Lankavatara Sutra ~ Mahayana Buddhism

A reading of excerpts taken from Chapter 1 of The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra - translated by Suzuki and Goddard. The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra was first translated into Chinese in the 5th century and has been the subject of many treatises and commentaries. It is a distinctive and influential philosophical discourse in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. The sutra recounts a teaching primarily between Gautama Buddha and a bodhisattva named Mahāmati ("Great Wisdom"). The sūtra is set in mythical Laṅkā, ruled by Rāvaṇa, the king of the rākṣasas. The Laṅkāvatāra discusses numerous Mahayana topics, such as Yogācāra philosophy of mind-only (cittamātra) and the three natures, the ālayavijñāna (store-house consciousness), the inner "disposition" (gotra), the buddha-nature, the luminous mind (prabhāsvaracitta), emptiness (śūnyatā) and vegetarianism. It is also notably an important sūtra in Zen Buddhism, as it discusses the key issue of "sudden enlightenment". __________________________________________ 🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings. 🔆 Thank you to everyone who has written to inquire about offering a donation to express appreciation for this channel. You are welcome to do so, and all offerings will go towards supporting requisites and overheads at a Buddhist nun's hermitage. There are two options to donate using this email address: [email protected] with PayPal or using this link: https://paypal.me/VivekaHermitage If you prefer an alternative means of making a donation, please contact us on the above email address for account details. _________________________________________ ❤️ A sincere thank you to all listeners and donors for your appreciative comments and offerings of generosity in support of this channel and its intention. Every day I am deeply touched by your warm support and kind messages of gratitude. Turn on the '🔔' to get notifications for new releases! 🎧 As a Buddhist nun, my intention with this channel is to offer these creative adaptations of spiritual teachings for the purpose of deepening spiritual understanding, contemplation, meditation, healing, devotion and relaxation for listeners. This channel is not monetized for profit through YouTube advertising revenue, and never will be. All the videos are strictly for educational purposes, not-for-profit and non-commercial. If ads appear on some videos it is because the music companies have the “right” to run ads for their profit if I have used copyrighted music. “All the words, music, images, and graphics used in the video belong to their respective owners and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. This video is posted for educational and spiritual purposes only. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."