Come and have a cup of tea with Miller Roshi and Daiyuzenji’s Buddhism Study group on Sunday mornings after Zazen, Sanzen, and Okyo! In 2014 we studied the Vimalikirti and Diamond sutras, key texts from the prajnaparamita (perfection of wisdom) literature. We will begin the new year with weekly study and discussion of the Lankavatara Sutra, one of the two primary sutras developing the doctrine of the Yogacara school of Buddhist thought. This sutra was very important in the development of Buddhism and Zen in China. Indeed, in the earliest days, Zen was sometimes referred to as the School of the Lanka. We will use the very readable recent translation by Red Pine (Counterpoint Press). As Red Pine points out in his introduction, the “Lanka,” with its relentless “mind-only” emphasis, has never been a text that welcomes the casual reader. In terms of accessibility for the contemporary Zen practitioner, however, Red Pine’s 2012 translation is far more inviting than D.T. Suzuki’s pioneering but daunting early-20th century translation. “Although making sense of this sutra has been challenging, I am surprised how straightforward it became,” says Red Pine. “Basically, the teaching of the Lankavatara is similar to the approach used by later Zen masters who offered their disciples a cup of tea, then asked them to taste the tea. The cup of tea in this case is the Buddha’s teaching that traces the universe of our awareness, be it mundane or metaphysical, back to our mind. This is the cup of tea into which this sutra is poured.” Note: Amazon seems to be out of stock at present, but the book is available from a number of resellers on Amazon’s site. There is also a Kindle edition. amazon/Lankavatara-Sutra-Translation-Commentary/dp/1619020998 Some folks have picked it up from amazon.ca. We are starting Chapter 1 this week. Please join us.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 04:45:29 +0000
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