though it may be it is really before us. Plurality of objects is not real from the point of view of relativity as well as from the point of view of Suchness. If some one declares such reality as maintained by the Mahayana is too ethereal, too phantom-like, too unreal for our religious aspirations, the Lanka will immediately retort, "You are still on the plane of relativity." When the Aryajnana is awakened, Tathata is the most real thing and a term most fittingly applied as far as our power of designation is concerned.

III

The Message of the Lanka

There are many other thoughts of interest in the Lanka which may be discussed in this Introduction. But as I have already given up many pages to it and as the reader who wishes to know more about the Sutra may go to my Studies in the Lankavatara, I will say just a few words about the position of this Sutra among the general Mahayana Buddhist texts.

While we are still in the dark as to how Mahayana Buddhism developed in India, we know that when it was introduced into China by the missionaries from India and central Asia, it was already regarded as directly coming from the Buddha's own golden mouth, and that what must have developed during several hundred years after his death was taken in a wholesale manner for a system fully matured in his life-time extending over a period of about half a century after his Enlightenment. As the sutras were translated into Chinese, the first of which appeared in 68 a. d., they profoundly stirred the Chinese and then the Japanese mind awakening their religious consciousness to its very depths. The following are the most important Mahayana texts that thus served to move the religious feelings of the Far-eastern peoples and are still continuing to do so.

(1) The Saddharma-pundarika-sutra. One of the main theses of this inspiring scripture is the announcement that the Buddha never died, that he is forever living on the Mount of the Holy Vulture and preaching to a group of the Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Bodhisattvas, who are no less beings than ourselves, and that the Buddha has just one vehicle (yana) for all beings. This must have been a revolutionary teaching at the time when the Buddha was thought to be just as transient and mortal as ourselves, and when the only thing that was left behind after his Nirvana was his Dharma, in which his followers were asked to find their Master.

(2) The Avalokitesvara-vikurvana-nirdesa. This is commonly known as Kwannon-gyo in Japan and forms the twenty-fourth chapter of the Sanskrit Saddharma-pundarika, but it will be better to treat it as a separate document as it has quite an independent message and has been so considered though not always consciously by its devotees. Avalokitesvara is here represented as a god of mercy who will help anybody who finds himself in trouble spiritually as well as materially. In popular minds the god is no more masculine than feminine; if anything, more feminine, because of mercy being more reality associated with eternal femininity. That he can assume various forms (vikurvana) in order to achieve his ends appeals very much to the religious imagination of the Eastern peoples. And this doctrine of transformation is one of the characteristic features of Mahayana Buddhism.

(3) The Avatamsaka-sutra. This is an encyclopedic sutra of which we find the Gandavyuha and the Desabhumika forming a part. It is another Mahayana sutra that has influenced the Chinese and the Japanese mind profoundly. The so-called Interpenetration which constitutes the central thought of the sutra is symbolically and effectively treated in the Chinese translations by Buddhabhadra (60 fas.), by Sikshananda (80 fas.), and by Prajna (40 fas.). The sutra as we have it now contains many sutras which may be considered independent though they no doubt belong to the same class of literature. The reading may be tedious from the modern point of view as the main theme is not so succinctly presented, and it takes some time before the reader can get into the mood of the sutra itself. After a quiet and patient pursuit of the text, however, he cannot help but be deeply impressed with its underlying spirit whose grandeur of outlook almost surpasses human comprehension. The huge rock-cut figure of Vairocana at Lung-men and the bronze figure in Nara are respectively the Chinese and the Japanese artistic response to the spiritual stimulation caused by the Avatamsaka, or the Gandavyuha which is the same thing.

Another profound effect produced by this sutra on the Eastern mind is the conception of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra with his "ten inexhaustible vows." He would not enter into Nirvana, that coveted object of all the Buddhists, because he would not have one single soul unsaved behind him. And by this "soul" was meant not only human soul but the soul of every being animate or inanimate. It was the vow of Samantabhadra to release animals, plants, and even such inanimate existences as mountains, waters, earths, etc., from the bondage of ignorance and karma. His universe, moreover, was far wider and more spiritualistic than our ordinary one

(4) The Prajna-paramita-sutra. This is regarded by most Mahayana scholars to have been one of the first Mahayana literature that was declared against the hair-splitting scholastic philosophy of early Buddhist doctors, gives us the doctrine of Emptiness or Void (sunyata), whereby every possible straw of attachment is taken away from us. To be left alone in the Void, even with this Void vanishing from around us, is the method of perfect emancipation proposed by the Prajna-paramita. This was quite a direct straightforward proposition on the part of the Mahayanist. It appealed greatly to intellectual minds as well as the mystical. While the Avatamsaka filled the universe with things of imagination even to its minutest particle, the Prajna-paramita swept everything away from the universe which now becomes a vast Void indeed. And in six hundred fascicles of the sutra we are warned not to be afraid of, not to be taken aback by this vast Void. If we stagger at this gospel of absolute Emptiness, we are told by the Buddha that we cannot be good followers of the Mahayana.

(5) The Vimalakirti-sutra. This is a masterpiece, a drama with great literary merit, and because of this fact it is read more generally than other Buddhist sutras by the laity. The signification of this sutra lies in taking our soiled coat of attachment off our back which we have been wearing ever since we became aware of an external existence. Another significant feature of the sutra is that its chief figure of interest is not the Buddha but a wealthy layman called Vimalakirti. It is this crafty old gentleman-philosopher who puts to shame all the Sravakas and Bodhisattvas coming to argue with him about the deepest truths of Buddhism, except Manjusri, the head of the Bodhisattvas. The latter proved a good match for the eloquence of the lay-disciple of the Buddha. What we have to notice especially in this Mahayana text is that Buddhism does not require us to lead a homeless life as a Bhikshu in order to attain enlightenment, that is, the householder's life is as good and pure as the mendicant's.

(6) In this respect the Srimala-sutra is also significant, for Srimala the queen inspired by the wisdom and power of the Buddha delivers a great sermon on the Tathagata-garbha. The Mahayana may be said to be the revolt of laymen and laywomen against the ascetic spirit of exclusion pervading among early advocates of Buddhism.

(7) The Sukhavati-vyuha-sutra. The influence of this sutra on Oriental people is quite different from that of the other sutras, for it has awakened the faith-aspect of their religious consciousness, which is established on the general basis of Mahayana philosophy. Superficially, the faith of Amitabha looks very much like Christian faith in Christ, but the underlying thoughts are not at all the same. The Jodo school could not take its rise from any other soil than Mahayana Buddhism. In Japan this school has achieved a unique development marking a spiritual epoch in the history of religious faith in the East.

(8) The Parinirvana-sutra. This once formed the foundation of the Nirvana school in the early history of Chinese Buddhism. Its main assertion is that the Buddha-nature is present in every one of us. Before the arrival of this sutra in China it was generally believed that there was a class of people known as Icchanti who had no Buddha-nature in them and therefore who were eternally barred from attaining enlightenment. This belief was entirely expelled, however, when a statement to the contrary was found in the sutra, saying that "There is something in all beings which is true, real, eternal, self-governing, and forever unchanging—this is called Ego, though quite different from what is generally known as such by the philosophers. This Ego is the Tathagata-garbha, Buddha-nature, which exists in every one of us, and is characterised with such virtues as permanency, bliss, freedom, and purity."

(9) All these and other sutras of Mahayana Buddhism may seem to exhaust the many-sided aspects of this school, but another is needed to tell us that mere understanding is not enough in the Buddhist life, that without self-realisation all intellection amounts to nothing. To tell us this is the office of the Lankavatara-sutra, and Bodhidharma, father of Zen Buddhism, made use of the text quite effectively; for it was through him that a special school of Buddhism under the title of Zen or Ch'an has come to develop in China and in Japan. While Zen as we have it now is not the same in many respects as Bodhidharma first proclaimed it about fifteen centuries ago, the spirit itself flows quite unchanged in the East. And this is eloquently embodied in the Lankavatara-sutra. It is not, however, necessary here for us to enter into details, for the point has been fully dwelt upon in my recent work, Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra. Suffice it to touch lightly upon the characteristic features of the Sutra, which constitute its special message as distinguished from the other sutras already referred to.

There is no doubt that the Lanka is closely connected in time as well as in doctrine with The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana generally ascribed to Asvaghosha. While he may not have been the author of this most important treatise of Mahayana philosophy, there was surely a great Buddhist mind, who, inspired by the same spirit which pervades the Lanka, the Avatamsaka, the Parinirvana, etc., poured out his thoughts in The Awakening. Some scholars contend that The Awakening is a Chinese work, but this is not well grounded.

In a way The Awakening is an attempt to systematise the Lanka, for all the principal teachings of the latter are found there developed in due order. As far as the theoretical side is concerned, both teach the existence of the Garbha as ultimate reality. While this lies in ordinary people defiled by the evil passions and does not shine out in its native purity, we cannot deny its existence in them. When the external wrappage of impurities is peeled off we all become Buddhas and Tathagatas. In fact, the birth of a Tathagata is nowhere else than in this Garbha.

The Garbha is from the psychological point of view the Alayavijnana, all-conserving mind, in which good and bad are mingled, and the work of the Yogin, that is, one who seeks the truth by means of self-discipline, is to separate the one from the other. Why is the Alaya found contaminated by evil thoughts and desires? What is the evil? How does it come out in this world? How is the truth to be realised? These questions are answered by postulating a system of Vijnanas and by the doctrine of Discrimination (vikalpa), as has already been expounded above.

This is the point where the Lanka comes in contact with the Yogacara school. The Yogacara is essentially psychological standing in contrast in this respect to the Madhyamaka school which is epistemological. But the Alayavijnana of the Yogacara is not the same as that of Lanka and the Awakening of Faith. The former conceives the Alaya to be purity itself with nothing defiled in it whereas the Lanka and the Awakening make it the cause of purity and defilement. Further, the Yogacara upholds the theory of Vijnaptimatra and not that of Cittamatra, which belongs to the Lanka, Avatamsaka, and Awakening of Faith. The difference is this: According to the Vijnaptimatra, the world is nothing but ideas, there are no realities behind them; but the Cittamatra states that there is nothing but Citta, Mind, in the world and that the world is the objectification of Mind. The one is pure idealism and the other idealistic realism.

To realise the Cittamatra is the object of the Lanka, and this is done when Discrimination is discarded, that is, when a state of non-discrimination is attained in one's spiritual life. Discrimination is a logical term and belongs to the intellect. Thus we see that the end of the religious discipline is to go beyond intellectualism, for to discriminate, to divide, is the function of the intellect. Logic does not lead one to self-realisation. Hence Nagarjuna's hair-splitting dialectics. His idea is to prove the ineffectiveness of logic in the domain of our spiritual life. This is where the Lanka joins hands with the Madhyamaka. The doctrine of the Void is indeed the foundation of Mahayana philosophy. But this is not to be understood in the manner of analytical reasoning. The Lanka is quite explicit and not to be mistaken in this respect.

So far, the Lanka may seem to be only a philosophical treatise with nothing religious in it, but the fact is that the Sutra is deeply tinged with religious sentiments. For instance, the Bodhisattva would not enter into Nirvana because of his vows to save all sentient beings, and his vows are not limited in time and space, and for this reason they are called "inexhaustible". Not only are his vows inexhaustible but the "skilful means" he uses for the emancipation of all beings know no limits. He knows how to make the best use of his inexhaustible resources intellectual and practical for this single purpose. Here we may say that the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra of the Avatamsaka or the Gandavyuha is reflected.

In the Lanka all the most fundamental conceptions of the Mahayana are thrown in without any attempt on the part of the compiler or compilers to give them a system. This is left to the thoughtful reader himself who will pick them up from the medley and string them into a garland of pearls out of his own religious experience.

The one significant Mahayana thought, however, which is not expressly touched upon in the Sutra is that of Parinamana. Parinamana means to turn one's merit over to somebody else so as to expedite the latter's attainment of Nirvana. If anybody does anything good, its merit is sure to come back to the doer himself—this is the doctrine of Karma; but according to the Mahayana the recipient need not always be the doer himself, he may be anybody, he may be the whole world; merit being of universal character can be transferred upon anything the doer wishes. This transferability is known as the doctrine of Parinamana, the turning over of one's good work to somebody else. This idea comes from the philosophical teaching of Interpenetration as upheld in the Avatamsaka.

IV

The Date of the Lanka

As is the case with other Buddhist texts it is quite impossible with our present knowledge of Indian history to decide the age of the Lanka. The one thing that is certain is that it was compiled before 443 a. d. when the first Chinese translation is reported to have been attempted. But this does not mean that the whole text as we have it now was then already in existence, for we know that the later translations done in 513 and 700-704 contain the Dharani and the Sagathakam section which are missing in the 443 one (Sung). Further, the Meat-eating chapter also suffered certain modifications, especially in the 513 (Wei) one.

Even with the text that was in existence before 443 a. d. we do not know how it developed, for it was not surely written from the beginning as one complete piece of work as we write a book in these modern days. Some parts of it must be older than others, since there is no doubt that it has many layers of added passages.

To a certain extent, the contents may give a clue to the age of the text, but because of the difficulty of separating one part from another from the point of view of textual criticism, arguments from the contents as to the date are of very doubtful character. As long as we have practically no knowledge of historical circumstances in which the Buddhist texts were produced one after another in India or somewhere else, all the statements are more or less of the character of an ingenious surmise. All that we can say is this that the Lanka is not a discourse directly given by the founder of Buddhism, that it is a later composition than the Nikayas or Agamas which also developed some time after the Buddha, that when Mahayana thoughts began to crystallise in the Northern as well as in the Southern part of India probably about the Christian era or even earlier, the compiler or compilers began to collect passages as he or they came across in their study of the Mahayana, which finally resulted in the Buddhist text now known under the title of Lankavatara-sutra.

Some Remarks Concerning the Text

Certain irregularities of the chapter-endings are to be noticed in this connection. Generally these endings show that the chapters are composite parts of a sutra and belong to it; but in the case of the Lanka some endings are quite of an independent character, and their relation to the text is not at all definite. For instance:

Chapter I—"Chapter One Known as Ravana-invitation";

Chapter II—"Here Ends Chapter Two Known as the Collection of All the Dharmas in the 36, 000 (sloka) Lankavatara";

Chapter III—"Here Ends Chapter Three on Impermanency in the Lankavatara, a Mahayana Sutra";

Chapter IV—"Here Ends Chapter Four on Realisation";

Chapter V—"Here Ends Chapter Five on the Permamency and Impermanency of the Tathagata";

Chapter VI—"Here Ends Chapter Six on Momentariness";

Chapter VII—"Here Ends Chapter Seven on Egolessness";

Chapter VIII—"Here Ends Chapter Eight on Meat-eating from the Lankavatara which is the Essence of All the Buddha-Teachings";

Chapter IX—"Here Ends Chapter Nine Known as Dharani in the Lankavatara."

These irregularities, at least in one case, show that there was a larger Lanka containing 36, 000 slokas1 as referred to in Fa-tsang's notices,2 and in another case that the Lanka was also known, or contained, a chapter known as the "Essence of all the Buddha-teachings" which is indeed a sort of subtitle given to the four-volume Chinese Lanka by Gunabhadra (Sung), 443 a. d.

1Suggested by Mr Hokei Idzumi. 2See my Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra, p. 42.

The Gatha section called "Sagathakam" presents peculiar difficulties. As the earliest Chinese translation by Gunabhadra does not contain it, it is highly probable that it was not then included in the Lanka text. But the fact that both the Wei version and the Sanskrit edition contain not only the verses properly belonging to the Sagathakam but those1 already appearing in the prose section, hints at the existence of a larger or more complete text of the Lanka in which all these Sagathakam verses were incorporated in the prose section, which, therefore, must have been naturally much fuller than the existing Lanka—perhaps something like the one Containing 36, 000 slokas. There are many verses in the Sagathakam which are too obscure to be intelligently interpreted without their corresponding prose passages. The verses are generally meant for memorising the principal doctrines, and they give sometimes no sense when they are separately considered, for some watch-words only are rhythmically arranged to facilitate the memory.

In the Sanskrit text, the Sagathakam begins with this stanza:

"Listen to the wonderful Mahayana doctrine,

Declared in this Lankavatara Sutra,

Composed in verse-gems,

And destroying a net of the philosophical views."

This may be understood to mean that this section is that part of the Lanka which is made up with the verses, that is to say, the verses taken from the entire text of the Lanka. The term sagathakam also suggests this, for it means the "one with verses." But in this case the following questions may be asked:

If there were a larger Lanka containing all these verses in the Sagathakam in the body of the text, or if there were a Lanka with the verses alone and as a separete text which was later on put together with the present one, are all these verses as a whole to be regarded as belonging to the same period? If so, what caused the disappearance of the prose passages which accompanied the verses now retained in the Sagathakam only? Is there no possibility of some of the verses added later to the text independently? There is some evidence of such additions as we can see, for instance, in the conception of the Sambhogakaya (verse 384) and of the ninth Vijnana (verse 13), which are surely of later development. The solution of these and some other possible questions is to be left to some future time when all the circumstances leading to the production of the Buddhist sutras Mahayana and Hinayana in various districts of India are ascertained.

1 These are systematically excluded in the T'ang.

The best way of reading the Lanka, as I said in my Studies, is to cut the whole text into as many pieces1 as the sense allows and to regard each piece as completely expressing one chief thought in the philosophy of Mahayana Buddhism. In some cases the pieces so severed may seem to conflict with one another. In such cases a higher principle will be found somewhere else that unifies the two contradictory notions harmoniously. For after all there is but one highest truth in the Lanka, of which all others are so many aspects viewed at various angles of thought.

I thought I would treat the Sagathakam in a similar manner, by dividing the whole portion into so many groups of verses, each of which is presumably concerned with one theme. But the verses being too concise and often merely mnemonic, one finds it too risky to cut them up into groups and to take the latter as containing so many definite sets of thoughts. As we notice in the cases of repetition occurring so frequently in the Sagathakam the verses are not solidly transferred from the text, that is, they are not always found in the Sagathakam in the same order as they are in the text proper, nor are they complete. Sometimes one single verse is taken out of the group where it belongs in the main text and inserted in an unexpected connection. In these circumstances I thought it wise to leave the Sagathakam as it stands and not to arrange the verses into groups until we know more exactly about the historical evolution of this portion of the Lanka.

1 This cutting is indicated in the following translation by the Roman figures running consecutively through the entire text except the Ravana, the Dharani, and the Meat-eating chapter, where no such dividing is necessary.

In fact, the Sagathakam is a curious mixture where subjects not at all referred to in the prose section are in juxtaposition with those that have to my view no proper bearing in the Lanka. Such subjects are those historical narratives concerning Vyasa, Katyayana, Nagahvaya, etc., and those relating to the monastery life. And then there are some passages in the Sagathakam which may be regarded as later additions. For instance, when it refers to eight or nine several Vijnanas (verse 13), two forms of Alaya (v. 59), the triple body (v. 434), thirty-six Buddhas (v. 380), etc., they are evidently later incorporations. The Sagathakam requires more study from the point of text criticism, and also from the point of doctrinal, literary, and monachical history.

The Transmission History of the Lanka

In the book called 楞伽師資記, "Record of Master and Disciple in [the Transmission of] the Lanka", which is one of the Tung-huang findings, the transmission line of the Lanka is recorded. The author 淨覺, Ching-chueh, living probably early in the eighth century apparently identified Zen Buddhism with the teaching of the Lanka, for his Fathers of the Lanka transmission are also those of Zen Buddhism. He considers Gunabhadra, the translator of the Sung or four volume Lanka, the first Father of Zen in China, and not Bodhidharma as is generally done by Zen historians. In this the author may be in the right, for in his day there was yet no independent school which later came to be known as "Zen", and whatever represented this movement at the time was no more than the study of the Lanka. Moreover, Ching-chueh belonged to the school of Hsuan-tse (玄賾) and Shen-hsiu (神秀) who upheld the Lanka in opposition to their rival Hui-neng's 慧能 Vajracchedika. This book is one of the most valuable documents for the historical students of early Zen Buddhism in China.1 It contains so much information of definite character concerning its Fathers whose sayings and teachings have so far been shrouded in obscurity.

There is Another equally valuable history of Zen Buddhism which was also discovered in the Tung-huang cave. It is entitled 歷代法寶記 "Record of the Succession of the Dharma-treasure." This was evidently written to contend the position of the 楞伽師資記, for it insists that the first Father of the Lanka as representing the Dharma-treasure was Bodhidharma and not Gunabhadra who was mere translator and not the revealer of the inner meaning of the Sutra. Therefore, the history of Zen Buddhism in China, which is the "Dharma-treasure", should properly begin with Bodhidharma. The author evidently belongs to the school of Hui-neng.

The discovery of these two important historical works on Zen, together with the Sayings of Shen-hui, 神會語錄, which was edited by 胡適, Professor Hu Hsi of Peking University, 1930, with his able critical notes, sheds an abundance of light on the early pages of Zen history in China. As a detailed discussion of the subject does not belong here, I reserve it for my Essays in Zen Buddhism, Series II.

The Present English Translation

As regards the English translation of the Sutra, I have decided after much hesitation to send it out to the public with all its many imperfections. It is a bold attempt on the part of the translator to try to render some of the deepest thoughts that have been nourished in the East into a language to which he was not born. But his idea is that if somebody did not make a first attempt, however poor and defective, the precious stones may remain buried unknown except to a few scholars, and this perhaps longer than necessary. And then things develop. As it is illustrated in the long history of the Chinese translations of the Buddhist texts, there must be several attempts before the work assumes something of finality. There are at present three Chinese translations and one Tibetan of the Lanka, and the first shows many traces of immaturity when compared with the third. We can easily understand the difficulties Chinese scholars encountered in trying to master the translations. The T'ang version could not perhaps be so perfect as it is unless it had two or three predecessors.

1 The book has been quite recently edited by Kin Kyukei, a librarian attached to Peking University and published in Peking. He was able to do this helped by Professor Hu Hsi, who is the owner of the photographic copies of the original Manuscripts of 楞伽師資記 preserved in the British Museum and in the Biblioth�que Nationale. A collotype impression of the London MS which is not so complete as the Paris MS, though it is very much more legible than the latter, was published by Professor Keiki Yabuki of Japan, in his collection of the Tun-huang MSS, entitled 嗚沙餘韻, "Echoes of the Desert", 1930.

I have done all I could to make my translation as intelligible as possible to my readers. If I tried to be too literal, it would be quite unintelligible. The modes of expression are so different in the Sanskrit. There are still many obscure passages which I failed to interpret satisfactorily to myself. These obscurities are found more in the Sagathakam, because the verses presuppose much knowledge of the matter treated therein, and this knowledge involves at present much more scholarship and intellectual perspicuity than the present translator can command. The Sagathakam has never had any Chinese commentaries, and this fact adds more to the difficulties already in existence. Chinese and Japanese scholars have chosen, probably for brevity's sake, the four-volume text by Gunabhadra for their study, and the Sagathakam has thus inevitably been left out.

The Sanskrit text itself as we have it is still far from being perfect, and there is no doubt that Nanjo's edition requires many corrections in order to yield a more intelligible reading. Even with it, however, whatever shortcomings it may have, we are to be grateful to the editor who made the text more accessible to the public than ever before.

I have not always followed Nanjo in the reading of the text. I have used my own judgment in several cases when I thought the sense became thereby clearer. In paragraphing too I have often disregarded Nanjo. As I said in my Studies, the Lanka is a highly chaotic text, and there are also some passages which have forced their way in wrong places where they do not belong.

The T'ang version in this respect gives on the whole the best rendering of the Lanka. While a first draft of the translation was prepared by Sikshananda, the finishing touch was given by Fa-tsang, the great teacher of philosophy of the Avatamsaka, with which the Lanka is in the closest relationship. When difficulties were encountered in the course of my English translation of the Sanskrit text, I have quite frequently followed the T'ang reading, though the fact has not regularly been noted.

A special index to the Sutra is being prepared and will be issued before long as a separate volume.

[CHAPTER ONE]

(1)1 Om! Salutation to the Triple Treasure! Salutation to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas!

Here is carefully written down the Lankavatara Sutra in which the Lord of the Dharma discourses on the egolessness of all things.

Thus have I heard. The Blessed One once stayed in the Castle of Lanka which is situated on the peak of Mount Malaya on the great ocean, and which is adorned with flowers made of jewels of various kinds.2 He was with a large assembly of Bhikshus and with a great multitude of Bodhisattvas, who had come together from various Buddha-lands. The Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas, headed by the Bodhisattva Mahamati, were all perfect masters3 of the various Samadhis, the [tenfold] self-mastery, the [ten] powers, and the [six] psychic faculties; they were anointed by the hands of all the Buddhas; they all well understood the significance of the objective world as the manifestation of their own Mind; (2) they knew how to maintain [various] forms, teachings, and disciplinary measures, according to the various mentalities and behaviours of beings; they were thoroughly versed in the five Dharmas, the [three] Svabhavas, the [eight] Vijnanas, and the twofold Non-atman.

1 These Gothic numerals in parentheses refer to pages of the Sanskrit edition. 2 Much more fully described in Bodhiruci (Wei). 3 Literally, "sporting" (vikridita).

At that time, the Blessed One who had been preaching in the palace of the King of Sea-serpents came out at the expiration of seven days and was greeted by an innumerable host of Nagakanyas including Sakra and Brahma, and looking at Lanka on Mount Malaya smiled and said, "By the Tathagatas of the past, who were Arhats and Fully-Enlightened Ones, this Truth was made the subject of their discourse, at that castle of Lanka on the mountain-peak of Malaya, —the Truth realisable by noble wisdom in one's inmost self, which is beyond the reasoning knowledge of the philosophers as well as the state of consciousness of the Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas.1 I, too, would now for the sake of Ravana, Overlord of the Yakshas, discourse on this Truth."

[Inspired] by the spiritual power of the Tathagata, Ravana, Lord of the Rakshasas, heard [his voice]. Indeed, the Blessed One, surrounded and accompanied by an in-numerable host of Nagakanyas including Sakra and Brahma, came out of the palace of the King of Sea-serpents; and looking at the waves of the ocean and also at the mental agitations going on in those assembled, [he thought of] the ocean of the Alayavijnana where the evolving Vijnanas [like the waves] are stirred by the wind of objectivity. While he was standing there [thus absorbed in contemplation, Ravana saw him and] uttered a joyous cry, saying: "I will go and request of the Blessed One to enter into Lanka; for this long night he would probably profit, do good, and gladden (3) the gods as well as human beings."

Thereupon, Ravana, Lord of the Rakshasas, with his attendants, riding in his floral celestial chariot, came up where the Blessed One was, and having arrived there he and his attendants came out of the chariot. Walking around the Blessed One three times from left to right, they played on a musical instrument, beating it with a stick of blue Indra (saphire), and hanging the lute at one side, which was inlaid with the choicest lapis lazuli and supported by [a ribbon of] priceless cloth, yellowish-white like Priyangu, they sang with various notes such as Saharshya, Rishabha, Gandhara, Dhaivata, Nishada. Madyama, and Kaisika,2 which were melodiously modulated in Grama, Murchana, etc.; the voice in accompaniment with the flute beautifully blended with the measure of the Gatha.

1 The Sanskrit text is here certainly at fault; there ought to be a negative particle somewhere in this passage, which is the case in the Chinese translations. 2 Neither Bodhiruci nor Sikshananda refers so specifically to these various notes.

1. "The truth-treasure whose principle is the self-nature of Mind, has no selfhood (nairatmyam), stands above all reasoning, and is free from impurities; it points to the knowledge attained in one's inmost self; Lord, show me here the way leading to the Truth.

2. "The Sugata is the body in whom are stored immaculate virtues; in him are manifested [bodies] trans-forming and transformed; he enjoys the Truth realised in his inmost self; may he visit Lanka. Now is the time, Muni!

3. (4) "This Lanka was inhabited by the Buddhas of the past, and [they were] accompanied by their sons who were owners of many forms. Lord, show me now the highest Truth, and the Yakshas who are endowed with many forms will listen."

Thereupon, Ravana, the Lord of Lanka, further adapting the Totaka rhythm sang this in the measure of the Gatha.

4. After seven nights, the Blessed One leaving the ocean which is the abode of the Makara, the palace of the sea-king, now stands on the shore.

5. Just as the Buddha rises, Ravana, accompanied by the Apsaras and Yakshas numerous, by Suka, Sarana, and learned men,

6. Miraculously goes over to the place where the Lord is standing. Alighting from the floral vehicle, he greets the Tathagata reverentially, makes him offerings, tells him who he is, and stands by the Lord.

7. "I who have come here, am called Ravana, the ten-headed king of the Rakshasas, mayest thou graciously receive me with Lanka and all its residents.

8. "In this city, the inmost state of consciousness realised, indeed, by the Enlightened Ones of the past (5) was disclosed on this peak studded with precious stones.

9. "Let the Blessed One, too. surrounded by sons of the Victorious One, now disclose the Truth immaculate on this peak embellished with precious stones; we, together with the residents of Lanka, desire to listen.

10. "The Lankavatara Sutra which is praised by the Buddhas of the past [discloses] the inmost state of consciousness realised by them, which is not founded on any system of doctrine.

11. "I recollect the Buddhas of the past surrounded by sons of the Victorious One recite this Sutra; the Blessed One, too, will speak.

12. "In the time to come, there will be Buddhas and Buddha-Sons pitying the Yakshas; the Leaders will discourse on this magnificent doctrine on the peak adorned with precious stones.

13. "This magnificent city of Lanka is adorned with varieties of precious stones, [surrounded] by peaks, refresh-ing and beautiful and canopied by a net of jewels.

14. "Blessed One, here are the Yakshas who are free from faults of greed, reflecting on [the Truth] realised in one's inmost self and making offerings to the Buddhas of the past; they are believers in the teaching of the Mahayana and intent on disciplining one another.

15. "There are younger Yakshas, girls and boys, desiring to know the Mahayana. Come, Blessed One, who art our Teacher, come to Lanka on Mount Malaya.

16. (6) "The Rakshasas, with Kumbhakarna at their head, who are residing in the city, wish, as they are devoted to the Mahayana, to hear about this inmost realisation.

17. "They have made offerings assiduously to the Buddhas [in the past] and are to-day going to do the same. Come, for compassion's sake, to the Lanka, together with [thy] sons.

18. "Mahamati, accept my mansion, the company of the Apsaras, necklaces of various sorts, and the delightful Asoka garden.

19. "I give myself up to serve the Buddhas and their sons; there is nothing with me that I do not give up [for their sake]; Great Muni, have compassion on me!"

20. Hearing him speak thus, the Lord of the Triple World said, "King of Yakshas, this mountain of precious stones was visited by the Leaders in the past.

21. "And, taking pity on you, they discoursed on the Truth revealed in their inmost [consciousness]. [The Buddhas of] the future time will proclaim [the same] on this jewel-adorned mountain.

22. "This [inmost Truth] is the abode of those Yogins who stand in the presence of the Truth. King of the Yakshas, you have the compassion of the Sugatas and myself."

23. The Blessed One accepting the request [of the King] remained silent and undisturbed; he now mounted the floral chariot offered by Ravana.

24. Thus Ravana and others, wise sons of the Victorious One, (7) honoured by the Apsaras singing and dancing, reached the city.

25. Arriving in the delightful city [the Buddha was] again the recipient of honours; he was honoured by the group of Yakshas including Ravana and by the Yaksha women.

26. A net of jewels was offered to the Buddha by the younger Yakshas, girls and boys, and necklaces beautifully ornamented with jewels were placed by Ravana about the neck of the Buddha and those of the sons of the Buddha.

27. The Buddhas together with the sons of the Buddha and the wise men, accepting the offerings, discoursed on the Truth which is the state of consciousness realised in the inmost self.

28. Honouring [him as] the best speaker, Ravana and the company of the Yakshas honoured Mahamati and requested of him again and again:1

29. "Thou art the asker of the Buddha concerning the state of consciousness realised in their inmost selves, of which we here, Yakshas as well as the sons of the Buddha, are desirous of hearing. I, together with the Yakshas, the sons of the Buddha, and the wise men, request this of thee.

30. "Thou art the most eloquent of speakers, and the most strenuous of the Yogins; with faith I beg of thee. Ask [the Buddha] about the doctrine, O thou the proficient one!

1 Verses 20-28, inclusive, are in prose in T'ang.

31. "Free from the faults of the philosophers and Pratyekabuddhas and Sravakas is (8) the Truth of the inmost consciousness, immaculate and culminating in the stage of Buddhahood."

32.1 Thereupon the Blessed One created jewel-adorned mountains and other objects magnificently embellished with jewels in an immense number.

33. On the summit of each mountain the Buddha himself was visible, and Ravana, the Yaksha, also was found standing there.

34. Thus the entire assembly was seen on each mountain-peak, and all the countries Were there, and in each there was a Leader.

35. Here also was the King of the Rakshasas and the residents of Lanka, and the Lanka created by the Buddha rivaling [the real one].

36. Other things were there, too, —the Asoka with its shining woods, and on each mountain-peak Mahamati was making a request of the Buddha,

37. Who discoursed for the sake of the Yakshas on the Truth leading to the inmost realisation; on the mountain-peak he delivered a complete sutra with an exquisite voice varied in hundreds of thousands of ways.2

38. [After this] the teacher and the sons of the Buddha vanished away in the air, leaving Ravana the Yaksha himself standing [above] in his mansion.

39. Thought he, "How is this? What means this? and by whom was it heard? What was it that was seen? and by whom was it seen? Where is the city? and where is the Buddha?

40. "Where are those countries, those jewel-shining Buddhas, those Sugatas? (9) Is it a dream then? or a vision? or is it a castle conjured up by the Gandharvas?

1 From this verse T'ang is in prose again. 2 Thus according to Bodhiruci and Sikshananda. The Sanskrit text has: "hundreds of thousands of perfect sutras."

41. "Or is it dust in the eye, or a fata morgana, or the dream-child of a barren woman, or the smoke of a fire-wheel, that which I saw here?"

42. Then [Ravana reflected], "This is the nature as it is (dharmata) of all things, which belongs to the realm of Mind, and it is not comprehended by the ignorant as they are confused by every form of imagination.

43. "There is neither the seer nor the seen, neither the speaker nor the spoken; the form and usage of the Buddha and his Dharma—they are nothing but discrimination.

44. "Those who see things such as were seen before, do not see the Buddha; [even] when discrimination is not aroused, one does not see1 the Buddha; the Buddha being fully-enlightened is seen where the world itself is not evolved.

The Lord of Lanka was then immediately awakened [from his reflection], feeling a revulsion (paravriti) in his mind and realising that the world was nothing but his own mind: he was settled in the realm of non-discrimination, was urged by the stock of his past good deeds, acquired the cleverness of understanding all the texts, obtained the faculty of seeing things as they are, was no more dependent upon others, observed