Platform Sūtra
Chinese Chan · Huineng tradition
John R. McRae’s translation presents the Zongbao edition of the Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch.
Contents
- 1. Account of Origins · p. 17
- 2. Prajñā · p. 27
- 3. Questions · p. 36
- 4. Meditation and Wisdom · p. 41
- 5. Seated Meditation · p. 45
- 6. Repentance · p. 46
- 7. Encounters · p. 53
- 8. Sudden and Gradual · p. 71
- 9. Proclamations · p. 79
- 10. Transmission · p. 81
Translations & sourcesEditions & translators
These are the editions cited elsewhere in the Atlas; wording and numbering may differ from the reading shown here.
Read John R. McRae’s translation through BDK’s free PDF or printed edition.
Edition & attribution
This is a brief introduction to the text, not a translation.
Introductions, reflection questions and added section headings are editorial material, separate from the attributed translation.
The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork created for Buddhist Atlas. It is an evocative companion, not a depiction of the text’s historical setting.
The linked publisher provides the text and its usage terms.
Connections
Guru Viking3
- Ep373: Rude Awakenings - Samuel Bercholz
Reference checked in captions.
Source
- Ep284: Adventures of a Chan Master - Gilbert M Gutierrez 2
Reference checked in captions.
Source
- Ep75: Esoteric Energy Practices of Zen - Daizan Skinner
Reference checked in captions.
Source
People & teachers1
- Huineng
The Chan teacher whose life and teachings the text portrays.
Source
Traditions & history6
- Chan · roots of Zen
The formation and transmission of Chan teaching.
Source
- Chan · Seon · Thiền · Zen
Study context: this text is included in the Atlas guide to Chan · Seon · Thiền · Zen.
- Chinese Chan
Study context: this text is included in the Atlas guide to Chinese Chan.
- Korean Seon
Study context: this text is included in the Atlas guide to Korean Seon.
- Vietnamese Thiền
Study context: this text is included in the Atlas guide to Vietnamese Thiền.
- Rinzai
Study context: this text is included in the Atlas guide to Rinzai.
Books1
- Silent Illumination: A Chan Buddhist Path to Natural Awakening
A modern Chan practice companion on meditation and awakening.
Source
Topics2
- Emptiness & not-self
Explore Emptiness & not-self across the Atlas.
- Mindfulness & awareness
Explore Mindfulness & awareness across the Atlas.
Make yourself comfortable
About this textContext & reading guide
A Chinese work associated with Huineng and the formation of Chan lineage identity. It presents teachings on wisdom, meditation and awakening.
It challenges treating meditation and wisdom as completely separate pursuits and became influential in accounts of sudden awakening.
The text’s versions and biography developed through a history of composition and editing. Its accounts should not be treated as a verbatim record of the historical Huineng’s life and words.
Its title shows why the word “sūtra” alone cannot establish a work’s date or authorship.