The Surangama Sutra has been held in great esteem in the Mahayana Buddhist countries of East and Southeast Asia for over a thousand years. Its appeal lies in the broad scope of its teachings and in the depth and clarity of its prescriptions for contemplative practice. Its wealth of theoretical and practical instruction in the spiritual life often made it the first major text to be studied by newly ordained monks, particularly in the Chan School. The new translation, prepared by members of the Buddhist Text Translation Society, is enhanced by excerpts from the commentary by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua (Xuanhua). For the Chinese sutra with pinyin romanization for pronunciation, see BTTS online, ISBN 0881394041.