Even if you (succeed in) memorizing
The twelve divisions of the Mahāyāna canon
Taught by all the Buddhas
And the profound and perfect doctrines
Countless as the Ganges' sands
This will only increase sophistry
[ Charles Luk ]
| 如 | 十 | 雖 |
| 恆 | 二 | 復 |
| 河 | 部 | 憶 |
| 沙 | 經 | 持 |
| 祇 | 淸 | 十 |
| 益 | 淨 | 方 |
| 戲 | 妙 | 如 |
| 論 | 理 | 來 |
[ Hsüan-Hua ]
You can hold in memory
The twelve divisions of the Sutras
Spoken by the Buddhas of the ten directions
And their pure, wonderful principles
As many as the sands of the river Ganges
But it only aids your idle theorizing
Étienne Lamotte's two notes on
authentic Śūraṃgamasamādhi-sūtra
vs apocryphal Śūraṃgama-sūtra