ÅšrÄ«mÄlÄdevÄ« Siá¹ƒhanÄda SÅ«tra

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Relief image of the Great Stupa at Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh, India

The ÅšrÄ«mÄlÄdevÄ« Siá¹ƒhanÄda SÅ«tra (traditional Chinese: å‹é¬˜å¸«åå¼ä¸€ä¹˜å¤§æ–¹ä¾¿æ–¹å»£ç¶“, Lionâ€™s Roar of Queen ÅšrÄ«mÄlÄ) is one of the main early MahÄyÄna Buddhist texts belonging to the TathÄgatagarbha sÅ«tras that teaches the doctrines of Buddha-nature and EkayÄna "One Vehicle" through the words of the Indian queen ÅšrÄ«mÄlÄ.^[1] After its composition, this text became the primary scriptural advocate in India for the universal potentiality of Buddhahood.^[2]

History

Brian Edward Brown, a specialist in Buddha-nature doctrines, writes that the composition of the ÅšrÄ«mÄlÄdevÄ« Siá¹ƒhanÄda SÅ«tra occurred during the Äªká¹£vÄku Dynasty in the 3rd century CE as a product of the Caitika schools of the MahÄsÄá¹ƒghikas.^[2] Alex Wayman has outlined eleven points of complete agreement between the MahÄsÄá¹ƒghikas and the ÅšrÄ«mÄlÄ, along with four major arguments for this association.^[3] Anthony Barber also associates the earlier development of the TathÄgatagarbha SÅ«tra with the MahÄsÄá¹ƒghikas, and concludes that the MahÄsÄá¹ƒghikas of the Ä€ndhra region were responsible for the inception of the Buddha-nature doctrine.^[4] In the 6th century CE, ParamÄrtha wrote that the MahÄsÄá¹ƒghikas revere the sÅ«tras that teach the Buddha-nature doctrine.^[5]

Translations

The ÅšrÄ«mÄlÄdevÄ« Siá¹ƒhanÄda SÅ«tra was translated to Chinese in 436 CE by Guá¹‡abhadra (394-468) and later by Bodhiruci (672-727).^[1] A complete Sanskrit original is no longer extant,^[6] but extensive quotations are found in the Sanskrit text of the RatnagotravibhÄga as well as some recently discovered fragments conserved in the SchÃ¸yen Collection. It was later translated into English by Alex and Hideko Wayman as The Lion's Roar of Queen Srimala.

Content

The ÅšrÄ«mÄlÄdevÄ« Siá¹ƒhanÄda SÅ«tra teaches the reality of an ultimate, immaculate consciousness within each living being, which is the Buddhic "DharmakÄya" (essence of Truth), which is yet temporarily sheathed in obscuring defilement. This DharmakÄya, when viewed as intrinsically free from spiritual ignorance, is said to constitute eternity, bliss, the self, and purity in their perfect state. The use of the word "self" in this sutra is in a way unique to this class of sutra. The great Queen ÅšrÄ«mÄlÄ, who according to this text is empowered by the Buddha to teach the Dharma, affirms:^[7]

[T]he DharmakÄya of the Buddha has the perfection of permanence, the perfection of pleasure, the perfection of self, the perfection of purity. Whatever sentient beings see the DharmakÄya of the TathagÄta that way, see correctly. Whoever see correctly are called the sons of the Lord born from his heart, born from his mouth, born from the Dharma, who behave as manifestation of Dharma and as heirs of Dharma.

The scripture, which was extremely influential by way of clarification of the TathagÄtagarbha view of ÅšÅ«nyatÄ, insists that the ultimately correct understanding of emptiness is that the TathÄgatagarbha is empty of all knowledge that is not liberation, whereas, in contrast, the qualities which characterise a Buddha are not empty of inconceivable virtues. An alternative title offered by the Buddha for this sutra expresses this idea of an ultimate meaning to the emptiness doctrine: "The True Revelation of the Buddha's Intention when Teaching Emptiness."

The sÅ«tra has, furthermore, significantly contributed to the MahÄyÄna notion of the permanent, steadfast and eternal TathagÄtagarbha, which is nothing less than the perfect DharmakÄya temporarily concealed by (ultimately unreal) mental contaminants.

There is some debate as to whether or not the TathagÄtagarbha constitutes true self or not, although that perfect self is nowhere denied in the sutra, but affirmed.

Notes

Sources

Barber, Anthony W. (2009), Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra, NY: State Univ of New York
Brown, Brian Edward (1994), The Buddha Nature. A Study of the Tathagatagarbha and Alayavijnana, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
Hodge, Stephen (2006), "On the Eschatology of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra and Related Matters". (PDF), lecture delivered at the University of London, SOAS
McRae, John (2004), The Sutra of Queen ÅšrÄ«mÄlÄ of the Lion's Roar and the VimalakÄ«rti Sutra (PDF), Berkeley, CA: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, ISBN 1886439311
Tola, Fernando; Dragonetti, Carmen (2004), Being As Consciousness: YogÄcÄra Philosophy of Buddhism, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 8120819675
Wayman, Alex and Hideko (1990), The Lion's roar of Queen Srimala, New York: Columbia University Press

Bibliography

Paul, Diana (1979). 'The Concept of TathÄgatagarbha in the ÅšrÄ«mÄlÄdevÄ« SÅ«tra (Sheng-Man Ching)'. Journal of the American Oriental Society 99 (2), 191â€“203
Mark Dennis (trans.): Prince ShÅtoku's Commentary on the ÅšrÄ«mÄlÄ-sÅ«tra, Berkeley, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research 2011. ISBN 978-1-886439-43-6

External links

Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (log in with userID "guest")
Appreciation of the Nirvana Sutra and Tathagatagarbha teachings

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ÅšrÄ«mÄlÄdevÄ« Siá¹ƒhanÄda SÅ«tra