Sandhinirmocana Sutra – Sutra of Untying the Knots

Article: Sandhinirmocana Sutra – Sutra of Untying the Knots
(11.2.2018)

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Exquisite language talent allows Bhante Dhammadipa to translate from and to different languages. Now we have the opportunity to get his Czech translation of the classic text ‚Sandhinirmocana Sutra‘ (解深密經) in English ‚Sutra of Untying the Knots‘.

This sutra belongs to the middle age of Mahayana Buddhism. This version that has been translated to Czech now, is the version that has apperead at the beginning of the Gupta dynasty, at the time of the golden age of the boom of Indian culture and writing in Sanskrit. According to tradition, this sutra existed in the extensive version of the hundred thousand verses and in a version reduced to one thousand five hundred verses. A shorter version retained in Tibetan and Chinese is the basis of this text.

The compound word ‚sandhinirmocana‘ has five meanings in the sense of solving or explaining nodes or secrets: First, the text explains the deep meaning of the concept of the Thrue Body (dharmakaya), otherwise difficult to understand. Secondly, it unties firm knots, such as the knots of saturation of consciousness with ignorance (avidyavasana), which are the laypersons, the disciples and Buddhas for themselves (Pratyekabuddhas) unable to untie. Third, it explains the wisdom that reveals the mystery of truth. Fourth, it reveals the knots that need to be untied. Fifth, it explains the revelation of the mystery of the ultimate meaning of the doctrine.

The work is divided into the following chapters:

Chapter 1. – INTRODUCTION

Chapter 2. – ABOUT THE ULTIMATE TRUE

Chapter 3. – ABOUT THE CONSCIOUSNESS, MIND AND DUALISTIC WAY OF THINKING

Chapter 4. – ABOUT THE ESSENCE OF ALL THINGS

Chapter 5. – ABOUT THE NON-ESSENCE OF ALL THINGS

Chapter 6. – ABOUT YOGA

Chapter 7. – ABOUT (six) PERFECTIONS (parami)

Chapter 8. – ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES OF THE TATHAGATAS
 

The text of this script as well as the basic part of the ‚Discourse on the Stages of Yogic Practice‘ (Yogacarabhumi-Sastra) can be divided into three parts. The second to fifth chapters explain the scope of yoga, sixth and seventh chapters explaining the right acting according to yoga (acara), and chapter eight explains the implications of yoga practice (phala). If we add a part of the introduction chapter, which explains the causes of the teaching of this sutra, the content of the sutra consists of four basic parts. Some scholars are talking about five parts. The end of the eighth chapter, which is explaining the name under which the sutra is to be worshipped, is considered to be the fifth part, as it forms a particularly important part of the text.

Bhante Dhammadipa’s Czech translation of ‚Sandhinirmocana Sutra‘ was published in cooperation with the Dhammadipa Foundation and Taiwan foundation “Buddha Educational Foundation“. Now we are looking for and agreeing on how to distribute the book. When everything is ready, we will announce here on Facebook how the Czech translation can be obtained.

JH

Comparative Study of Northern and Southern Abhidharma Traditions

The Pure Land Assembly and Hong Kong University (Centre of of Buddhist Studies) organized Bhante’s serie of lectures on Abhidharma. We thank them very much, they are very kind, they recorded the lectures and share it with us. These lectures can be found on a website of The Pure Land Assembly or in a our audio recordings archive.

Bhante prepared text materials for these lectures. It is listed on The Pure Land Assembly website below the video or it can be downloaded here from archive.org.

Text: download or archive.org

2018

27.12. – 24.01. 2019 – CA, USA

04.12. – 27.12. 2018 – NM, USA

13.11. – 04.12. 2018 – NY, USA

18.10. – 29.10. 2018 – China

04.09. – 16.10. 2018 – Kathmandu, Nepal

11.07. – 21.07. 2018 – Germany

01.06. – 09.06. 2018 – Sněhov, Czech – Meditation on the breath – more info

19.04. – 19.05. 2018 – Spain

10.04. 2018 – Prague, Czech – Basics of yoga practice – Centrum Lotus

29.03. – 04.04. 2018 – Zaježová, Slovakia – Meditation on the breath, and the interpretation of the Mahayana Abhidharma – Vzdělávací centrum Zaježová

The Original Buddhist Psychology: What the Abhidharma Tells Us About How We Think, Feel, and Experience

The Abhidharma, one of the three major text collections of the original Buddhist canon, explores the critical juncture of Buddhist thought and the therapeutic aspects of the religion and meditation. It frames the psychological system of Buddhism, explaining the workings of reality and the nature of the human mind.
Composed of detailed matrixes and lists that outline the interaction of consciousness and reality, The Abhidharma explores the essence of perception and experience, and the reasons and methods behind mindfulness and meditation.
Because of its complexity, the Abhidharma has traditionally been reserved only for academic or monastic study; now, for the first time, clinical psychologist Beth Jacobs makes this dynamic, important text and its teachings available to general readers, using practical explanation, personal stories, and vivid examples to gently untangle the technical aspects of the Abhidharma.
Jacobs’ work illuminates this classic of Buddhist thought, highlighting the ways it can broaden and deepen our experience of the human psyche and offering profound insights into spiritual practice.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Original-Buddhist-Psychology-Abhidharma-Experience/dp/162317130X