Samdhinirmochana Sutra

The Samdhinirmochana Sutra (Skt. Saṃdhinirmocana sūtra; Tib. དགོངས་པ་ངེས་འགྲེལ་, Wyl. dgongs pa nges 'grel) is a famous mahayana sutra in 10 chapters that is particularly associated with the Yogachara school. The title has been translated into English as Sutra which Decisively Reveals the Intention. It is one of the ten sutras that teach the sugatagarbha and classified as being part of the third turning of the wheel of dharma.

Contents

The sutra may be divided into five main parts.

1. The first four chapters present the ultimate and how it is to be understood by trainees.
2. Chapter five is an analysis of consciousness;
3. chapters six and seven discuss the relative character of phenomena and of teachings as they are illuminated by definitive understanding.
4. The path to enlightenment is the subject of the eighth and ninth chapters, which focus on meditative practices and the methods for mastering the mental afflictions and obstacles that undermine progress on the path.
5. Chapter ten is a discussion of the nature of a Buddha, the final goal of yogic practice.

Early Translations

This sutra was first translated into Chinese:

• by Guṇabhadra around 440,
• by Paramartha (499-569) and
• Xuanzang (600-664).

It was translated into Tibetan towards the end of the eighth century by Chokro Lüi Gyaltsen and can be found in the Tibetan Kangyur (Dergé Kangyur, Toh 106).

The fact that Xuanzang's Chinese version and Chokro Lüi Gyaltsen's Tibetan version are so similar might allow us to believe that they are both the translation of the same Sanskrit version.

Modern Translations

In English

• John Powers, Wisdom of Buddha, Dharma Publishing, 1995 (translation from Tibetan)
• Thomas Cleary, Buddhist Yoga, A Comprehensive Course (Boston: Shambhala, 1995) (translation from Chinese)

In French

• Soûtra du Dévoilement du sens profond, translated from Tibetan by Philippe Cornu, Fayard 2005 (translation from Tibetan)
• Étienne Lamotte, Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra, L'Explication des mystères, Louvain 1935 (translation from Tibetan)

Commentaries

There are 5 commentaries of this sutra in the Tengyur. The 2 main ones are:

• Ārya-gambhīra-samdhinirmocana-sūtra-tīkā by Wonch'uk, a Korean student of the great Chinese scholar Hsūan tsang. Major sections of Wonch'uk's original Chinese text have been lost, the only complete version of the text available today is the Tibetan translation found in the Tibetan Tengyur.
• Byang chub rdzu 'phrul. Although there is some mystery surrounding the author's identity, most Tibetan scholars attribute this text to Chokro Lüi Gyaltsen.

Further Reading

• John Powers, Hermeneutics and Tradition in the Samdhinirmocana-sūtra (Leiden 1993). This was part of the author's 1991 doctoral dissertation at University of Virginia.
• John Powers, Lost in China, Found in Tibet: How Wonch'uk Became the Author of the Great Chinese Commentary, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, vol. 15, no. 1 (1992), pp. 95-103.
• John Powers, The Concept of the Ultimate (don dam pa, paramartha) in the Sandhinirmocana-sūtra: Analysis, Translation and Notes (vols. 1-2), doctoral dissertation, University of Virginia (1991).
• John Powers, The Term "Samdhinirmocana" in the Title of the Samdhinirmocana-sūtra, Studies in Central and East Asian Religions, vol. 4 (Autumn 1991), pp. 52-62.
• John Powers, The Tibetan Translations of the Samdhinirmocana-sūtra and Bka' 'gyur Research, Central Asiatic Journal, vol. 37, no. 3/4 (1993), pp. 198-224