Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment

The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment or Complete Enlightenment (traditional Chinese: 圓覺經; simplified Chinese: 圆觉经; pinyin: Yuánjué jīng; Japanese: 円覚経; rōmaji: Engaku-kyō; Korean: 원각경; romaja: Wongakgyeong; Vietnamese: kinh Viên Giác) is a Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtra[a] highly esteemed by both the Huayan and Zen schools.

The most important commentary is the 9th-century Great Exegesis on the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment (圓覺經大疏鈔 Yuanjuejing Dashuchao) by Zongmi.

Its full Chinese title: Dà fāngguăng yuánjué xiūduōluó liǎoyì jīng (大方廣圓覺修多羅了義經, lit.

[9][10][4] It is considered a creative reformulation that assembles the teaching from the Shurangama Sutra and Awakening of Faith,[9] which are also texts whose origin has been scrutinized.

The terminology that Zongmi and Gihwa use to describe these advanced practitioners is that they possess the capacity for the teaching of "sudden enlightenment"; a direct awakening to the non-duality of reality, which necessarily precludes gradualist, "goal-oriented" practice.