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The Sandhinirmocana Sutra (Sanskrit: Discourse Explaining the Thought or Sutra on Unfurling the Real Meaning) is a Buddhist scripture classified as belonging to the Consciousness-only school of Buddhist thought.[1]

The Sutra was likely composed in Sanskrit during the 4th Century BCE in India, but currently exists only in Chinese and Tibetan translations.[2] It is one of the most important texts of the Yogacara tradition, and one of the earliest texts to expound the philosophy of Consciousness-only or mind-only.[3][4] Divided into ten sections, the Sutra presents itself as a series of dialogs between the Buddha and various bodhisattvas.[5] During these dialogs, the Buddha attempts to clarify disputed meanings present in scriptures of the early Mahayana early Buddhist schools- thus the title of the stura, which promises to expound a teaching that is "completely explicit" and requires no interpretation in order to be understood.[6]

Within the Sutra, the Buddha describes the teaching that he is presenting as part of the Third Turning of the Wheel of Dharma[7]. As such, the Sutra is intended to clarify confusing or contradictory elements of earlier teachings, presenting a new teaching that resolves earlier inconsistencies.[8] The Sutra affirms that the earlier turnings of the wheel- the teachings of the sravaka vehicle and the emptiness doctrine adopted by the Madhyamaka- represented authentic teachings, but indicates that they were flawed because they required interpretation.[9] The teachings of the Sandhinirmocana Sutra, on the other hand, require no interpretation and can be read literally according to the discourse delivered by the Buddha within the text.[10] This reflects an ancient division in Buddhist hermeneutics, a topic to which the Sutra devotes an entire chapter.[11][12]

The Sandhinirmocana Sutra was adopted by the Yogacara school as one of its primary scriptures. In addition, it inspired a great deal of additional writing, including discussions of the scriptures by Asanga and Vasubandhu, and a large body of Tibetan literature founded on Tsong Kha Pa's writings concerning the scripture.[13]


[edit] References

  1. ^ (Williams 2004, p. 78)
  2. ^ (Powers 2004, pp. 737-38)
  3. ^ (Powers 2004, p. 738)
  4. ^ (Powers 2004, p. 78)
  5. ^ (Powers 2004, p. 738)
  6. ^ (Williams 2004, p. 79)
  7. ^ (Williams 2004, p. 79)
  8. ^ (Powers 2004, p. 738)
  9. ^ (Williams 2004, p. 79)
  10. ^ (Williams 2004, p. 79)
  11. ^ (Williams 2004, p. 79)
  12. ^ (Powers 2004, p. 738)
  13. ^ (Powers 2004, p. 738)

[edit] Works Cited

  • Williams, Paul (2004), Mahayana Buddhism, Bury St. Edmunds, England: Routledge, pp. 78-81, ISBN 0415025370 
  • Powers, John (2004), “Saṃdhinirmocana-Sūtra”, in Buswell, Jr., Robert E., Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, USA: Macmillan Reference USA, pp. 737-738, ISBN 0028659104 
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