Shūramgama Sutra [首楞厳経] (Chin Shou-leng-yen-ching; Shuryōgon-kyō): Also, Shūrangama Sutra or Sutra of the Resolute Meditation. (1) A sutra translated into Chinese by Kumārajīva in the early fifth century. Its full title is the Shūramgama Meditation Sutra. According to this sutra, Bodhisattva Firm Will asked Shakyamuni Buddha what meditation would enable him to dispel earthly desires, illusions, and all other obstacles, and to attain enlightenment. In reply the Buddha taught him the shūramgama-samādhi, or resolute meditation, and explained its power. The Shūramgama Sutra describes this as the source of all types of meditation. One who masters the shūramgama meditation is said to be able to master all other kinds of meditation and overcome any obstacle such as desire, illusion, or diabolical influence.
(2) A sutra traditionally thought to have been translated into Chinese by Pan-la-mi-ti in the early eighth century. Also known as the Great Crown of the Buddha’s Head Sutra or the Great Crown of the Buddha’s Head Shūramgama Meditation Sutra, the sutra explains the power accruing from meditation and dhāranī (mystic formulas). Many commentaries were written on it, though today it is regarded as a scripture produced originally in China during the T’ang dynasty (618–907) and not a translation of an Indian sutra.