Readings of the Platform Sutra

Columbia Readings of Buddhist Literature

by Morten Schlütter (Editor), Stephen F. Teiser (Editor)

The Platform Sutra comprises a wide range of important Chan/Zen Buddhist teachings. Purported to contain the autobiography and sermons of Huineng (638–713), the legendary Sixth Patriarch of Chan, the sutra has been popular among monastics and the educated elite for centuries. The first study of its kind in English, this volume offers essays that introduce the history and ideas of the sutra to a general audience and interpret its practices. Leading specialists on Buddhism discuss the text's historical background and its vaunted legacy in Chinese culture.

Incorporating recent scholarship and theory, chapters include an overview of Chinese Buddhism, the crucial role of the Platform Sutra in the Chan tradition, and the dynamics of Huineng's biography. They probe the sutra's key philosophical arguments, its paradoxical teachings about transmission, and its position on ordination and other institutions. The book includes a character glossary and extensive bibliography, with helpful references for students, general readers, and specialists throughout. The editors and contributors are among the most respected scholars in the study of Buddhism, and they assess the place of the Platform Sutra in the broader context of Chinese thought, opening the text to all readers interested in Asian culture, literature, spirituality, and religion.

Genres: Zen, Buddhism

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Mindy McAdams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Naturally, you need to be familiar with the Platform Sutra to get the full value out of this book. It's written in a very accessible way, with each of the essays specially commissioned for this collection. The credentials and authority of each author are impeccable. They are Western academics, so this is a strictly scholarly work and not a religious one.

I have not read the Yampolsky translation of this sutra, but I've read Wing-tsit Chan's translation of the same version (British Library, S. 5475), and so I had no trouble understanding the references in the essays. The one by Peter N. Gregory, "The Platform Sutra As the Sudden Teaching," is really marvelous. All of the essays are distinctly different and deal with different aspects of the sutra.

I learned a lot from this book and would recommend it to anyone who's interested in a modern, scholarly study of the Platform Sutra. However, it's not a good book for someone who's not familiar with this sutra.

[Taylor Swift Scholar · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I bought this thinking that it WAS the platform sutra. Instead, it is a series of chapters ABOUT the platform sutra. This accidental purchase did end up enhancing my understanding and was a great companion.