A Commentary by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua

The Sutra in Forty-Two Sections
Spoken by the Buddha
Contents:

Preface and Section 1
Section  1: Leaving Home and Becoming an Arhat

Section 2-12
Section  2: Eliminating Desire and Ending Seeking
Section  3: Severing Love and Renouncing Greed
Section  4: Clarifying Good and Evil
Section  5: Reducing the Severity of Offenses
Section  6: Tolerating Evil-doers and Avoiding Hatred
Section  7: Evil Returns to the Doer
Section  8: Abusing Others Defiles Oneself
Section  9: By Returning to the Source, You Find the Way
Section  10: Joyful Charity Brings Blessings
Section  11: The Increase in Merit Gained by Bestowing Food
Section  12: A List of Difficulties and an Exhortation to Cultivate

Section 13-26
Section  13: Questions about the Way and Past Lives
Section  14: Asking about Goodness and Greatness
Section  15: Asking about Strength and Brilliance
Section  16: Casting Aside Love and Attaining the Way
Section  17: When Light Arrives, Darkness Departs
Section  18: Thoughts and So Forth Are Basically Empty
Section  19: Contemplating Both the False and the True
Section  20: Realize that the Self Is Truly Empty
Section  21: Fame Destroys Life's Roots
Section  22: Wealth and Sex Cause Suffering
Section  23: A Family Is Worse than a Prison
Section  24: Sexual Desire Obstructs the Way
Section  25: The Fire of Desire Burns
Section  26: Demons from the Heavens Try to Tempt the Buddha


Section 27-37
Section  27: One Attains the Way after Letting Go of Attachments
Section  28: Don't Indulge the Wild Mind
Section  29: Proper Contemplation Counteracts Sexual Desire
Section  30: Stay Far Away from the Fire of Desire
Section  31: When the Mind Is Still, Desire Is Dispelled
Section  32: Emptying out the Self Quells Fear
Section  33: Wisdom and Clarity Defeat the Demons
Section  34: By Staying in the Middle, One Attains the Way
Section  35: When One Is Purified of Defilements, the Brilliance Remains
Section  36: The Sequence that Leads to Success
Section  37: Staying Mindful of Moral Precepts Brings Us Close to the Way

Section 38-42
Section  38: Birth Leads to Death
Section  39: The Buddha's Instructions Are Not Biased
Section  40: The Way Is Practiced in the Mind
Section  41: A Straight Mind Gets Rid of Desire
Section  42: Understanding that the World Is Illusory

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Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua

 

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