Toh 108The Quintessence of the Speech of All the Buddhas, a Chapter from the Descent into Laṅka Sutra

An Explanation of the Sutra of the Quintessence of the Speech of All the Buddhas

Context

The Sutra of the Bodhisattva’s Descent into the Island of Lanka (Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra) is a Mahayana scripture of profound importance in the Northern tradition. It is a canonical scripture taught by Buddha Shakyamuni, in which he describes entering the palace of King Ravana on the island of Lanka in order to teach sentient beings. This chapter bears the title “The Quintessence of the Speech of All the Buddhas,” meaning a distillation of the core teachings of all buddhas who have appeared and will appear in the universe.

The Lanka Sutra is renowned for its theory of the nature of consciousness (alayavijnana, or “storehouse consciousness”) and selflessness (anatman). In the Northern tradition, this sutra had great influence on schools such as Yogacara and on teachings concerning the nature of mind. This chapter especially emphasizes the essential points that all buddhas wish to transmit to sentient beings, beyond the differences among traditions.

Main Content

“The Quintessence of the Speech of All the Buddhas” directs the minds of sentient beings toward understanding the true nature of phenomena. The specific content of this chapter in the Tibetan Kangyur focuses on the unchanging principles that run through all Mahayana Dharma methods. These are: the nature of awakening is not something outside or far away, but lies at the very basis of our present mind.

The scripture teaches that all buddhas, though they appear in different ages, point to one truth: the absence of a rigid self (shunyata, emptiness). The words of these buddhas are not different teachings, but different ways of expressing a single truth. The scripture emphasizes that mind itself is the basis of all phenomena, and when mind is rightly understood, all ignorance dissolves.