Suramgamasamadhisutra: The Concentration of Heroic Progress (An Early Mahayana Buddhist Scripture)

The Buddhist Scripture containing teachings that bestow heroic progress on the path to Enlightenment

The Surangamasamadhisutra is an early Mahayana Buddhist scripture. Within a narrative framework provided by a dialogue between the Buddha and the bodhisattva Drdhamati, it airs central issues of Mahayana Buddhism by means of philosophical discussion, edifying anecdote, marvelous feat, and drama. At its core is a description of the seeming conversion of Mara, the embodiment of all malign tendencies that obstruct advancement, and the prediction that he too will become a Buddha.

Concentration, Samadhi, is understood to denote the altered mental states attainable through Buddhist meditation techniques, in particular that in which discursive thought is allayed, the mind is calm and is capable of sustained awareness of a single object.

The present volume comprises the first full English translation Kumarajiva's Chinese translation of the Suramgamasamadhisutra, with an extensive explanatory introduction and annotations. Lamotte's French version appeared in 1965 and now Sara Boin-Webb's English rendering of that gives the English speaking world access both to an important Buddhist scripture and also to a classic work of Buddhist Studies scholarship.

About the Author:

Etienne Lamotte (1903-1983), a major figure in the field of Buddhist Studies, was the author of Histoire du bouddhisme indien, des origins a l ere Saka, (Louvain 1958); he has also translated the Samdhinirmocanasutra, the Karmasiddhiprakarana, the Vimalakirtinirdesasutra Asanga's Mahayanasamgraha, and the 5-volume commentary by Nagarjuna on the Prajnaparamitasutra, Le Traite de la grande vertu de sagesse de Nagarjuna. Sara Boin-Webb is the official translator of Lamotte's work. Her success is attested by the publication of her English-language renderings of lamotte's Vimalakirtinirdesa (The Teaching of Vimalakirti, London 1976) and Histoire du bouddhisme indien (History of Indian Buddhism, Louvain 1988), as well as several other works from the French. Her translation of the above-mentioned commentary on the Prajnaparamitasutra awaits publication. She is Assistant Editor of Buddhist Studies Review.

Andrew Skilton is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at Cardiff University, working on Mahayana literature, including the Samadhirajasutra. He has published A Concise History of Buddhism (1994) and Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara (1996).