Perfect Enlightenment: Intro and Table of Contents

By readers’ request, Master Tam decided to present his commentary to the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment as an overview to the Buddhist foundation, practice, and fruition. He posted a weekly column on the VBA website (Chinese) in 2016. In 2020, the column was extended and published as The Secret Meaning of the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, which became the 12th book in the  Beyond Words series, aiming to offer a lay and non-sectarian view on scriptures in the Buddhist Canon. This commentary offers a bird’s eye view of Buddhism and clarifies important questions on the Buddha nature (Buddha family, Buddha-Within) of all sentient beings, and its relevance to the perfection of enlightenment. We have now translated the book into English, and will post the content as a monthly column.

Like many scriptures in the Buddhist Canon, the book was fashioned as a series of questions posed to Buddha. For the ease of reading, below is the table of contents outlining the sequence of Q&A between Buddha and the inquiring bodhisattvas, and thus, also the overall trajectory of practice to perfecting enlightenment. Note that the name of the inquiring bodhisattva also serves to emphasize certain aspects of the practice, in terms of the foundation (premise), path (in practice), or fruition (actualization). The teaching in this sutra encompasses both sudden and gradual enlightenment (one can also compare it to the Heart Sutra, which is also inclusive of both the sudden and gradual practices). Readers can consider reading the sections in sequence as meditations. The links to each chapter will become live after they are posted.

• Translator’s Preface
• Preface
  • A Brief Introduction
  • On the Authenticity of The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment
  • What The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment is about?
  • The Questions of Eleven Bodhisattvas
• Buddha Enters the Buddha-Within to Teach Perfect Enlightenment
• Manjusri Inquires Into the Tathagata’s Pure Causal Ground
  • Buddha Answers, Teaches the Perfect Enlightenment
• Samantabhadra Inquires Into the Illusory Appearances
  • Buddha Answers, Teaches the Meditation, the Illusory Samadhi
• Universal Vision Inquires Into the Stages of Practice
  • Buddha Answers, On the Stages of Practice
  • On Observing Dharmadhatu
  • On Dharmadhatu Transcending the Illusory Appearances
• Vajragarbha Inquires Into “Primordial Buddhahood” and Ignorance
  • Buddha Answers: Unchanging Perfect Enlightenment
• Maitreya Asks: Severing the Root of Samsara
  • Buddha Answers
• Pure Wisdom Asks On the Levels of Realization
  • Buddha Answers
  • Buddha Illustrates the Gradual Practice to Realization
• Majestic Virtue Unhindered Asks: On the Expedient Means
  • Buddha Answers, Teaches Three Expedient Practices
• Voice of Discernment Asks: Variations of the Three Practices
  • Buddha Teaches the 25 Expedient Applications, Part 1
  • Buddha Teaches the 25 Expedient Applications, Part 2
  • Buddha Teaches the 25 Expedient Applications, Part 3
  • Buddha Teaches the 25 Expedient Applications, Part 4
  • Buddha Teaches the 25 Expedient Applications, Part 5
  • Buddha Teaches the 25 Expedient Applications, Part 6
• Purfier of All Karma Hinderances Asks: On Revealing the Nature of Phenomena
  • Buddha Answers, Part 1
  • Buddha Answers, Part 2
• Universal Enlightenment Asks: On Conduct
  • Buddha Answers
• Perfect Enlightenment Asks: The Specifics of Conducting Retreats
  • Buddha Answers
• Disseminating the Teaching