Readings of the Platform Sutra

Columbia Readings of Buddhist Literature

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

This anthology of secondary readings of The Platform Sutra is designed to introduce the undergraduate to one of the most popular and influential Chan (Zen) Buddhist texts. The sutra purportedly contains the teachings of Huineng (638-713), the sixth patriarch of China and the father of the Chan movement. Though recent research suggests that the work has little connection to Huineng, it does date to the eighth century and has had enduring popularity among monastics and the educated elite.

Essays in the book include an overview of Chan Buddhism in China, the importance of The Platform Sutra to the tradition, the figure of Huineng, key concepts in Chan, philosophical ideas in the Platform text, transmission of the tradition, religious ordination and precepts, and the role of The Platform Sutra in the broader context of non-Buddhist Chinese thought. The editors and contributors, including Peter Gregory and Wendi Adamek, are among the most well-respected scholars of Buddhism today. A character glossary and bibliography complete the volume.

Genres: Zen, Buddhism

234 pages, Kindle Edition

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.