..續本文上一頁believe that they possess spiritual powers. That”s why the celestial demons and externalists have no recourse but to slander the Shurangama Sutra and circulate the spurious claim that it is an unauthentic text.

　　不但在家人這樣誹謗《楞嚴經》是假的，就是出家人也如是雲雲。爲什麼？因爲一般出家人所受的教育有限，甚至還有目不識丁的，也看不懂經典，尤其這部《楞嚴經》，文又深，義又妙，所以更無法了解，無法辨別真僞。有人一說某某經是假的，某某經是僞的，這些人便不加考慮，人雲亦雲，所以《楞嚴經》便受到不白之冤。

　　Not only do laypeople slander the Shurangama Sutra as false, even left-home people perpetuate the rumor. Why

　　 Because most left-home people have received limited education; some are even illiterate and cannot understand the Buddhas” Sutras. This is especially the case with the Shurangama Sutra: its text is deep, its principles are profound, so many cannot understand it or judge its authenticity. Thus, whenever someone claims that a certain Sutra is unauthentic, these ignorant people simply repeat what they hear without giving it any consideration. This is how the Shurangama Sutra has comes to receive its undeserved bad reputation.

　　古時在印度，《楞嚴經》被列爲國寶，禁止運出國外，凡是出境者，都要嚴格檢查，因爲深恐這部經流到國外。所以海關對出境的僧人，都特別注意。

　　In the past, the rulers of India considered the Shurangama Sutra a national treasure and forbade its being carried out of India. Travellers were stopped at the borders and thoroughly searched, out of fear that the Sutra would circulate. Sangha members who were leaving the country were especially subject to the scrutiny of the border guards.

　　當時(唐朝時代)印度有位高僧，名叫般剌密谛，他費盡心機，想盡辦法，將《楞嚴經》藏在臂內，瞞過檢查人員，帶到中國，從廣州登陸。當時，有一位被武則天所貶的宰相房融，在廣州做太守，房融于是請般剌密谛法師翻譯這部經，而他自己爲潤色，此經遂成爲文學的巨著，並獻于武則天。因爲在當時有《大雲經》僞造的風波，所以武則天將此經存在宮中，沒有流通。

　　In those days (during the Tang Dynasty in China) the eminent monk, Master Paramiti of India, after racking his brains and thinking up every possible means, finally hid the Sutra beneath the skin of his arm to fool the customs inspectors so that it could come to China. He arrived in Canton, and met a Prime Minister named Fang Rong, who had been exiled by the Empress Wu Zetian and was serving as a Magistrate in Canton. Magistrate Fang Rong requested the Venerable Paramiti to translate the Sutra. He himself acted as editor and turned out a masterpiece of literature, which he then presented in offering to the Empress Wu Zetian. Just at that time, China was experiencing a scandal regarding the Great Cloud Sutra, a fraudulent text. Empress Wu Zetian concealed the translation in the palace and did not allow it to circulate.

　　後來神秀禅師爲國師時，在宮中受供養，有一天發現此經，神秀大師認爲此經對于禅宗有價值，乃將其流通于世。所以這時，中國才流通《楞嚴經》。據傳說，《楞嚴經》是最後來到中國的經典，但在末法時代，《楞嚴經》最先毀滅，其他經典，則接著漸漸被毀滅，到最後，只剩下一部《阿彌陀經》。

　　Later, when Dhyana Master Shenxiu was appointed as National Master, he sat in the palace to receive offerings. One day he discovered the Sutra, realized its value for meditators in the Chan School, and put it into circulation. Only then did the Shurangama Sutra finally become known in China. The Shurangama Sutra is said to be the last of the Buddha”s Sutras to reach China, but during the Dharma-ending Age, it will be the first Sutra to disappear into oblivion. Following it, the other Sutras will gradually disappear as well, until only the Amitabha Sutra will be left.

　　【編按】：宣公上人極力主張《楞嚴經》是千真萬確的諸佛心印。所以上人來到美國之後，就講《楞嚴經》。爲什麼？因爲佛法傳到美國，擬將末法變成正法。這是上人爲續佛慧命，費的一番心血。茲將《楞嚴經淺釋》，在《萬佛城金剛菩提海》雜志分期刊出，以供讀者研究，中、英單行本，已出版問世，特此告知讀友。

　　Note: The Venerable Master Hua endorses the Shurangama Sutra”s absolute authenticity, and strongly asserts that it bears, without question, the "mind-seal" of all Buddhas. Upon arriving in America, the first major Sutra he explained was the Shurangama Sutra. Why did he choose that Sutra

　　 Because when the Dharma is transmitted to America it transforms the Dharma-ending Age into the Proper Dharma Age. It represents the Venerable Master”s lifeblood, given for the purpose of carrying on the Buddha”s "wisdom-life." The Buddhist Monthly－Vajra Bodhi Sea has been serializing A Brief Explanation of the Shurangama Sutra in Chinese and English, and will continue to offer this text to readers.

《《楞嚴經》是僞經嗎？ Is the Shurangama Sutra an Inauthentic Sutra

　　》全文閱讀結束。