The Fifty Māra States of the Aggregates in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra

Original text: 阿难当知。汝坐道场。销落诸念。其念若尽，则诸离念。一切精明。动静不移。忆忘如一。当住此处。入三摩提。如明目人。处大幽暗。精性妙净。心未发光。此则名为。色阴区宇。若目明朗。十方洞开。无复幽黯。名色阴尽。是人则能。超越劫浊。观其所由，坚固妄想。以为其本。

Explanation: The Buddha said: Ānanda, you should know that when you sit in the place of practice and eliminate all thoughts and ideations, if the thoughts are extinguished, then the consciousness that is free of thoughts, though having no thoughts, is still very clear regarding all the dharmas around it. Whether in movement or stillness, it is not shaken; whether remembering or forgetting, it is the same—without thoughts. Dwelling in such a state, one enters samādhi. It is like a person with bright eyes who is in a place of great darkness: the essence of consciousness is wondrously pure, yet the mind has not yet emitted light. This is called the realm of the aggregate of form (rūpa). If the eyes become bright and clear, the ten directions open up completely, with no more darkness; this is called the exhaustion of the aggregate of form. Such a person can then transcend the turbidity of the kalpa. Observing its origin, it is solidified deluded thinking that serves as its basis.

Explanation: The Buddha said: Ānanda, you should know that when you sit in the place of practice and eliminate all thoughts and ideations, if thoughts are completely extinguished, the consciousness free of any thoughts is still very clear about all the dharmas in the surroundings; whether in movement or stillness it is not shaken, whether remembering or forgetting it is the same, without thoughts. Dwelling in such a state, one enters samādhi, like a person with bright eyes who can see all objects clearly yet is in an extremely dark environment—the essence of consciousness is extremely clear and pure, but the mind cannot see any light. This is called the realm of the aggregate of form, being obscured by the aggregate of form, unable to see material objects and unable to break through the aggregate of form. If one can break through it, darkness will no longer be an obstruction to seeing forms.

If the eyes open bright and illuminate everything, the worlds of the ten directions will become completely clear and bright, with no more darkness, and all material forms (dharmas of form) will manifest before the eyes. This is called the complete exhaustion of the aggregate of form, with no more obstruction, and such a person can transcend the turbidity of the kalpa. Observing a person within the realm of the aggregate of form: why can they not break through the aggregate of form and are obstructed by darkness? It is because of solidified deluded thinking—deludedly taking the aggregate of form to be a real and indestructible dharma, clinging to it firmly without letting go.

Original text: 阿难。当在此中。精研妙明。四大不织。少选之间。身能出碍。此名精明。流溢前境。斯但功用。暂得如是。非为圣证。不作圣心。名善境界。若作圣解。即受群邪。

Explanation: Ānanda, you should, within this state, investigate further with refinement the wondrous brightness. When the four great elements are no longer tightly interwoven, then in an instant the body can break through obstructions and is no longer limited by the four great elements. This situation arises from the essence of consciousness flowing onto the object-realm; it is a temporary function of the conscious mind, not the realization of any sage's state. Not having realized sagehood, not taking the perishable essence of consciousness as the sage's mind—such a situation is called a good state; but if one interprets it as having realized sagehood and becoming a sage, taking the essence of consciousness as the unborn, unceasing sage mind, one will suffer many demonic disturbances.

When reading Buddhist sūtras, one must read them coherently from beginning to end, cross-referencing the context; one must not cut out a certain passage or a few lines and grasp at their meaning alone, for this easily leads to quoting out of context and misunderstanding the Buddha-dharma. Since this passage is part of the teaching on the fifty demonic states of the aggregates, it refers to various illusory state-appearances that arise in meditation, not real states. One should not take the meditative states described therein as true and ultimate, and should not develop attachment to such states, lest one fall into demonic realms and be unable to extricate oneself.

What is described here are all states of meditative concentration (dhyāna), and states of meditative concentration are states of the conscious mind, not states of the true mind; therefore they are not states of awakening to the true mind (seeing one's true mind). This passage describes the meditative state of being on the verge of breaking through the realm of the aggregate of form. The five aggregates and the conscious mind are still within the aggregate of form, not having transcended the limitations of the aggregate of form and the aggregate of feeling. Therefore the Buddha said that one must not take this state as a sage's state of realization. So this is not a state of enlightenment; one should continue practicing onward and not cling to this state as real—if one clings to it, one will enter the demonic. This is the general meaning of the whole passage. It does not involve awakening to the true mind at all; non-Buddhists can also cultivate to this state, so it is nothing remarkable.

The states manifested in meditation are delusive states of the conscious mind, temporary states of meditative concentration. No matter how pure the conscious mind is, even without thoughts and without delusion, it is still the conscious mind within meditative concentration; non-Buddhists can cultivate to this state. Therefore the Buddha repeatedly admonished: do not interpret it as sagehood. There is nothing extraordinary about it; do not cling to it as the sage's state of having awakened to the true mind and attained enlightenment, otherwise one will be possessed by demons.

The language of Buddhist sūtras is somewhat obscure and rather difficult to understand, so misunderstandings are inevitable. Therefore everyone should not lightly assume that what they understand must be correct—that is not necessarily so. Why is it that practicing meditation in learning Buddhism easily leads to demonic possession? Because one clings to a certain state as sacred, grasps at a certain state as real. With such clinging, one easily enters the demonic and the mind goes mad. The Buddha said: all states are false and illusory. All states are states of the conscious mind; the true mind has no states—it is tranquil, supremely tranquil. He does not care whether you sit in meditation or not, whether you are tranquil or not, whether you have thoughts or no thoughts; He cares about nothing at all. No matter what, He remains as He ever is. What a pure mind this is.

The more crucial the point of one's practice, the more demons come to interfere; the more extraordinary the point, the more demons come to interfere. The higher the level of one's practice, the greater the interference, whereas in trivial aspects of practice no demons come to interfere. Therefore, the more crucial the dharma one cultivates, the deeper the dharma one cultivates, the more careful and cautious one must be. Especially if someone likes supernatural powers, demons will give you supernatural powers, and then you will be controlled by demons, unable to escape their grasp. The Śūraṅgama mantra is a protective talisman; you must recite it often, and it is even better to memorize it—then demons can do nothing to you. If all Buddhist practitioners could recite and memorize the Śūraṅgama mantra, the demon king would withdraw from the Sahā world, the Buddha-dharma would continue on, and the Śūraṅgama Sūtra would not perish.