Shurangama Sutra - Etymology

Etymology

The original Sanskrit version of Shurangama Sutra have not been found yet. Nobody really know what is its Sanskrit name. The complete title preserved in Chinese version, is Chinese: 大佛頂如來密因修證了義諸菩薩萬行首楞嚴經, and may be translated as

The Sūtra on the Śūraṅgama Mantra Spoken from above the Crown of the Great Buddha's Head, and on the Hidden Basis of the Tathagata's Myriad Bodhisattva Practices Leading to Their Verification of the Ultimate Truth.

And in old Chinese version, a small footnote give us its another name which is Chinese: 中印度那爛陀大道場經, 於灌頂部錄出別行.

In Chinese Buddhism, it could be shorted as Chinese: 首楞嚴經 or Chinese: 楞嚴經. That name is similar with Shurangama Samadhi Sutra (traditional Chinese: 首楞嚴三昧經) in Chinese, so Joseph Edkins translated it to surangama-samadhi-sutra in English version. Then Charles Luk translated it to Shurangama Sutra. Śūraṅgama roughly means "indestructible." The word is composed of Śūraṅ (great, absolutely), with Gama (durable, solid).

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