On Saturday, January 11, l997,  at Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, Theravada monk Ajahn Amaro joined Mahayana monk Heng Sure in explaining passages from the Sixth Patriarch‘s Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra. The evening’s bilingual (Chinese/English) lecture was attended by more than 60 listeners, including eight members of the Sangha. The Sutra text centered on the well-known “Markless Verse” found at the end of Chapter Three. 

Ajahn Amaro, Abbot of Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery located at 1621 Tomik Road in Redwood Valley, California, a twenty-year precepted Theravada monk, spoke eloquently in explicating portions of the verse. He stated that he finds the Sixth Patriarch‘s simple, direct instructions compelling and that, to date,  he himself has read the Platform Sutra five times through.