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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