Śūraṅgama Mantra

The mantra was, according to the opening chapter of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra (首楞嚴經, lit: "Sūtra of the Heroic March", T19n0945), historically transmitted by Gautama Buddha to Manjushri to protect Ananda before he had become an arhat. It was again spoken by the Buddha before an assembly of monastic and lay adherents. Like the popular six-syllable mantra "Om mani padme hum" and the Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī, the Śūraṅgama Mantra is synonymous with practices of Avalokiteśvara, an important Bodhisattva in both East Asian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. The Śūraṅgama Mantra also extensively references Buddhist deities such as Sitātapatrā, Vajrapāṇi, Mahākāla, the Five Buddha Families headed by the Five Tathāgatas (such as Mahāvairocana), and Bhaiṣajyaguru. It is often used for protection or purification, as it is often recited as part of the daily morning session in monasteries.

The Śūraṅgama Mantra is well-known and popularly chanted during daily liturgical services in many East Asian Buddhist traditions, where it is very much related to the practice of the dhāraṇī of Sitātapatrā (Chinese: 大白傘蓋陀羅尼, pinyin: Dàbái sǎngài tuóluóní, lit: "White Parasol Dhāraṇī"). In Tibetan Buddhism, it is the "White Umbrella" (Wylie: gdugs dkar)..

Background

Chinese translation

An original Sanskrit version of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra is not known to be extant. A Sanskrit language palm leaf manuscript consisting of 226 leaves with 6 leaves missing which according to the introduction "contains the Śūraṅgama Sūtra" was discovered in a temple in China and now resides at Peng Xuefeng Memorial Museum. But scholars have not yet verified if this is the same text or some other sūtra (like the Śūraṅgama Samadhi Sūtra).

The first catalogue that recorded the Śūraṅgama Sūtra was Zhisheng (Chinese: 智昇), a monk in Tang dynasty (618–907) China. Zhisheng said this book was brought back from Guangxi to Luoyang during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. He gave two seemingly different accounts in two different books, both of which were published in 730 CE.

1. According to the first account found in the Kaiyuan shijiao lu (Chinese: 開元釋教錄, lit: "The Kaiyuan Era Catalog of the Buddhist Tripitaka", T55n2156) the Śūraṅgama Sūtra was translated in 713 CE by a Ven. Master Huai Di (Chinese: 懷迪) and an unnamed Indian monk. An official envoy to the south then brought the sūtra to the capital of Chang'an.
2. According to the second account, in his later book Xu gujin yijing tuji (續古今譯經圖記, lit: "Continuation to the History of the Translation of Buddhist Sūtras Mural Record", T55n2152), the Śūraṅgama Sūtra was translated in May 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 (Chinese: 房融) of Qingho.

According to Jia Jinhua, who studied and cross-referred a number of external documents related to both accounts that Zhisheng gave, the two accounts do not conflict but rather complement each other, with the Kaiyuan shijiao lu written first and the Xu gujin yijing tuji written later once Zhisheng had acquired more details about the sūtra's translation and transmission. According to Jia, the two accounts derive from two versions of the sūtra that were in circulation.

Jia states that the first version brought from Guangzhou to Chang'an, which was included in the Kaiyuan catalogue and is extant in the Fangshan stone canon, listed the translators as Huaidi and an Indian monk and was the source for the account provided in the Kaiyuan shijiao lu. He infers that the reason this version omitted Fang Rong's name is because, at the time of the translation in 705, he was a disgraced and banished official in exile. The reason for this exile was that on 20 February 705, Zhang Yizhi (張易之) and Zhang Changzong (張昌宗), two brothers who were Empress Wu’s favoured courtiers were killed in a coup, and Fang Rong was imprisoned for his close association with the Zhang brothers before being exiled to Gaozhou on 4 March. Song dynasty (960–1279) records by the monk Zuxiu (祖琇) recorded that Fang Rong arrived in Guangzhou in the fourth month and was invited by the Prefect of Guangzhou to take part in translating the Śūraṃgama Sūtra. The Tang court soon offered pardons to officials implicated in the affair involving the Zhang brothers, issuing amnesties and summoning officials back to court from the winter of 705 to the spring of 707, but Fang Rong unfortunately died in exile in Gaozhou. Jia then infers that Zhisheng's second account was based on a second version brought from Guangzhou to Chang'an by an official envoy at later time. Jia reasons that, by then, the reason for Fang Rong's exile had been pardoned, so there was no more taboo on signing his name on the sūtra, hence the second version lists in full the transmitter and translator of the sūtra, including Fang Rong as the transcriber and Huaidi as the verifier of the Sanskrit meanings. This version is supported by detailed accounts of the same events and attributions from a commentary of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra by the monk Weique (惟慤), who was personally introduced to the sūtra by Fang Rong's family during a meal at their house. Extracts of Weique's commentary with regards to the authorship of the sūtra is cited by the Japanese monk Genei (玄叡) in his work, the Daijō sanron daigi shō (大乘三論大義鈔, lit: "Digest of Major Doctrines of Mahāyāna Three Treatises", T70n2296), and the details regarding how he was introduced to the sūtra is cited by the Song dynasty monk Zanning^[zh] (贊寧) in his historical work, the Song gaoseng zhuan (宋高僧傳, lit: "Biographies of Eminent Monks of the Song dynasty", T50n2061). This second version was then included in a later catalogue of Buddhist scriptures called the Zhenyuan catalogue, and is extant in various later Buddhist canons.

Practice

During the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1279–1368) dynasties, the mantra was used in a ritual called the Śūraṅgama assembly, which was held semi-annually during monastic retreats, beginning on the 10th day of the fourth month and ending on the 13th day of the seventh month according to the Chinese calendar. During these assemblies, a Śūraṅgama altar would be set up and participating monastics would gather and chant the mantra. The mantra was also codified into various monastic codes of conduct known as qinggui (清規, lit: "Pure rules"), many of which are traditionally held to derive from the Tang dynasty Chan monk Baizhang Huaihai (百丈懷海, 720–814). Some examples include the Conglin Jiaoding Qinggui Zongyao (叢林校定清規總要, lit: "General Essentials of the Revised Pure Rules of Monasteries", X63n1249) that was compiled in 1274 by the monk Jinhua Weimian (金華惟勉, ?-?) which lists nine ritual occasions where the mantra is to be chanted, the Huanzhu'an Qinggui (幻住庵清規, lit: "Pure Rules of the Cloister of Illusory Abode", X63n1248) that was compiled around 1317 by the Chan master Zhongfeng Mingben (中峰明本, 1263–1323) for his own private hermitage which lists up to twenty-five events during the ritual calendar where chanting the mantra is required, as well as the Chixiu Baizhang Qinggui (敕修百丈淸規, lit: "Revised Pure Rules of Baizhang", T48n2025) compiled between 1335 and 1343 by the Linji Chan monk Dongyang Dehui (東陽德輝, ?-?) that records ten events where the mantra is to be chanted. Biographies of notable monks also make mention of its usage by monastics. For instance, Juefan Huihong (覺範慧洪, 1071–1128), an eminent monastic belonging to the Huanglong branch of the Linji Chan tradition, mentions that the founder of the Huanglong line, Huanglong Huinan (黃龍慧南, 1002–1069), recited the Śūraṅgama Mantra to aid in or stimulate samādhi during meditation. Another example is the eminent Caodong Chan master Zhenxie Qingliao (真歇清了, 1088–1151), who used the mantra to keep monastics awake during meditation.

The mantra's usage continued to grow in the subsequent Ming dynasty (1368–1644) such that by the late-Ming period, it was codified as one of the mantras to be chanted during daily temple liturgical services in the Zhujing Risong Jiyao (諸經日誦集要, lit: "Compilation of Essentials for the Daily Chanting of Various Sūtras", J19nB044), an influential liturgical manual which was critically revised and edited by the eminent monk Yunqi Zhuhong (雲棲袾宏, 1535–1615), who was the Eighth Patriarch of the Chinese Pure Land tradition, and later reprinted by the eminent monk Ouyi Zhixu (蕅益智旭, 1599–1655), who was the Ninth Patriarch of the Chinese Pure Land tradition and Thirty-First Patriarch of the Tiantai tradition. The mantra's usage during daily liturgical services has continued to be preserved in the succeeding Qing dynasty (1644–1912) through to contemporary times as it has remained encoded in most popular liturgical manuals that has been published since. One example of such a manual is the Chanmen Risong (禪門日誦; lit: "Daily Chants of the Chan Gate"), a compilation whose earliest printed edition that is extant dates back to 1723 during the Qing dynasty and which was printed at Hoi Tong Monastery. Various subsequent editions with minor changes were published during the rest of the Qing dynasty period (1644–1912) through to the Republican era (1912–1949) by various temples. In the 21st century, one of the most popular editions has been the version that was originally published by Tianning Temple in Changzhou, which has seen modern reprints by retailers and publishers. Another example is the Fomen Bibei (佛門必備課誦本, lit: "Book of Essential Chants of the Buddhist Gate") which was first published during the Republican era and has also seen modern reprints. In most of these liturgical compilations, the mantra is usually listed as the first text chanted during morning liturgical services (known as the zaoke). According to an influential commentary on the daily liturgical service by the eminent Qing dynasty monk and National Preceptor Yulin Tongxiu (玉林通琇, 1614–1675), the purpose of the mantra during the service is to regulate the five desires (i.e. fame, lust, food, sleep and money) before they are able to arise so that the mind is able to quickly penetrate and directly reveal the true nature of the Tathāgatagarbha. In contemporary practice, the mantra has continued to remain as the first mantra to be recited during daily morning liturgical services (zaoke) in most Chinese Buddhist temples.

Various eminent monastics and masters have provided commentaries regarding the benefits and meaning of the Śūraṅgama Mantra, such as the eminent Qing dynasty (1644–1912) Huayan monk Baiting Xufa (柏亭續法, 1641–1728), who translated the mantra and provided a commentary regarding the significance of each of its sections as well as the deities summoned by it. His translation and commentary has remained influential in contemporary Chinese Buddhist practice. Another prominent example in modern times was the Chan Buddhist master Hsuan Hua, who heavily promoted and popularised the use of the mantra in North America and the Sinophone world as he valued it as fundamental to the existence of Buddhism.