COURSE DESCRIPTION
The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch 六祖壇經 or 壇經 is a Chan Buddhist scripture that was composed in China during the 8th to 13th century. The "platform" (施法壇) refers to the podium on which ordinations occurred. The text centers on teachings and stories ascribed to the sixth Chan patriarch Huineng rather than the historical Buddha, and maintains the narrative structure of a sutra, implying the undifferentiated status of the lineage holder. It contains the well-known story of the contest for the succession of the East Mountain school of Hongren.
Primary Reading
📜 The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, trans. Philip B. Yampolsky (New York: Columbia University Press, 1967)
Suggested Reading