Interpreting Zen beliefs across cultures: a study on the interpersonal meaning restructured in the Spanish translations of The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch

Drawing on Systemic Functional Grammar, this study examines how interpersonal meaning is restructured in two Spanish translations of The Platform Sutra. The findings reveal a consistent pattern across both translations: (1) the strategic use of first- and second-person plural pronouns (encoded through verbal inflections) directly enhances reader engagement and broadens the text’s appeal; and (2) these pronouns frequently co-occur with future-tense constructions expressing probability and with imperative forms, transforming declarative statements into exhortatory and promissory discourse that invites reader participation. These patterned linguistic strategies help bridge the spatiotemporal and hierarchical distances between the Sixth Patriarch and contemporary readers, making Huineng’s teachings appear more accessible and inclusive. Furthermore, contextual analysis suggests that these linguistic choices resonate with the sutra’s egalitarian and universal ethos, as well as with the reception of Zen Buddhism in the Spanish-speaking world, where it is often approached as a practical, life-oriented philosophy. This study thus demonstrates that specific micro-level linguistic features can reshape interpersonal meaning in religious translation, offering insights into the cross-cultural mediation of canonical texts – a domain that remains underexplored in Chinese–Spanish translation studies.