The Śūraṅgama Mantra Is a Protective Talisman

The more critical the point of cultivation, the more Māra comes to interfere; the more sublime the stage, the more Māra comes to interfere. The higher one's level of practice, the greater the interference, while cultivation that is trivial and inconsequential attracts no interference from Māra at all. Therefore, the more critical the dharma one practices, and the deeper the dharma one cultivates, the more careful and cautious one must be. In particular, if someone is fond of supernatural powers, Māra will grant you supernatural powers, and then you will be controlled by Māra, unable to escape from his grasp. The Śūraṅgama Mantra is a protective talisman; you must recite it frequently, and it is best to memorize it—then Māra will have no way to deal with you. If all Buddhist practitioners could recite and memorize the Śūraṅgama Mantra, the Māra king would withdraw from the Saha world, the Buddha-dharma would continue on, and the Śūraṅgama Sūtra would not perish.