The Shurangama Sutra--(NEW)

For over a thousand years , the Surangama Sutra 一the 〝Sutra of the Indestructible〞一has been held in great esteem in the Mahayana Buddhist countries of East and Southeast Asia . In China the Sutra has generally been considered as important and has been as popular as the Lotus Sutra , the Avatamsaka Sutrra , the Mahayna Mahaparinirvana Sutra , the Heart Sutra , and the Diamond Sutrtra . The appeal of the Surangama Sutra lies in the broad scope of its teachings and in the depth and clarity of its prescriptions for contemplative practice . Its wealth of theoretical and practical instruction in the spiritual life often made it the first major text to be studied by newly ordained mooks , particularly in the Chan school . Many enlightened masters and illustrious monastic scholars have written exegetical commentaries on it . To this day , for both clergy and laity in the Chinese Buddhist tradition , the Surangama Sutra continues to be the object of devout Study , recitation , and memorization .Much of the Sutra unfolds in the form of a dialogue between the Buddha Sakkyamuni and his young cousin Ananda , whose personal story provides a narrative frame for the discourse . The Buddha shows Ananda how to turn the attention of his sense-faculties inward in order to achieve a deeply focused state of meditation known as samadhi . The Buddha gives instruction in moral purity , in correct understanding of the mind , in avoidance of dangers that maybe encountered when absorbed in meditation , and in the practice of theh Surangama Mantra , which lies at the heart of the sutra .