Author Description

In December of 1984, Master Sheng Yen began a series of lectures on the Shurangama Sutra at the Chan Meditation Center in Queens, New York, as part of the Sunday Open House program. The Master provided deep, learned, and insightful commentary on key passages from the sutra, placing them in the context of ordinary life for practitioners of Mahayana Buddhism. Oftentimes, he would use anecdotes from his own life experience and contacts with people to elucidate points from the sutra, often drawing laughter from the audience. Not surprisingly, the lectures were very well received by members and visitors to the Chan Meditation Center. Beginning with this Volume One, the 39 lectures will be published in two volumes. Despite this being only a partial record of the Master's Shurangama Sutra lectures, an attentive and receptive reader will discover that, as teachings on Chan and Mahayana Buddhism, they are in every sense, complete and fully realized. They give us a profound sense of the context and meaning of the sutra, as well as a detailed view of how one should practice Mahayana Buddhism, and the importance of samadhi within that practice. For this we are deeply grateful to Master Sheng Yen for this offering of wisdom and compassion.