Blog » Symposiums And Lectures » Shurangama Sutra » The Shurangama Sutra: The Vajra Pestle and Sword that Quell the Demons, and the Jeweled Mirror that Reveals the True Face of Deviant Beings

The Shurangama Sutra: The Vajra Pestle and Sword that Quell the Demons, and the Jeweled Mirror that Reveals the True Face of Deviant Beings2013-01-10

 

Spoken by the Venerable Master Hua~1974, Vietnam

The first thing I would like to talk about today is that we all need to study a very important sutra in Buddhism. This sutra is the Vajra pestle and sword that quell the demons, and the jeweled mirror that shows the true face of deviant beings. Do you know what sutra this is? It is The Shurangama Sutra. Studying The Shurangama Sutra will open up our wisdom. Unfortunately, it is looked down upon by many scholars in the world; how so? They say this sutra is a fake.

If they say this sutra is fake, then why should we study it? It is because it has its value and is worth studying. This sutra identifies all of the deviant views from unorthodox Buddhist sects, and clarifies the views that contradict the Buddhadharma in great detail. That’s why I said that The Shurangama Sutra is the Vajra pestle and sword that quell the demons and the jeweled mirror that reveals the true face of deviant beings. So if everyone understands this sutra, then the heavenly demons and the externalist sects will naturally disappear. The wars in this world will stop, so all of mankind will be able to live peacefully. Therefore, this sutra is most important!

Young Buddhists should vigorously study the Buddhadharma. What should they study? I encourage everyone to put all your effort into investigating The Shurangama Sutra. The Shurangama Sutra will open up your wisdom, and if you understand it, then you can pretty much say that you understand the Buddhadharma, especially the inconceivable Shurangama Mantra. For example, layman Mr. Jyun Jung is always thinking about this, thinking about that, he never stops thinking about anything. But as for the Shurangama Mantra, you would never be able to finish thinking about it, and no matter how much you thought about it, you would never understand it either. Why? Because it has an inconceivable power. In Buddhism, the Shurangama Mantra is called “magical lexis,” which means that it is wonderful beyond description, and one could never finish talking about its benefits. If every one of us could memorize the Shurangama Mantra, there would be 84,000 Vajra Treasury Bodhisattvas protecting us. The Shurangama Mantra is the most wonderful, and it is also the longest mantra in Buddhism, with about 2,320 words. Young people! You should bring forth the resolve to learn the Shurangama Mantra and The Shurangama Sutra, and memorize them. If you do so, then your foundations for learning the Buddhadharma will be very solid.

Question: The venerable master mentioned that everyone should read and be familiar with The Shurangama Sutra. May I ask, what does The Shurangama Sutra talk about that we should read? Is it OK if we don’t read it?

The Venerable Master’s answer: If you want to know what it talks about, then you should read it; if you don’t want to know, then you didn’t even have to ask this question.

Question: Why doesn’t the Venerable Master introduce The Vajra Sutra? The Sixth Patriarch became enlightened when he heard The Vajra Sutra; and why not introduce The Sixth Patriarch’s Platform Sutra? It talks about the Sixth Patriarch’s feelings about realizing the way. Why does the Venerable Master only introduce The Shurangama Sutra?

The Venerable Master’s answer: We already talked about the importance of The Shurangama Sutra last night. When the Buddhadharma is about to disappear, it is The Shurangama Sutra that will disappear first. If The Shurangama Sutra is gone, then the demons and goblins will appear in the world. There are five great demon armies in the world. In the Shurangama Mantra, there are five divisions that oversee these five great demon armies. If no one recites the Shurangama Mantra, this world will be destroyed; the demons and goblins will appear, and the results will be disastrous. The reason why we don’t see and hear the demons is because the Shurangama Mantra is still in the world. As long as there are people reciting the Shurangama Mantra, then the demons and goblins will not dare show their faces.

Question: Venerable Master! Is it true that there are people who practice gu (something practiced by some southeastern Asians that is similar to voodoo. They use incredibly deadly poisons derived from venomous creatures to harm people)? Why have there been so many people who have experienced it? As Buddhists, how should we view gu? Why is such evil permitted to exist?

The Venerable Master’s answer: There are many weird things that exist in this world. In Chinese, there is a saying: “The heavens are wide and the seas are vast; there are all kinds of bizarre and unusual things.” But no matter what, all of us must have a righteous mind, for “The righteous mind will enable us to correct our behavior, take care of our family, govern the country, and lead the world.” As long as we have righteousness in our minds, none of the externalists can do anything to us. If someone succeeds in casting a spell on you, then that was because your mind was unrighteous in the first place. It is said that evil will not triumph over the virtuous, so if your mind is righteous, none of the gu will work.

Just now I encouraged everyone to study The Shurangama Sutra and recite the Shurangama Mantra. If all of you could memorize the Shurangama Mantra, then no gu would work on you. The Shurangama Mantra can break all of the demons’ nets and the externalists’ spells. Its power is beyond our comprehension. If you do not want to be harmed by gu, then you should recite the Shurangama Mantra. I stated previously that whoever can sincerely recite the Shurangama Mantra will have 84,000 Vajra Treasury Bodhisattvas protecting him or her.

Question: When is the right time for us to recite the Shurangama Mantra?

The Venerable Master’s answer: Not when you are bowing to the Buddhas. When you are doing your regular activities, whether you are walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, you can recite the Shurangama Mantra. When you recite the Shurangama Mantra, you will not have any other false thoughts, just like when you recite the name of Guan Yin Bodhisattva. Reciting Shurangama Mantra will also help you attain samadhi. Samadhi is proper concentration and perception. It makes you focused and lessens your false thoughts.

Question: We do not know how to recite the Shurangama Mantra, but we know how to recite The Great Compassion Mantra and The Ten Small Mantras. Are these included in the Shurangama Mantra?

The Venerable Master’s answer: Although The Great Compassion Mantra and The Ten Small Mantras are included in the morning recitation session, they are not included in the Shurangama Mantra. The Shurangama Mantra has five sections, which have five divisions: the Buddha division, the Lotus division, the Production-of-Jewels division, the Vajra division, and the Karma division. Each of them oversees one of the five directions.

You say you don’t know how to recite; but you can learn. No one knows at first; no one is born with the ability to recite the Shurangama Mantra. Well, if you are, then you’re a Bodhisattva. So if you don’t know, then you can learn; don’t just say “I don’t know how” as an excuse. When you study, you study because you have not yet graduated; if you say “I don’t want to study” but you want to graduate, that is impossible.