Self Realization of Noble Wisdom: The Lankavatara Sutra

The Lankavatara Sutra is among the key scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism. Moreover, it is one of the few texts from all spiritual traditions that directly communicate from the disposition of ultimate Realization. The subject of study and commentaries by many great Masters, the Lankavatara was the most influential of all Buddhist scriptures in fixing the general doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism and in bringing about the adoption of Buddhism in China, Korea, and Japan. In an ancient story about Bodhidharma, founder of the Ch'an sect in China (Zen in Japan), he is said to have handed over his begging bowl and robe to his successor together with a copy of the Lankavatara, saying that he needed no other sutra. The present condensed version was compiled and edited by Dwight Goddard at the urging of his teacher, D. T. Suzuki, who had himself translated the entire text from the Chinese. Using Suzuki's rendering Goddard created a simplified version that could be easily understood by the general reader. Originally published in 1932 and long out of print, this eloquent classic has now been reissued with the hope that it will serve to awaken the open-minded reader to his or her own condition of Enlightenment.