The Esoteric Significance of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra
Section Four: Ananda's Vow Gatha
Original Vow Gatha:
Wondrously serene, the immutable sovereign of all-embracing wisdom.
The supreme king of the Śūraṅgama, rare in this world.
Dispelling my inverted thoughts amassed over countless kalpas.
Without traversing asamkhyeya kalpas, I attain the Dharmakāya.
May I now bear the fruit and become the treasure king.
Returning to liberate sentient beings as numerous as the Ganges’ sands.
Dedicating this profound resolve to every dust-mote Buddha-land.
Thus shall I repay the Buddha’s grace.
I reverently implore the World-Honored One as my witness.
Vowing to enter the evil world of five turbidities first.
Should even one sentient being remain unawakened.
I shall never seek nirvāṇa here.
O Great Hero, mighty and compassionate!
Pray meticulously eradicate my subtlest delusions.
Grant me swift ascension to supreme enlightenment.
To dwell in the bodhimaṇḍa throughout the ten directions.
Though the nature of emptiness may vanish.
My vajra-like resolve remains unshaken.
Explanation:
The wondrously tranquil Tathāgatagarbha is the essence and foundation of the Dharma, eternally immutable amidst worldly phenomena of the three realms. Uniting with no dharmas, it is supremely noble. This treasure, as indestructible as the Śūraṅgama, is exceedingly rare in the mundane world, for it transcends the three realms and does not belong to worldly existence.
Upon hearing the World-Honored One expound the Tathāgatagarbha, I realized the five aggregates are not the true self but illusory manifestations of one’s own Tathāgatagarbha. Thus, the inverted view of mistaking the five aggregates as the real self—accumulated over immeasurable kalpas—was utterly eradicated. When I realized this true Dharma of the Tathāgatagarbha, I instantaneously attained my pure Dharmakāya, awakening abruptly without traversing asamkhyeya kalpas.
I now vow to swiftly attain Buddhahood and become the Dharma King, returning to liberate sentient beings as countless as the Ganges’ sands. I dedicate this profound resolve to every dust-mote Buddha-land, delivering boundless beings therein. Only thus can I repay the Buddhas’ grace in liberating me. I beseech the World-Honored One to bear witness: I vow to enter this evil world of five turbidities to universally deliver beings. If even one sentient being remains unawakened, I shall not attain the supreme fruit of Buddhahood—the parinirvāṇa of the Buddha stage, the non-abiding nirvāṇa.
O World-Honored One, fearless great hero, endowed with the ten powers and great compassion! I pray you further aid me in meticulously eradicating my immeasurable latent afflictions and subtle ignorance, enabling me to exhaust all minute delusions, ascend the throne of the supreme Dharma King, and dwell in the bodhimaṇḍa throughout the ten directions to subdue all demons and deliver all beings. My illusory, fleeting mind may arise and perish, vanishing in an instant. Yet my vajra-like resolve shall remain unshaken for eternity.
