Surangama Sutra and Synthetic Dharma

The Śūraṅgama Sūtra has the impossibly long title of “The Sūtra on the Śūraṅgama Mantra Spoken from above the Crown of the Great Buddha's Head, and on the Hidden Basis of the Tathagata's Myriad Bodhisattva Practices Leading to Their Verification of the Ultimate Truth.” It never quite lives up to the title – but what could? The title alone seems to promise great wisdom or great confusion with its talk about myriad practices, verification and ultimate truth.

So where did this jewel of Mahayana come from? No one knows for sure but some intelligent guesses can be made. The Buddha is not on the list of likely suspects.

The first person that gave an account of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra was Zhi-sheng, a Chinese monk of the Tang Dynasty. Zhi-sheng said this book was brought back from Guangxi to Luoyang during the Kaiyuan era. He gave two different accounts of its travels in two different books of his, both of which were published in 730 CE. First he said it was translated and published about 713 CE. In his second book, he was much more precise, but much more confusing by saying that it was translated in May of 705 CE by Śramaṇa Pāramiti from Central India, who came to China and brought the text to the province of Guangzhou. The text was then “polished and edited” by Empress Wu Zetian's former minister, court regulator, and state censor Fang Yong of Qingho, who not only bore many responsibilities but also literally wore many different hats. The translation was reviewed by Śramaṇa Meghaśikha from Oddiyana, and certified by Śramaṇa Huai-di of Nanlou Monastery on Mount Luofu. Unfortunately, none of these people bothered to give us an account of these events.

There were disputes about the Sutra’s authenticity. Buddhist scholars in the Tang Dynasty nearly unanimously called the Śūraṅgama Sūtra a forgery almost as soon as it appeared. It arrived in Japan a few years after it was “translated” in Chinas soon as it was distributed. The Japanese Emperor, Konin went so far as to send an emissary to China to ask whether the sutra was authentic or not. The emissary was told that the state censor Fang Yong himself was the author and forged the document and it is possible that this is why Zhi-sheng gave the work two different dates. Later Lu Cheng wrote an essay attempting to prove this book is apocryphal, named "One hundred reasons about why Śūraṅgama Sūtra is apocryphal". The debate continues to rage on. Very few modern scholars accept the Śūraṅgama Sūtra as a legitimate teaching. Once more we have a pseudepigrapha disguised as an authentic teaching.

Some of the material in the sutra seems to have a lot in common with the Mahayana branch of the Nalanda University. It is definitely a proponent of the Yogacara School’s ideas regarding the mind and the nature of reality. The Śūraṅgama Sūtra contains teachings from Yogācāra, Tathagatagarbha, and Esoteric Buddhism. It makes use of Buddhist Logic, with its methods of syllogism and the fourfold negation (Skt. catuṣkoṭi), first popularized by Nāgārjuna, which states that for any proposition only four possibilities exist:

—    The Proposition is true

—    The Proposition is not true

—    The Proposition is both true and not true

—    The proposition is neither true nor not true.

To complicate matters, Nagarjuna incorporated a second set of negative possibilities. They are the same as the first but begin with the word “not”.

The sutra is written in the literary style of the pseudepigrapha. And that means it is a falsely attributed work, a text whose claimed authorship is represented by a separate author, in this case the Buddha; or it is a work, "whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past” or both. In this case it seems both. The Buddha could not have uttered these words nor would he have even if he were alive at the time of its writing. Let’s accept it for what it is. That will eliminate the charges of “forgery” and “counterfeit” from the very start.

The work introduces some novel ideas to Buddhism that are not really found in the original Canon. For example, the afore mentioned Tathagatagarbha, the Śūraṅgama samadhi, and esoteric (tantric) elements of Buddha’s teaching. It also introduces the idea of the Dharma/Dhamma Ending Age, while not a completely new idea, is given a timetable. The Buddha Family (Buddha’s of the Five Directions) and the need for Ananda to repent to the Buddha for his lack of understanding are also introduced. That must have mind blowing to the Theravadins when that news was announced but the Mahayana population gave a knowing wink to each other.

The sutra puts it this way, “Since I followed the Buddha and left home, what I have done is to rely on the Buddha’s awesome spirit. I have often thought, ‘There is no reason for me to toil at cultivation’ expecting that the Tathagata would bestow samadhi upon me. I never realized that he could not stand in for me in body and mind. Thus, I lost my original mind and although my body has left the home-life, my mind has not entered the Way. I am like the poor son who renounced his father and roamed around…” For Ananda to say this is surely unbelievable (a different contemporary term could be here used). This chapter is so out of touch with the original teaching that one’s eyebrow might raise high enough to cover the crown of the head and stretch to the nape of the neck. So there are some very substantial contextual problems with the Śūraṅgama Sūtra.

So where does the idea of a “Dharma Ending Age” come from? What is a “Dharma Ending Age” anyway? In the Saddhammapatrirupaka Sutta the idea that some persons with ulterior motives may counterfeit the Dhamma is introduced. Saddhammapatrirupaka literally means “synthetic dhamma”. In the second verse the Buddha says, “When beings are degenerating and the true Dhamma is disappearing, there are more training rules and yet fewer monks established in final gnosis. There is no disappearance of the true Dhamma as long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the world, but there is the disappearance of the true Dhamma when a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has arisen in the world. Just as there is no disappearance of gold as long as a counterfeit of gold has not arisen in the world, but there is the disappearance of gold when a counterfeit of gold has arisen in the world, in the same way there is no disappearance of the true Dhamma as long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the world, but there is the disappearance of the true Dhamma when a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has arisen in the world.”

Of course, gold does not disappear when artificial gold is counterfeited and replaces the real thing in the market place. Neither does the Dhamma. What does happen is that people find the counterfeit gold easier to use, there is more of it. Real gold goes out of use. It becomes devaluated because average people cannot tell the real gold from the counterfeit one. The value of the real gold becomes questioned. People will wind up using whichever version of the gold is easier to get a hold of and looks prettier.

The same happens with the Dhamma. When a synthetic Dhamma comes along people get confused. They begin to think, “The teaching is the teaching.” They are attracted to more exotic versions. Confusions arise when the synthetic Dhamma does not quite match up to the original one. Some who reject the counterfeit version of the Buddha’s teaching unwittingly reject the original Dhamma as well.

The Buddha did not put dates to the arising of the counterfeit Dhamma. Nor did he tell us exactly what the new teachings would look like. What he did say was, It's worthless people [within the Sangha] who arise right here who make the true Dhamma disappear. The true Dhamma doesn't disappear the way a boat sinks all at once.

"These five downward-leading qualities tend to the confusion and disappearance of the true Dhamma. Which five? There is the case where the monks, nuns, male lay followers, & female lay followers live without respect, without deference, for the Teacher. They live without respect, without deference, for the Dhamma... for the Sangha... for the Training... for concentration. These are the five downward-leading qualities that tend to the confusion and disappearance of the true Dhamma.”

The transition from authentic Dhamma to counterfeit Dhamma will be gradual. It probably began during the Buddha’s lifetime. Remember, Devadatta, the Buddha’s own cousin had committed the unpardonable acts of splitting the Sangha and injuring the Buddha. He split the Sangha when he was part of it by restating the Dhamma in his wishful thinking. Luckily, the cult seems to have died with him – or did it really?

According to the Commentaries this is the Dhamma ending age where it is declining. At this stage, the highest one can reach is that of non-returner (anagami). This is not stated in the Suttas themselves. But even that would not be bad at all, life in a deva realm for a few million years and then Nibbana. But from the Suttas themselves, there is no set period of time. For those that take the Suttas as the final authority and take the Commentaries with at least a grain of salt, this is not the Dhamma ending age at all and enlightenment is still possible – at least that is what the Buddha said, but then what did he know – he was only the Buddha, you know?

.

According to Buddhist philosophies taken from the Suttapitaka, the "ten moral courses of conduct" will disappear, and people will follow ten amoral concepts instead, i.e. theft, violence, murder, lying, evil speaking, adultery, abusive and idle talk, covetousness and ill will, wonton greed, and perverted lust. Poverty will then skyrocket. The Dharma, or worldly laws, would then disappear from the world. Sounds a little like Main Street USA today, doesn’t it? But then will come new hope in that a new Buddha by the name of Maitreya, will arise. This new Buddha will "replace the counterfeit Dharma of materialism and selfishness...and give new teachings to solve the social problems of the world."

The new Buddha will be Metteyya (Maitreya in Sanskrit). Much has been made of this Buddha in later years. The Buddha seems to have mentioned him only once. In the Cakkavatti Sutta: The Wheel-turning Emperor (Digha Nikaya 26). The sutta is believed to apocryphal and slipped into the Canon around the time of the Third Council. It too was written in the literary style of pseudepigrapha. An apocrypha is usually written to be a pep talk – not prophecy – during times of social or religious stress. That seems to fit the bill here. The old Buddhist order was feeling some pressure from the new Buddhist orders that were arising in the North of India. To some it may have seemed like the world was in turmoil. To show that there was hope promise of a new Buddha was offered. Who is this new Buddha? Metteyya comes from the word metta meaning “loving-kindness”. This was a Buddha who would be our “friend”, this is how the word metteyya ought to be taken. The name appears to represent a personification of an attitude and not so much a being that descends from Tushita Heaven.

While Buddhists everywhere often need encouragements from time to time, it is rare that they need false teaching. This is the problem when people try to put words in the Buddha’s mouth – he often spits them back out.

Saddhammapatirupaka Sutta: A Counterfeit of the True Dhamma

translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

On one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. Then Ven. Maha Kassapa went to the Blessed One and on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed One, "What is the cause, lord, what is the reason, why before there were fewer training rules and yet more monks established in final gnosis, whereas now there are more training rules and yet fewer monks established in final gnosis?"

"That's the way it is, Kassapa. When beings are degenerating and the true Dhamma is disappearing, there are more training rules and yet fewer monks established in final gnosis. There is no disappearance of the true Dhamma as long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the world, but there is the disappearance of the true Dhamma when a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has arisen in the world. Just as there is no disappearance of gold as long as a counterfeit of gold has not arisen in the world, but there is the disappearance of gold when a counterfeit of gold has arisen in the world, in the same way there is no disappearance of the true Dhamma as long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the world, but there is the disappearance of the true Dhamma when a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has arisen in the world.

"It's not the earth property that makes the true Dhamma disappear. It's not the water property... the fire property... the wind property that makes the true Dhamma disappear.[2] It's worthless people who arise right here [within the Sangha] who make the true Dhamma disappear. The true Dhamma doesn't disappear the way a boat sinks all at once.

"These five downward-leading qualities tend to the confusion and disappearance of the true Dhamma. Which five? There is the case where the monks, nuns, male lay followers, & female lay followers live without respect, without deference, for the Teacher. They live without respect, without deference, for the Dhamma... for the Sangha... for the Training... for concentration. These are the five downward-leading qualities that tend to the confusion and disappearance of the true Dhamma.

"But these five qualities tend to the stability, the non-confusion, the non-disappearance of the true Dhamma. Which five? There is the case where the monks, nuns, male lay followers, & female lay followers live with respect, with deference, for the Teacher. They live with respect, with deference, for the Dhamma... for the Sangha... for the Training... for concentration. These are the five qualities that tend to the stability, the non-confusion, the non-disappearance of the true Dhamma."