Toh 209The Sūtra Proclaiming the Lion’s Roar
Pāli / Sanskrit:Siṃhanādikasūtra
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Exposition of The Sutra of the Lion’s Roar
Background
The Sutra of the Lion’s Roar (Siṃhanādikasūtra) is a scripture of the Northern Transmission, preserved in the Kangyur, the collection of the principal scriptures in the Tibetan Buddha Dharma tradition. The title “Lion’s Roar” bears deep symbolic meaning in the Mahāyāna tradition: the voice of the Buddha is like the resounding roar of a lion, expressing the power, authority, and awakening capacity of the voice of the Dharma (Dharmakāya).
In Buddhist learning, the lion is not only the king of beasts, but also a symbol of the Buddha, the spiritual king who has immeasurable power to subdue greed, hatred, delusion, and the demonic forces in the minds of sentient beings. The lion’s roar of the Buddha is the proclamation of the true Dharma, which fears no force and has the power to transform the minds and characters of all sentient beings.
Main Content
The Sutra of the Lion’s Roar focuses on presenting the transformative power and effect of the Buddha’s teaching. According to the Tibetan Mahāyāna tradition, this sutra emphasizes that when the Buddha proclaims the Dharma, that sound is not merely a physical sound wave, but the manifestation of the Dharmakāya, the formless and boundless body of buddha-nature.
The content of the sutra extols the absolute and fearless nature of the true Dharma in contrast to false doctrines, human ideologies, and demonic forces. Just as the roar of a lion causes all lesser animals to scatter in terror, the Buddha’s teaching also has unsurpassed power to dispel dull confusion, greed, hatred, and the unwholesome habitual tendencies still hidden within the minds of sentient beings.
The sutra also presents the qualities of those who practice the Buddhist path: they are not afraid of being criticized and are not discouraged by obstacles, because they trust in the power of the true Dharma. They proclaim the Dharma with courage, like a lion roaring aloud, without fear and without hesitation, because the Dharma is the supreme truth.
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