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The Lankavatara Sutra, according to tradition, contains the actual words of the Buddha spoken in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). Nothing is known about its author, the time of its composition, or its original form. Scholars have tended to date the original compilation to early in the first century, and the written work to the fourth century of the Common Era. The sutra was foundational in establishing the central tenets of Mahayana Buddhism, and especially Zen. The Lankavatara was virtually unknown in the West until D.T. Suzuki's Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra was published in 1929. Suzuki's subsequent translation and publication of The Lankavatara Sutra in 1932 earned him the respect and gratitude of scholars and Buddhists worldwide. Professor Suzuki felt that an editing of the Lankavatara, for the sake of easier reading, would make the sutra more widely accessible. He encouraged the editor Dwight Goddard to take on the challenge, and the publication of the 'epitomised' version appeared in print also in 1932, under the title, Self-Realization of Noble Wisdom: The Lankavatara Sutra.
Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki
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Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki (1870–1966) was a Japanese-born scholar and translator who over the course of the twentieth century came to be regarded as one of the leading authorities on Zen Buddhism. He was the author of more than a hundred works on the subject in both Japanese and English and was instrumental in bringing the teachings of Zen and other forms of Buddhism to the attention of the Western world. His many books in English include An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, Essays in Zen Buddhism, Living by Zen, Zen and Japanese Culture, Mysticism: Christian and Buddhist, and Shin Buddhism.
Richard M. Jaffe is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Duke University and the author of Neither Monk nor Layman: Clerical Marriage in Modern Japanese Buddhism.
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