Sacred Texts: Buddhism

A Buddhist Bible: The Lankavatara Sutra: Chapter I. Discr...

Dwight GoddardTaoism and ZenZen Buddhism

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This is an excerpt from the *Lankavatara Sutra*, a foundational Mahayana Buddhist scripture in the Yogacara (mind-only) philosophical tradition, presented in the classic form of a discourse between the Buddha and the bodhisattva Mahamati at the mythical Castle of Lanka. The central argument is that the perceived external world has no independent existence — it is entirely a projection of discriminating mind, comparable to dreams, mirror reflections, mirages, and echoes — and that clinging to concepts like being/non-being, oneness/otherness, or the reality of objects is the root cause of suffering and continued rebirth. The Buddha instructs that liberation (Noble Wisdom) cannot be reached through philosophical reasoning or conceptual analysis, but only through direct inner realization that transcends all dualistic categories. A notably distinctive claim is the text's aggressive dismissal of philosophical schools: thinkers who argue from "realistic views of being and non-being" are said to contradict true Dharma and bring ruin on themselves and others. The sutra also presents a proto-idealist psychology in which "habit-energy" — the accumulated residue of erroneous mental discriminations — perpetuates ignorance across lifetimes, much as a dreamer wanders a city that exists only in the mind. Readers interested in the Buddhist philosophy of consciousness, the Yogacara doctrine of vijñana (mind-streams), or the scriptural roots of Zen's emphasis on direct experience will find this text directly relevant.

A Buddhist Bible: The Lankavatara Sutra: Chapter I. Discr...

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