..续本文上一页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.

　　不但在家人这样诽谤《楞严经》是假的，就是出家人也如是云云。为什么？因为一般出家人所受的教育有限，甚至还有目不识丁的，也看不懂经典，尤其这部《楞严经》，文又深，义又妙，所以更无法了解，无法辨别真伪。有人一说某某经是假的，某某经是伪的，这些人便不加考虑，人云亦云，所以《楞严经》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.

　　古时在印度，《楞严经》被列为国宝，禁止运出国外，凡是出境者，都要严格检查，因为深恐这部经流到国外。所以海关对出境的僧人，都特别注意。

　　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.

　　当时(唐朝时代)印度有位高僧，名叫般剌密谛，他费尽心机，想尽办法，将《楞严经》藏在臂内，瞒过检查人员，带到中国，从广州登陆。当时，有一位被武则天所贬的宰相房融，在广州做太守，房融于是请般剌密谛法师翻译这部经，而他自己为润色，此经遂成为文学的巨著，并献于武则天。因为在当时有《大云经》伪造的风波，所以武则天将此经存在宫中，没有流通。

　　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.

　　后来神秀禅师为国师时，在宫中受供养，有一天发现此经，神秀大师认为此经对于禅宗有价值，乃将其流通于世。所以这时，中国才流通《楞严经》。据传说，《楞严经》是最后来到中国的经典，但在末法时代，《楞严经》最先毁灭，其他经典，则接着渐渐被毁灭，到最后，只剩下一部《阿弥陀经》。

　　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.

　　【编按】：宣公上人极力主张《楞严经》是千真万确的诸佛心印。所以上人来到美国之后，就讲《楞严经》。为什么？因为佛法传到美国，拟将末法变成正法。这是上人为续佛慧命，费的一番心血。兹将《楞严经浅释》，在《万佛城金刚菩提海》杂志分期刊出，以供读者研究，中、英单行本，已出版问世，特此告知读友。

　　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.

《《楞严经》是伪经吗？ Is the Shurangama Sutra an Inauthentic Sutra

　　》全文阅读结束。