The Surangama Sutra: Chapter Ten – Section 2 (2)


The Second of Ten Wrong States – Believing That the Self Has Special Ability

“Ananda, now the good practitioner has completely emptied the skandha of mental formations and put an end to arising and ceasing, but he has not perfectly realized the subtle wonder of Nirvana. If at this point he regards what he is returning to as his own body, if he sees that all the twelve categories of beings throughout the space as being created from his body, and if he takes that as he has realized the ultimate truth, then he falls into the mistaken notion of believing that he has a special ability that no one else has. Maheshvara, who appears in a boundless body, will become his companion. Confused about the Bodhi of the Buddhas, he wanders off from the Path of the Buddhas’ Right Knowledge and Proper Views.

“This is the second wrong state, where the practitioner believes that he has a special ability, which leads him to stray far away from perfect enlightenment, to turn his back on the City of Nirvana, and ultimately to sow the seeds of being reborn as a god of great arrogance, who considers the self as all-pervading and perfect.”


阿难!又善男子,穷诸行空,已灭生灭,而于寂灭精妙未圆。若于所归,览为自体,尽虚空界十二类内所有众生,皆我身中一类流出 ,生胜解者。是人则堕能非能执,摩醯首罗现无边身,成其伴侣,迷佛菩提,亡失知见。是名第二,立能为心,成能事果 。违远圆通,背涅槃城,生大慢天。我遍圆种。