Platform Sutra
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The ''Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch'' ( or simply: ''Tánjīng'') is a
Chan Buddhist Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and So ...
scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
that was composed in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
during the 8th to 13th century. The "platform" (施法壇) refers to the
podium A podium (plural podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek ''πόδι'' (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be used ...
on which a Buddhist teacher speaks. Its key themes are the direct perception of one's true nature, and the unity in essence of '' śīla'' (conduct), '' dhyāna'' (meditation) and '' prajñā'' (wisdom). The text centers on teachings and stories ascribed to the sixth Chan patriarch
Huineng Dajian Huineng (); (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan (traditional Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhi ...
. It contains the well-known story of the contest for the succession of Hongren (enlightenment by the non-abiding), and discourses and dialogues attributed to Huineng. The text attributes its recollection to Fa-hai, but was probably written within the so-called
Oxhead school The Oxhead school (''Niu-t'ou zong'') was a short lived tradition of Chinese Chan Buddhism founded by Fa-jung (Niutou Farong, 牛頭法融, 594–657), who was a Dharma heir of the Fourth Patriarch Tao-hsin (580-651). Their main temple was locate ...
, which existed along with the East Mountain School and Shenhui's Southern School. The text attempts to reconcile the so-called Northern School with its alleged gradual enlightenment teachings, and the so-called Southern School with its alleged sudden enlightenment teachings. In effect, the text incorporates the "rhetorical purity" which originated with Shenhui's attack on
Shenxiu Yuquan Shenxiu (, 606?–706) was one of the most influential Chan masters of his day, a Patriarch of the East Mountain Teaching of Chan Buddhism. Shenxiu was Dharma heir of Daman Hongren (601–674), honoured by Wu Zetian (r. 690–705) of th ...
, while effectively "writing him out of the story".


History of the text

The ''Platform Sutra'' underwent various redactions. Though its recollection has been attributed to Fa-hai, a student of Huineng, its origins are not clear: The Dunhuang versions are the oldest texts available, with the full title ''Southern School's Sudden Doctrine, Supreme Mahayana Great
Perfection of Wisdom A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā ( sa, प्रज्ञापारमिता) means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna and Theravāda B ...
: The Platform Sutra as Delivered by the Sixth Patriarch Huineng at the Dafan Temple in Shao Prefecture'' , subtitled, “one roll, recorded by the spreader of the Dharma, the disciple Fahai, who at the same time received the Precepts of Formlessness” (一卷,兼受無相戒弘法弟子法海集記). Two copies dated to between 830 and 860 have been found in the
Mogao Caves The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu p ...
in Dunhuang. Both are thought to be based on an edition from about 780. The finds at Dunhuang have been very important for the historical understanding of Zen: In 1056, the Chinese scholar-monk Qisong (契嵩, Wade-Giles: ''Ch'i-sung'') produced a larger edition, entitled ''Liuzu fabao ji'' (法寶記 ‘Precious Record of the Dharma’). In 1291, Zongbao (宗寶, Wade-Giles: ''Tsung-pao'') produced the edition that became part of the
Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
Chinese Buddhist canon. This canonical version, apparently based on the Qisong edition, is about a third longer than the Mogao Caves version, and structured differently.


Contents

The ''Platform Sutra'' is:


Chapter One - Personal History

Chapter One contains the well-known story of the contest for the succession of Hongren. It is an essential part of the Traditional Zen Narrative. The Fifth Patriarch summoned all his followers and proposed a poem contest for his followers to demonstrate the stage of their understanding of the essence of mind. He decided to pass down his robe and teachings to the winner of the contest, who would become the Sixth Patriarch. Shenxiu, the leading disciple of the Fifth Patriarch, composed a stanza, but did not have the courage to present it to the master. Instead, he wrote his stanza on the south corridor wall to remain anonymous one day at midnight about one o'clock in the morning. The other monks saw the stanza and commended it. Shenxiu's stanza is as follows: The Patriarch was not satisfied with Shenxiu's stanza, and pointed out that the poem did not show understanding of " isown fundamental nature and essence of mind." He gave Shenxiu a chance to submit another poem to demonstrate that he had entered the "gate of enlightenment," so that he could transmit his robe and the Dharma to Shenxiu, but the student's mind was agitated and could not write one more stanza. Two days later, the illiterate Huineng heard Shenxiu's stanza being chanted by a young attendant at the monastery and inquired about the context of the poem. The attendant explained to him the poem contest and the transmission of the robe and Dharma. Huineng asked to be led to the corridor, where he could also pay homage to the stanza. He asked a low-ranking official named Zhang Riyong from Jiangzhou to read the verse to him, and then immediately asked him to write down a stanza that he composed. According to McRae, "the earliest version of the ''Platform Sutra'' contains two versions of Huineng's verse. Later version contain one version of Huineng's stanza, different from the two older ones: The followers who were present were astonished by the work of a southern barbarian. Being cautious of Huineng's status, the Patriarch wiped away the stanza and claimed that the author of the stanza had not reached enlightenment. According to the traditional interpretation, which is based on
Guifeng Zongmi Guifeng Zongmi () (780–1 February 841) was a Tang dynasty Buddhist scholar and bhikkhu, installed as fifth patriarch of the Huayan school as well as a patriarch of the Heze school of Southern Chan Buddhism. He wrote a number of works on the ...
, the fifth-generation successor of Shenhui, the two verses represent respectively the gradual and the sudden approach. According to McRae, this is an incorrect understanding: Huineng's verse does not stand alone, but forms a pair with Shenxiu's verse: McRae notes a similarity in reasoning with the Oxhead School, which used a threefold structure of "absolute, relative and middle", or "thesis-antithesis-synthesis". According to McRae, the ''Platform Sutra'' itself is the synthesis in this threefold structure, giving a balance between the need of constant practice and the insight into the absolute.


Chapter Two - Prajna (Lecture)

Chapter Two contains a lecture on prajna, given after a recitation of the '' Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra''. From this chapter:


Chapter Three - Questions

In Chapter Three Huineng answers questions from a lay audience. Huineng discusses the famous story of
Bodhidharma Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a 17th century apo ...
telling
Emperor Wu of Liang Emperor Wu of Liang () (464 – 12 June 549), personal name Xiao Yan (蕭衍), courtesy name Shuda (叔達), childhood name Lian'er (練兒), was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang dynasty, during the Northern and Southern dynasties perio ...
that his good deeds would bring him no merit. Next, he discusses the Pure Land of the West, asserting the greater importance of one's inner state compared to one's physical location. This leads to a conclusion in which Huineng asserts that lay practice outside of a monastery is preferable to following the forms of monastic renunciation without inner practice.


Chapter Four - Meditation and Wisdom (Lecture)

In Chapter Four, meditation and wisdom are said to be of the same essence:


Chapter Five - Seated Meditation (Lecture)

Chapter Five details the "pureness of our fundamental nature":


Chapter Six - Ceremony of Repentance

Chapter Six describes a repentance-ritual.


Chapter Seven - Key Events (Encounter stories and dialogues)

Chapter Seven gives various stories of encounters and dialogues.


Chapter Eight - Immediate and Gradual (Encounter stories and dialogues)

Chapter Eight also gives various stories of encounters and dialogues.


Chapter Nine - The Imperial Summons

Chapter Nine describes the request of the Imperial Court for Huineng to visit the Emperor, and Huineng's decline of this command.


Chapter Ten - Transmission

In the chapter on his final instructions, Huineng instructs his accomplished disciples, giving specific instructions how to "preach the Dharma", which show the influence of the Buddhist teachings on the five skandhas, the concept of
Namarupa Nāmarūpa ( sa, नामरूप) is used in Buddhism to refer to the constituents of a living being: ''nāma'' is typically considered to refer to the mental component of the person, while ''rūpa'' refers to the physical. ''Nāmarūpa'' is ...
, and the Yogacara-teachings:


Scholarship and translations


Japanese scholarship

In the 1920s, Japanese scholar Yabuki Keiki (矢吹慶輝 1879-1939) produced an edition based on one of the Mogao Caves texts (the only one known at the time), dividing the text into fifty-seven sections. In 1934,
D. T. Suzuki , self-rendered in 1894 as "Daisetz", was a Japanese-American Buddhist monk, essayist, philosopher, religious scholar, translator, and writer. He was a scholar and author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in s ...
published an edition based on the Mogao Cave text, but incorporating corrections from the Tsungpao (Zongbao) edition. In 1993, the Buddhist scholar Yang Zengwen (楊曾文, b. 1939,
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
) published an annotated edition of the second Mogao Caves text (which has fewer errors than the first Mogao Caves text). (Pine, 2006, Introduction)


Translations into English

The first published translation into English was completed in 1930 by Wong Mou-lam (黃茂林 -1934) from
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
. It was based on the canonical Tsungpao edition, and published by the Yu Ching Press of Shanghai. The Suzuki edition was translated into English by
Wing-tsit Chan Wing-tsit Chan (; 18 August 1901 – 12 August 1994) was a Chinese scholar and professor best known for his studies of Chinese philosophy and his translations of Chinese philosophical texts. Chan was born in China in 1901 and went to the United St ...
in 1963 and is written in his book, A source book in Chinese Philosophy. In 1967
Philip Yampolsky Philip Boas Yampolsky (October 20, 1920 – July 28, 1996) was an eminent translator and scholar of Zen Buddhism and a former Director of the C. V. Starr East Asian Library of Columbia University. A scholar of Chinese and Japanese religious tra ...
published a translation based on the Mogao Cave text. This translation is a landmark in the modern Western scholarship on Zen and its history.
Charles Luk Charles Luk (1898-1978) () was an early translator of Chinese Buddhist texts and commentaries into the English language. He was born in Guangdong province, and moved later to Hong Kong, where he wrote most of his books. Buddhist practice Charles ...
translated the sutra as "The Dharma Treasure of the Altar Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch" which was published in ''Ch'an and Zen Teachings'' (Third Series, 1973). John McRae translated the longer
Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
-era composite edition. It was published by Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai. Tripitaka Master
Hsuan Hua Hsuan Hua (; April 16, 1918 – June 7, 1995), also known as An Tzu, Tu Lun and Master Hua by his Western disciples, was a Chinese monk of Chan Buddhism and a contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States in the lat ...
commented on the Sixth Patriarch Sutra. The sutra and commentary were published by the Buddhist Text Translation Society as The Sixth Patriarch’s Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra (1971) 1st edition Hong Kong, (1977) 2nd edition, San Francisco, (2002) 3rd edition Burlingame, Shoemaker & Hoard published a translation and commentary by the American writer
Red Pine ''Pinus resinosa'', known as red pine (also Norway pine in Minnesota), is a pine native to North America. Description Red pine is a coniferous evergreen tree characterized by tall, straight growth. It usually ranges from in height and in trun ...
, based on the second Mogao Caves text, in 2006. Martin Verhoeven and Rev. Heng Sure, disciples of Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua, edited an edition based on the Chinese Zongbao Taisho Volume 48, Number 2008, in August 2014.


See also

*
Enlightenment in Buddhism The English term enlightenment is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' (; Sanskrit: बोधि; Pali: ''bodhi''), means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakened intellect ...


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * *


Further reading

* For a close reading of the ''Platform Sutra's'' narrative, see chapter 5 of Alan Cole's ''Fetishizing Tradition: Desire and Reinvention in Buddhist and Christian Narratives'' (SUNY Press, 2015)


External links


TheZenSite: Translations and Sutras壇經對勘[冯焕珍老师惠赠]
versions
Buddhist Text Translation Society
{{Buddhism topics Mahayana sutras Zen texts