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The Mahayana sutras are
Buddhist texts Buddhist texts are religious texts that belong to, or are associated with, Buddhism and Schools of Buddhism, its traditions. There is no single textual collection for all of Buddhism. Instead, there are three main Buddhist Canons: the Pāli C ...
that are accepted as
canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean 'according to the canon' the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, ''canonical exampl ...
and authentic ''buddhavacana'' in Mahayana Buddhist sanghas. These include three types of sutras: Those spoken by the Buddha; those spoken through the Buddha's blessings; and those spoken through mandate. They are largely preserved in
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
manuscripts, and in translations such as the
Tibetan Buddhist canon The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a compilation of the Buddhist sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Canon includes the Kangyur, which is the Buddha's recorded teachings, and the Tengyur, which is commentaries by gr ...
, and
Chinese Buddhist canon The Chinese Buddhist canon refers to a traditional collection of Chinese language Buddhist texts which are the central canonical works of East Asian Buddhism. The traditional term for the canon is Great Storage of Scriptures ().Jiang Wu, "The ...
. Several hundred Mahāyāna sutras survive in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese translations. The Buddhist scholar
Asanga Asaṅga (Sanskrit: असंग, , ; Romaji: ''Mujaku'') (fl. 4th century C.E.) was one of the most important spiritual figures of Mahayana Buddhism and the founder of the Yogachara school.Engle, Artemus (translator), Asanga, ''The Bodhisattva P ...
classified the Mahāyāna sūtras as part of the ''Bodhisattva
Tripiṭaka There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist scriptural canons.
'', a collection of texts meant for
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
s.Boin-Webb, Sara (tr). Rahula, Walpola (tr). Asanga. ''Abhidharma Samuccaya: The Compendium of Higher Teaching.'' 2001. pp. 199–200 Buddhists consider the most important Mahayana sutras to be the spoken teachings of
Shakyamuni Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
. These were quickly recorded one year following his
Mahaparinirvana In Buddhism, ''Parinirvana'' (Sanskrit: '; Pali: ') describes the state entered after death by someone who has attained ''nirvana'' during their lifetime. It implies a release from '' '', karma and rebirth as well as the dissolution of the ''sk ...
, when the Buddha's main attendant Ananda recited these Sutras in their entirety at the
First Buddhist Council Since the Mahaparinirvana of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhist monastic communities, the "''sangha''", have periodically convened for doctrinal and disciplinary reasons and to revise and correct the contents of the Buddhist ...
, where they were recorded. At that Council, two other attendants recited two other classifications of the Buddha's teachings.''Ways of Enlightenment'', Dharma Publishing, pages 31-32 Other Mahāyāna sūtras are presented as being taught by masters such as
bodhisattvas In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, ''Enlightenment in Buddhism, bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal n ...
like
Mañjuśrī Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents ''Prajñā (Buddhism), prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word "wikt:%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%9E%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0 ...
and
Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (meaning "the lord who looks down", International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), also known as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World") and Chenrezig (in Tibetan), is a Bodhisattva#Bhūmis (stages), tenth-level bodhisattva associ ...
. There are various reasons that Indian Mahāyāna Buddhists give to explain why some Sutras appeared at later times. One such reason is that they had been hidden away in the land of the
Nāga In various Asian religious traditions, the Nāgas () are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...
s (snake deities, dragons) until the proper time for their dissemination arrived. They are also sometimes called ''Vaipulya'' ("extensive") sūtras by earlier sources.Drewes, David, Early Indian Mahayana Buddhism II: New Perspectives, ''Religion Compass'' 4/2 (2010): 66–74, Modern scholars of
Buddhist studies Buddhist studies, also known as Buddhology, is the academic study of Buddhism. The term ''Buddhology'' was coined in the early 20th century by the Unitarian minister Joseph Estlin Carpenter to mean the "study of Buddhahood, the nature of the Bud ...
generally agree these sūtras began to be more widely disseminated between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE.''e Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism'' (2004): p. 293Akira, Hirakawa (translated and edited by Paul Groner) (1993). ''A History of Indian Buddhism''. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass: p. 252 They continued being composed, compiled, and edited until the decline of Buddhism in ancient India. Some of them may have also been composed outside of India, such as in
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
and in
East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
.Williams (2008), p. 85. Some of the most influential Mahāyāna sūtras include the ''
Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: ''Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram'', ''Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma'', zh, p=Fǎhuá jīng, l=Dharma Flower Sutra) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. ...
'', the '' Perfection of Wisdom Sutras'', the '' Avatamsaka Sutra'', the '' Lankavatara Sutra'', the ''
Pure Land Sutras Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of Buddhism in East Asia. It is ...
,'' and the '' Nirvana Sutra.'' The Mahāyāna sūtras were not accepted by all Buddhists in ancient India, and the various Indian Buddhist schools disagreed on their status as "word of the Buddha".Sree Padma. Barber, Anthony W. ''Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra.'' 2008. p. 68. They are generally not accepted as the Buddha's word by the school of
Theravāda Buddhism ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...
.


History and background


Origins and early history

The origins of the Mahāyāna and their sūtras are not completely understood. Modern scholars have proposed numerous theories about the origins of Mahāyāna and the Mahāyāna texts. Some of the main theories are the following:Drewes, David, Early Indian Mahayana Buddhism I: Recent Scholarship, ''Religion Compass'' 4/2 (2010): 55–65, * The lay origins theory, first proposed by
Jean Przyluski Jean Przyluski (17 August 1885 – 28 October 1944) was a French linguist and scholar of religion and Buddhism of Polish descent. His interests ranged widely through the structure of the Vietnamese language, the development of Buddhist myt ...
and then defended by
Étienne Lamotte Étienne Paul Marie Lamotte (; 21 November 1903 – 5 May 1983) was a Belgian priest and Professor of Greek at the Catholic University of Louvain, but was better known as an Indologist and the greatest authority on Buddhism in the West in his ...
and Akira Hirakawa, states that laypersons were particularly important in the development of Mahāyāna and its texts. This is partly based on some texts like the Vimalakirti Sūtra, which praise lay figures at the expense of monastics. This theory is no longer widely accepted. * The theory which held that Mahāyāna developed within the
Mahāsāṃghika The Mahāsāṃghika (Brahmi script, Brahmi: 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑀸𑀁𑀖𑀺𑀓, "of the Great Sangha (Buddhism), Sangha", ) was a major division (nikāya) of the early Buddhist schools in India. They were one of the two original communities th ...
tradition. Drewes notes that there is actually little evidence that Mahāsāṃghika schools had a special connection to the production of Mahāyāna texts, and it seems Mahāyāna arose as a pan-Buddhist phenomenon. * The "forest hypothesis", which states that Mahāyāna arose mainly among hardcore wilderness ascetics (''aranyavasins'') who were attempting to imitate the Buddha. This has been defended by Paul Harrison and
Jan Nattier Jan Nattier is an American scholar of Mahāyana Buddhism. Early life and education She earned her PhD in Inner Asian and Altaic Studies from Harvard University (1988), and subsequently taught at the University of Hawaii (1988-1990), Stanford Unive ...
. This theory is based on certain sutras like the ''
Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra The ''Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra'' (''The inquiry of Ugra'') is an early Indian sutra which is particularly important for understanding the beginnings of Mahayana Buddhism. It contains positive references to both the path of the bodhisattva and the ...
'' and the ''Mahāyāna Rāṣṭrapālapaṛiprcchā'' which promote ascetic practice in the wilderness as a superior and elite path. These texts criticize monks who live in cities and denigrate the forest life. However, Drewes notes that only a few early Mahāyāna texts advocate or promote this practice, and other Sūtras outright discourage forest dwelling or say it is unnecessary. * The cult of the book theory, defended by Gregory Schopen, states that Mahāyāna arose among a number of loosely connected book worshiping groups of monastics, who studied, memorized, copied and revered particular Mahāyāna sūtras. Schopen also argued that these groups mostly rejected
stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...
worship, or worshiping holy relics. According to David Drewes, none of these theories have been satisfactorily proven and they lack sufficient evidence. Drewes writes that the most likely origin of Mahāyāna is that it was "primarily a textual movement, focused on the revelation, preaching, and dissemination of Mahāyāna sūtras, that developed within, and never really departed from, traditional Buddhist social and institutional structures." The figures of this movement probably saw themselves as bodhisattvas entrusted with teaching and preserving the Mahāyāna sūtras. Scholars like Joseph Walser have also noted how Mahāyāna sūtras are heterogeneous and seem to have been composed in different communities with varying ideas. Walser writes that "Mahāyāna was probably never unitary, but differed from region to region.".Walser (2012), p. 24. Likewise, Hajime Nakamura states:
Unlike the various recensions of the
Hīnayāna Hīnayāna is a Sanskrit term that was at one time applied collectively to the '' Śrāvakayāna'' and '' Pratyekabuddhayāna'' paths of Buddhism. This term appeared around the first or second century. The Hīnayāna is considered as the prelim ...
canon, which were virtually closed by the early centuries of the common era and which shared, at least ideally, a common structure . . . the Mahāyāna scriptures were composed in a variety of disparate social and religious environments over the course of several centuries, diverge widely from each other in content and outlook, and were in many cases meant to stand as individual works representing (it has been conjectured) rivals to the entire Hīnayāna corpus.
There is also no evidence that Mahāyāna ever referred to a separate formal school or sect of Buddhism, but rather that it existed within the early Buddhist schools as a certain set of ideals, texts and later doctrines, for bodhisattvas. Mahāyānists also never had a separate
Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). These sets of ethical rules and guidelines devel ...
(monastic rule) from the
early Buddhist schools The early Buddhist schools refers to the History of Buddhism in India, Indian Buddhist "doctrinal schools" or "schools of thought" (Sanskrit: ''vāda'') which arose out of the early unified Buddhist monasticism, Buddhist monastic community (San ...
. The Chinese monk
Yijing The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
who visited India in the seventh century, writes about how Mahāyāna monastics and non-Mahāyāna monastics lived together under the same Vinaya. The only difference among them was that Mahāyāna monks venerated the bodhisattvas and read the Mahāyāna sūtras. Some scholars like
Richard Gombrich Richard Francis Gombrich (; born 17 July 1937) is a British Indologist and scholar of Sanskrit, Pāli, and Buddhist studies. He was the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford from 1976 to 2004. He is currently Founder-Preside ...
think that Mahāyāna Sūtras only arose after the practice of writing down religious texts became widespread in India and thus that they were always written documents. However, James Apple and David Drewes have drawn attention to these oral features of the early Mahāyāna texts, which were not written documents but orally preserved teachings. Drewes writes, that Mahāyāna sūtras
advocate mnemic/oral/aural practices more frequently than they do written ones, make reference to people who have memorized or are in the process of memorizing them, and consistently attach higher prestige to mnemic/oral practices than to ones involving written texts. Study of differences in various versions of sutras translated into Chinese has directly shown that these texts were often transmitted orally.
Mahāyāna sūtras were committed to memory and recited by important learned monks called "Dharma reciters" ('' dharmabhāṇaka''), who were viewed as the substitute for the actual speaking presence of the Buddha. Much of the early extant evidence for the origins of Mahāyāna comes from early Chinese translations of Mahāyāna texts. These Mahāyāna teachings were first propagated into
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
by Lokakṣema, the first translator of Mahāyāna Sūtras into Chinese during the second century."The most important evidence — in fact the only evidence — for situating the emergence of the Mahayana around the beginning of the common era was not Indian evidence at all, but came from China. Already by the last quarter of the 2nd century CE, there was a small, seemingly idiosyncratic collection of substantial Mahayana sutras translated into what Erik Zürcher calls 'broken Chinese' by an Indoscythian, whose Indian name has been reconstructed as Lokaksema." ''Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism'' (2004): p. 492 The Mahāyāna movement remained quite small until the fifth century, with very few manuscripts having been found before then (the exceptions are from Bamiyan). According to Joseph Walser, the fifth and sixth centuries saw a great increase in their production. By this time, Chinese pilgrims, such as
Faxian Faxian (337–), formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Fa-hien and Fa-hsien, was a Han Chinese, Chinese Chinese Buddhism, Buddhist bhikkhu, monk and translator who traveled on foot from Eastern Jin dynasty, Jin China to medieval India t ...
,
Yijing The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
, and
Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...
were traveling to India, and their writings describe monasteries which they label 'Mahāyāna' as well as monasteries where both Mahāyāna monks and non-Mahāyāna monks lived together.


Modern scholarly views on dating

Dating the Mahāyāna sūtras is quite difficult; and many can only be dated firmly to when they were translated into another language. Andrew Skilton summarizes a common prevailing view of the Mahāyāna sūtras among modern Buddhist studies scholars as follows: A. K. Warder notes that the Mahāyāna Sūtras are highly unlikely to have come from the teachings of the historical Buddha, since the language and style of every extant Mahāyāna Sūtra is comparable more to later Indian texts than to texts that could have circulated in the Buddha's putative lifetime. Warder also notes that the Tibetan historian
Tāranātha Tāranātha (1575–1634) was a Lama of the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is widely considered its most remarkable scholar and exponent. Taranatha was born in Tibet, supposedly on the birthday of Padmasambhava. His original name was Ku ...
(1575–1634) proclaimed that after the Buddha taught the sutras, they disappeared from the human world and circulated only in the world of the nagas. In Warder's view, "this is as good as an admission that no such texts existed until the 2nd century A.D." Paul Williams writes that while Mahāyāna tradition believes that the Mahāyāna sūtras were taught by the Buddha, "source-critical and historical awareness has made it impossible for the modern scholar to accept this traditional account."Williams (2008), p. 39. However, Williams further writes that
Nevertheless, it is not always absurd to suggest that a Mahāyāna sūtra or teaching may contain elements of a tradition which goes back to the Buddha himself, which was played down or just possibly excluded from the canonical formulations of the early schools. We have seen that even at the First Council there is evidence of disagreement as regards the details of the Buddha's teaching.
John W. Pettit writes that "Mahāyāna has not got a strong historical claim for representing the explicit teachings of the historical Buddha". However, he also argues that basic Mahāyāna concepts such as "the bodhisattva ethic, emptiness (sunyata), and the recognition of a distinction between buddhahood and arhatship as spiritual ideals," can be seen in the
Pāli Canon The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...
. According to Pettit, this suggests that Mahāyāna is "not simply an accretion of fabricated doctrines" but "has a strong connection with the teachings of Buddha himself".


Questions of authenticity

file:KiyoharaYukinobu MonjuOnALion MIA L20153371.jpg, A depiction of
Mañjuśrī Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents ''Prajñā (Buddhism), prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word "wikt:%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%9E%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0 ...
holding a sutra, by Kiyohara Yukinobu. Mañjuśrī is a bodhisattva who is traditionally associated with wisdom and the Mahayana scriptures. Mahāyāna sūtras are generally regarded by Mahāyānists as being more profound than the [ �rāvaka texts as well as generating more spiritual merit and benefit. Thus, they are seen as superior and more virtuous to non-Mahāyāna sūtras. The Mahāyāna sūtras were not recognized as being Buddha word (''buddhavacana'') by various groups of Indian Buddhists and there was lively debate over their authenticity throughout the Buddhist world. Buddhist communities such as the
Mahāsāṃghika The Mahāsāṃghika (Brahmi script, Brahmi: 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑀸𑀁𑀖𑀺𑀓, "of the Great Sangha (Buddhism), Sangha", ) was a major division (nikāya) of the early Buddhist schools in India. They were one of the two original communities th ...
school and the Theravada tradition of
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
became divided into groups which accepted or did not accept these texts. Theravāda commentaries of the
Mahavihara Mahavihara () is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a great vihara (centre of learning or Buddhist monastery) and is used to describe a monastic complex of viharas. Mahaviharas of India A range of monasteries grew up in ancient Magadha (modern Biha ...
sub-school mention these texts (which they call ''Vedalla/Vetulla'') as not being the Buddha word and being counterfeit scriptures. The Saṃmitīya school was also known as being strongly opposed to the Mahayana sutras as noted by the Tibetan historian
Tāranātha Tāranātha (1575–1634) was a Lama of the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is widely considered its most remarkable scholar and exponent. Taranatha was born in Tibet, supposedly on the birthday of Padmasambhava. His original name was Ku ...
.
Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...
reports that a Saṃmitīya known as Prajñāgupta composed a treatise which argued against the Mahāyāna.Joshi, Lalmai. ''Studies in the Buddhistic Culture of India.'' 1987. p. 171 Various Mahāyāna sūtras warn against the charge that they are not word of the Buddha and defend their authenticity in different ways.Werner et al (2013). ''The Bodhisattva Ideal: Essays on the Emergence of Mahayana.'' pp. 89-90, 211-212, 227. Buddhist Publication Society. Some Mahāyāna sūtras such as the ''Gaṇḍavyūha'' often criticize early Buddhist figures, such as Sariputra for lacking knowledge and goodness, and thus, these elders or [ �rāvaka are seen as not intelligent enough to receive the Mahāyāna teachings. The reason these accounts give for the historically late disclosure of the Mahāyāna teachings is that most people were initially unable to understand the Mahāyāna sūtras at the time of the Buddha (500 BCE) and suitable recipients for these teachings had not yet arisen. Some traditional accounts of the transmission of the ''Prajñāpāramitā'' ''sūtras'' claim that they were originally stored or hidden in the realm of the ''nāgas'' (serpent-like supernatural beings). Later, these sūtras were retrieved by Nagarjuna, Nāgārjuna. Other Mahāyāna sources state that they were preached or preserved by bodhisattvas like
Mañjuśrī Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents ''Prajñā (Buddhism), prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word "wikt:%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%9E%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0 ...
or Buddhas like Vajradhāra. Another Mahāyāna explanation for the later appearance of the Mahāyāna sūtras in the historical record is the idea that they are the revelations of certain Buddhas and bodhisattvas, transmitted through visions and meditative experiences to a select few individuals. The practice of visualization of Buddhas (in texts like the '' Sukhāvatīvyūha'') has been seen by some scholars as a possible explanation for the source of certain Mahāyāna sūtras which were seen as revelations from Buddha in other heavenly worlds. Williams also notes that there are other Mahāyāna texts which speak of sūtras being revealed or entrusted to forest dwelling monks by devas (deities). Paul Harrison notes that the idea that devas may preach the Buddha word is also present in non-Mahāyāna texts. Paul Harrison has also noted the importance of dream revelations in certain texts such as the ''Arya-svapna-nirdesa'' which lists and interprets 108 dream signs.


"Word of the Buddha" as what leads to awakening

A different Mahāyāna justification for the authenticity of the Mahāyāna sūtras is that they are in accord with the truth, with the Buddha's
Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...
and therefore they lead to awakening. This is based on the idea that "Whatever is well spoken 'subhasita'' all that is the word of the Buddha 'buddhabhasita''"Williams, (2008), p. 41. As such, this idea holds that Mahāyāna is the "word of the Buddha" because it leads to awakening (''bodhi''), not because it was spoken by a specific individual with the title "Buddha". According to Venerable Hsuan Hua, there are five types of beings who may speak "Buddha word": a Buddha, a disciple of a Buddha, a
deva Deva may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...
(heavenly being), a ṛṣi (a sage), or an emanation of one of these beings; however, they must first receive certification from a Buddha that its contents are true Dharma. The Indian Mahāyāna scholar
Shantideva Shantideva (Sanskrit: Śāntideva; ; ; ; ) was an 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet, and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalanda. He was an adherent of the Mādhyamaka philosophy of Nāgārjuna. Abhayadatta Sri also li ...
(8th century) states:
Through four factors is an inspired utterance 'pratibhana''the word of the Buddhas. What four? (i)...the inspired utterance is connected with truth, not untruth; (ii) it is connected with the Dharma, not that which is not the Dharma; (iii) it brings about the renunciation of moral taints 'klesa''not their increase; and (iv) it shows the laudable qualities of nirvana, not those of the cycle of rebirth amsara
Williams writes that similar ideas can be found in the
Pali Canon The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...
, though it is interpreted in a more open ended way in the Mahāyāna in order to include a larger set of teachings that were seen as spiritually useful. The modern Japanese Zen Buddhist scholar D. T. Suzuki similarly argued that while the Mahāyāna sūtras may not have been directly taught by the historical Buddha, the "spirit and central ideas" of Mahāyāna "are those of its founder". Thus, Suzuki admits (and celebrates) how the Mahāyāna evolved and adapted itself to suit the times by developing new teachings and texts, while at the same time maintaining the core "spirit" of the Buddha.


Teachings


New ideas

The teachings as contained in the Mahāyāna sūtras as a whole have been described as a loosely bound bundle of many teachings, which was able to contain the various contradictions. Because of these contradictory elements, there are "very few things that can be said with certainty about Mahāyāna Buddhism". Central to the Mahāyāna sūtras is the ideal of the
Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
path, something which is not unique to them, however, as such a path is also taught in non-Mahayana texts which also required prediction of future Buddhahood in the presence of a living Buddha.Drewes, David, Mahayana Sutras, forthcoming in Blackwell Companion to South and Southeast Asian Buddhism, Updated 2016 What is unique to Mahāyāna sūtras is the idea that the term bodhisattva is applicable to any person from the moment they intend to become a Buddha (i.e. the arising of
bodhicitta In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta ("aspiration to enlightenment" or "the thought of awakening") is the mind ( citta) that is aimed at awakening (bodhi) through wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings.Dayal, Har (1970). ''T ...
) and without the requirement of a living Buddha. They also claim that any person who accepts and uses Mahāyāna sūtras either had already received or will soon receive such a prediction from a Buddha, establishing their position as an irreversible bodhisattva. Some Mahāyāna sūtras promote it as a universal path for everyone, while others like the '' Ugraparipṛcchā'' see it as something for a small elite of hardcore ascetics.Williams, Paul, ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations,'' Routledge, 2008, pp. 29, 36, 43. While some Mahāyāna sūtras like the Vimalakirti sūtra and the White Lotus sūtra criticize
arhat In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism ...
s and sravakas (referring to non-Mahāyānists) as lacking wisdom, and reject their path as a lower vehicle, i.e. '
hīnayāna Hīnayāna is a Sanskrit term that was at one time applied collectively to the '' Śrāvakayāna'' and '' Pratyekabuddhayāna'' paths of Buddhism. This term appeared around the first or second century. The Hīnayāna is considered as the prelim ...
' (the 'inferior way'), earlier Mahāyāna sūtras do not do this. As noted by David Drewes "early Mahāyāna sūtras often present their teachings as useful not only to people who wish to become Buddhas, but to those who wish to attain arhatship or pratyekabuddhahood as well. The old idea that the Mahāyāna began with the rejection of the arhat ideal in favor of that of the bodhisattva is thus clearly incorrect." Paul Williams also writes that earlier Mahāyāna sūtras like the ''
Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra The ''Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra'' (''The inquiry of Ugra'') is an early Indian sutra which is particularly important for understanding the beginnings of Mahayana Buddhism. It contains positive references to both the path of the bodhisattva and the ...
'' and the '' Ajitasena sutra'' do not present any antagonism towards the hearers or the ideal of
arhat In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism ...
ship like later sutras. According to David Drewes, Mahāyāna sūtras contain several elements besides the promotion of the
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
ideal, including "expanded cosmologies and mythical histories, ideas of purelands and great, 'celestial'
Buddhas In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the supreme goal of Buddhism, variously described as awakening or enlighten ...
and
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
s, descriptions of powerful new religious practices, new ideas on the nature of the Buddha, and a range of new philosophical perspectives." Several Mahāyāna sūtras depict Buddhas or Bodhisattvas not found in earlier texts, such as the Buddhas Amitabha, Akshobhya and Vairocana, and the bodhisattvas
Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...
,
Mañjusri Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents '' prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word " mañju" and an honorific " śrī"; it can be literally translat ...
, Ksitigarbha, and Avalokiteshvara. An important feature of Mahāyāna is the way that it understands the nature of
Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...
. Mahāyāna texts see Buddhas (and to a lesser extent, certain bodhisattvas as well) as transcendental or supramundane (''lokuttara'') beings, who live for eons constantly helping others through their activity.Williams, Paul, ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations,'' Routledge, 2008, p. 21. According to Paul Williams, in Mahāyāna, a Buddha is often seen as "a spiritual king, relating to and caring for the world", rather than simply a teacher who after his death "has completely 'gone beyond' the world and its cares".Williams, Paul, ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations,'' Routledge, 2008, p. 27. Buddha Sakyamuni's life and death on earth is then usually understood docetically, as a "mere appearance", his death was an unreal show (which was done in order to teach others), while in reality he continues to live in a transcendent realm in order to help all beings.


Spiritual Practices

Mahāyāna sūtras, especially those of the ''
Prajñāpāramitā A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna. Prajñāpāramitā refers to a perfected way of seeing the natu ...
'' genre, teach the importance of the practice of the six perfections (''
pāramitā ''Pāramitā'' (Sanskrit, Pali: पारमिता) or ''pāramī'' (Pāli: पारमी) is a Buddhist term often translated as "perfection". It is described in Buddhist commentaries as a noble character quality generally associated with ...
'') as part of the path to
Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...
, and special attention is given to the perfection of wisdom (''prajñāpāramitā'') which is seen as primary. The importance of developing ''
bodhicitta In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta ("aspiration to enlightenment" or "the thought of awakening") is the mind ( citta) that is aimed at awakening (bodhi) through wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings.Dayal, Har (1970). ''T ...
'', which refers to a mind that is aimed at full awakening (i.e. Buddhahood) is also stressed. Another central practice advocated by the Mahāyāna sūtras is focused around "the acquisition of merit, the universal currency of the Buddhist world, a vast quantity of which was believed to be necessary for the attainment of Buddhahood". According to David Drewes, Mahāyāna sūtras teach simple religious practices that are supposed to make Buddhahood easy to achieve. Some of the most widely taught practices taught in Mahāyāna sūtras include: * hearing the names of certain Buddhas or bodhisattvas, or reciting their name * maintaining Buddhist precepts, including new
bodhisattva precepts The Bodhisattva Precepts ( Skt. ''bodhisattva-śīla'' or ''bodhisattva-saṃvāra'', , ; Tibetan: byang chub sems dpa’i sdom pa) are a set of ethical trainings ('' śīla'') used in Mahāyāna Buddhism to advance a practitioner along the path ...
* listening to, memorizing, reciting, preaching, worshiping and copying Mahāyāna sūtras, * rejoicing (''anumodana'') in the collected meritorious actions of all previous Buddhas and other beings. Another innovative "shortcut" to Buddhahood in Mahāyāna sutras are what are often called
Pure Land Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...
practices. These involve the invocation of Buddhas such as Amitabha and Aksobhya, who are said to have created " Buddha fields" or "pure lands" especially so that those beings who wish to be reborn there can easily and quickly become Buddhas. Reciting certain sūtras, along with meditating on and reciting the names of these Buddhas can allow one to be reborn in these pure buddha-fields. Once there, one can hear the Dharma directly from a Buddha and train in the bodhisattva path in a pure place without disturbances. The study of Mahāyāna sūtras is central to
East Asian Buddhism East Asian Buddhism or East Asian Mahayana is a collective term for the schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism which developed across East Asia and which rely on the Chinese Buddhist canon. These include the various forms of Chinese, Japanese, Kore ...
, where they are widely read. In Tibetan Buddhism meanwhile, there is a greater emphasis on the study of Mahāyāna śāstras (philosophical treatises), which are seen as more systematic ways of studying the content found in the sūtras.


Textual practices

Numerous Mahayana sutras teach the veneration and recitation of the sutras themselves as a religious
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
and as an embodiment of the Dharma and the Buddha. In Indian
Mahayana Buddhism Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Thera ...
, the worship of sutras, like the Prajñāpāramitā sutra books ( pustaka) and manuscripts became an important part of Mahayana practice which was considered to bring wisdom, merit and apotropaic protection from harm. This practice is promoted in some of the
sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...
s themselves.Apple, James B. "Prajñaparamita", in ''Encyclopedia of Indian Religions,'' ed. by Arvind Sharma (2019). Springer. The Prajñāpāramitā sutras promote the copying, reading, recitation, contemplation, and distribution of the sutra, and they also teach its worship and veneration. The ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' states:
Here, the sons or daughters of good family are enjoined to put up a copy of the ''Prajñāpāramitā'' on an altar, and to pay respect to it, to revere, worship and adore it, pay regard and reverence to it with flowers, incense, powders, umbrellas, banners, bells, and rows of burning lamps.
The Prajñāpāramitā sutras also reference themselves as the highest object of study and worship, claiming that studying, reciting, and worshiping them is superior to worshiping
stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...
s, Buddha relics, and other objects.Kinnard, Jacob (1999). ''Imaging Wisdom: Seeing and Knowing in the Art of Indian Buddhism'', pp. 79-114. Routledge. The ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā'' claims that this is because "the relics of the Tathāgata have come forth from this perfection of wisdom". Since the very concept of ''Prajñāpāramitā'' (transcendent knowledge, perfection of wisdom) is linked with the texts themselves, the texts were considered to have a mystic power within, which is the source of all the merit in the other religious objects, like Buddha relics. Furthermore, Mahayana sutras like the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā'' often claim that the Buddha is present in the text. For example the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā'' says that "when a pūja is done to the Prajñāpāramitā, it is a pūja to the venerable past, present, and future Buddhas."Kinnard, Jacob (1999). ''Imaging Wisdom: Seeing and Knowing in the Art of Indian Buddhism'', pp. 114-148. Routledge. This sutra also states that wherever the sutra itself is placed or recited, it makes the ground a caitya (a sacred space, shrine, sanctuary). According to Jacob Kinnard, Prajñāpāramitā sutras even present their physical form (as books, manuscripts, etc) as being akin to the Buddha's rūpakāya (physical form to be worshiped, like his relics) as well as being his dharmakāya (which contains the
Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...
, the Buddha's teachings). The ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā'' further states:
One might hear this deep perfection of wisdom being spoken, being taught, being explained, being pointed out, and having heard it here he might bring forth the designation 'Teacher' with regard to this perfection of wisdom—he thinks, 'The Teacher is face to face with me, the Teacher is seen by me.'
Since the sutras teach and lead one to perfect wisdom, and perfect wisdom was considered to be the mother of all Buddhas, then to honor and to know the text was to honor and to know the Buddha. As such, the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā'' states:
In the same way in which you, Ānanda, honor me, who is now the Tathāgata...so also, Ānanda, this perfection of wisdom is to be lways�spread, praised, worshipped, venerated, respected, honored, protected, copied, recited, explained, taught, pointed out, advanced, studied, spoken, and elevated, with the same solicitude, affection, respect, and in the same virtuous spirit....But, in short, in the same way in which I am your teacher, so is the perfection of wisdom.
The worship of Mahayana sutra books and even in anthropomorphic form (through deities like Prajñāpāramitā Devi) remains important in many Mahayana Buddhist traditions, including Newar Buddhism,
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...
and
East Asian Buddhism East Asian Buddhism or East Asian Mahayana is a collective term for the schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism which developed across East Asia and which rely on the Chinese Buddhist canon. These include the various forms of Chinese, Japanese, Kore ...
. This is often done in rituals in which the sutras (or a deity representing the sutra) are presented various types of offerings. The sutra may then be chanted (partially or completely), though sometimes, a
mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...
representing the sutra or just the title of the sutra is recited. For example, the practice of chanting the title of the ''
Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: ''Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram'', ''Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma'', zh, p=Fǎhuá jīng, l=Dharma Flower Sutra) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. ...
'' (called the Daimoku) is the central practice in
Nichiren Buddhism Nichiren Buddhism (), also known as ''Hokkeshū'' (, meaning ''Lotus Sect''), is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) and is one of the Kamakura period school ...
, a form of Mahayana which focuses on the veneration of this sutra. In the Huayan tradition meanwhile, a central practice is the recitation and copying of the '' Avatamsaka Sutra'' (which is often done in a group setting or on solitary retreat).


Key Mahāyāna Sūtras


Proto-Mahayana sutras

The '' Ajitasena Sūtra'' has been called "Proto-Mahāyāna" by Paul Williams. While it promotes Buddhahood for all, the text lacks the usual antagonism towards the '' śravakas'' and ''arhats'', as is typical of later Mahāyāna texts like the '' Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sūtra''. It also lacks any self-awareness of itself as being part of "Mahāyāna." It promotes giving to monks like any non-Mahāyāna text, but also includes the depiction of a prince who has visions of many Buddhafields (including
Sukhavati Sukhavati ( IAST: ''Sukhāvatī''; "Blissful"; Chinese: 極樂世界, lit. "realm of ultimate bliss") is the pure land (or buddhafield) of the Buddha Amitābha in Mahayana Buddhism. Sukhavati is also called the Land of Bliss or Western Pure L ...
and Abhirati) on becoming an arhat.Williams (2008), pp. 27-30, 46. The '' Salistamba Sūtra'' (rice stalk or rice sapling sūtra) has been considered one of the first Mahayana sutras. According to N. Ross Reat, this sutra has many parallels with the material in the Pali suttas (especially the ''Mahatanha-sahkhaya sutta'', M1:256-71), and could date as far back as 200 BCE. It is possible that this sutra represents a period of Buddhist literature before Mahāyāna doctrine had diverged significantly from the doctrines of the early Buddhist texts.


Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras

Some of the ''
Prajñāpāramitā A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna. Prajñāpāramitā refers to a perfected way of seeing the natu ...
Sūtras'' are considered to be some of the earliest Mahāyāna Sūtras. Various Western scholars generally hold that the ''
Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra The ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: अष्टसाहस्रिका प्रज्ञापारमिता सूत्र; English language, English: ''The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand ines ...
'' is one of the earliest of these texts (c. 1st century BCE). The '' Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' is also seen by scholars like Schopen and numerous Japanese scholars as being very early. Paul Williams also notes that in Lewis Lancaster's analysis of the earliest Chinese versions of the ''
Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra The ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: अष्टसाहस्रिका प्रज्ञापारमिता सूत्र; English language, English: ''The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand ines ...
'' "a number of key Mahayana concepts are missing from the earliest versions although present in later versions. The world of the earliest Aṣṭasāhasrika is reasonably close to that of the pre-Mahayana traditions." The main topics of these Sūtras are the path of the
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
, the six transcendent virtues and, in particular, transcendent wisdom (''prajñāpāramitā'') the most important of these. The bodhisattva "mahasattva" (great being) is a being who is training towards full Buddhahood for the benefit of all. "Transcendent Wisdom" (also: the "Perfection of Wisdom") meanwhile, means the ability to see reality as it truly is, a deep and liberating spiritual knowledge that is the source of all virtues. ''Prajñāpāramitā'' is thus "a state of consciousness which understands emptiness ('' shunyata''), the absence of 'self' or intrinsic nature even in dharmas." Since all phenomena (even
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
) lack any essence, unchanging core or independence, they are merely conceptual constructs and as such, they are like magical illusions (''maya''). Many of these sutras are known by the number of lines, or ''ślokas'', that they contain, such as the ''Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā'' (25,000 line) PP Sūtra, the ''Aṣṭadaśasāhasrikā'' (18,000 lines), and the ''Śatasāhasrikā'' (100,000 lines) etc.


The ''White'' ''Lotus Sūtra''

The '' Saddharma-pundarīka-sūtra'' (''True Dharma White Lotus Sūtra)'' is a very influential Sūtra, especially in East Asian Buddhism, where it is considered the supreme Sūtra by many East Asian Buddhists (especially in the
Tiantai Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai () is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. Drawing from earlier Mahāyāna sources such as Madhyamaka, founded by Nāgārjuna, who is traditionally regarded as the f ...
and
Nichiren was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. His teachings form the basis of Nichiren Buddhism, a unique branch of Japanese Mahayana Buddhism based on the '' Lotus Sutra''. Nichiren declared that the '' Lotus Sutra ...
schools). Probably written down between 100 BCE –150 CE, the ''Lotus Sūtra'' states that the three '' yānas'' (''
śrāvakayāna ''Śrāvakayāna'' (; ; ) is one of the three '' yānas'' known to Indian Buddhism. It translates literally as the "vehicle of listeners .e. disciples. Historically it was the most common term used by Mahāyāna Buddhist texts to describe one ...
'', '' pratyekabuddhayāna'' and ''
bodhisattvayāna Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
'') are not real paths leading to different goals, there is in fact only one path (ekayāna), with one goal -
Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...
. The sutra predicts that all those who hear the Dharma will eventually achieve this goal. The earlier teachings are said to be skilful means to teach beings according to their capacities. The sutra is notable for the idea that a Buddha is not inaccessible after his ''parinirvāṇa'' since a Buddha's life-span is incalculably long. Instead of passing into a totally transcendent state, a Buddha remains to help all sentient beings in countless ways, like a great spiritual father that has been around for eons and will continue to teach for many more eons to come. In some East Asian traditions, the Lotus Sūtra has been compiled together with two other sutras which serve as a prologue and epilogue, respectively the ''
Innumerable Meanings Sutra The ''Innumerable Meanings Sutra'' also known as the ''Immeasurable Meanings Sutra'' and ''Sutra of Infinite Meanings'' (Sanskrit: अनन्त निर्देश सूत्र, ''Ananta Nirdeśa Sūtra''; ; Japanese: ''Muryōgi Kyō''; ...
'' and the ''
Samantabhadra Meditation Sutra The ''Samantabhadra Meditation Sūtra'' (; Japanese: 観普賢菩薩行法経; rōmaji ''Kan Fugen Bosatsu Gyōhō Kyō''; Vietnamese: Kinh Quán Phổ Hiền Bồ Tát Hạnh Pháp; Korean: 관보현보살행법경; ''Gwan Bohyeon Bosal Hae ...
''. This composite sutra is often called the ''Threefold Lotus Sūtra'' or ''Three-Part Dharma Flower Sutra''.


Buddhafield Sūtras

Illustrated'' Amitabha Sutra'', Korea, Deokjusa Temple Several sutras focus on the pure buddhafields (''viśuddhabuddhakṣetra'') or a Buddha's "pure lands" (as they are known in Chinese translation). The most popular of these are three sutras that deal with the pure land of Amitābha Buddha, called
Sukhāvatī Sukhavati (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Sukhāvatī''; "Blissful"; Chinese: 極樂世界, lit. "realm of ultimate bliss") is the pure land (or buddhafield) of the Buddha Amitābha in Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism. Su ...
(the Blissful). These texts are very influential in East Asia, particularly in
Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure land, Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of East Asi ...
, which focuses on the salvific power of faith in Amitābha's salvific vow-power (pūrva-praṇidhāna-vaśa, the power of his past vows) to effortlessly transport all beings who think of him to his pure land. The three main "Pure land sutras" in East Asian Pure Land Buddhism are: * '' Long Sukhāvatīvyūha'' (also known as the ''Sutra of Immeasurable Life'') * '' Short Sukhāvatīvyūha'' (also known as the ''Sutra of Immeasurable Light'') * '' Amitāyus Contemplation Sūtra'' Furthermore, there are also other sutras which teach about other Buddhas and their pure lands, though they are not as influential as the Amitabha sutras. They include the ''Bhaiṣajyaguru-vaiḍūryaprabhārāja Sūtra'', which focuses on Bhaiṣajyaguru, a healing Buddha also known as the "Medicine Buddha"; as well as the ''Akṣobhyatathāgata-syavyūha Sūtra'', which focuses on the Buddha Akṣobhya and his pure land of Abhirati (which is one of the oldest "Pure land" texts).


Samādhi Sūtras

Amongst the earliest Mahāyāna texts, the "''Samādhi'' ''Sūtras"'' are a group of sutras that focus on the attainment of profound states of consciousness reached in meditation (
samādhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...
, "meditative absorption, concentration"), perhaps suggesting that meditation played an important role in the development of early Mahāyāna.Skilton, Andrew. ''State or Statement?: "Samādhi" in Some Early Mahāyāna Sutras''. The Eastern Buddhist, Vol. 34, No. 2 (2002), pp. 51-93 (43 pages). Eastern Buddhist Society. However, in these texts, the term "samādhi" general signifies a more complex and diverse idea which includes numerous practices that are not purely contemplative. "''
Samādhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...
'' ''Sūtras"'' include:'''' * '' Pratyutpannabuddha Saṃmukhāvasthita Samādhi Sūtra'' (''Samādhi for Directly Encountering the Buddhas of the Present'' ''Sūtra'') * '' Samādhirāja-sūtra (King of Samādhis Sūtra)'' * '' Śūraṅgama-samādhi-sūtra (Samādhi of the Heroic Progression Sūtra)'' * ''Sarvapuṇyasamuccayasamādhi'' (''The Absorption that Encapsulates All Merit'') * ''The Absorption of the Miraculous Ascertainment of Peace'' (''Pra­śāntaviniścayaprātihāryasamādhi'')


Visualization and Meditation Sūtras

There is also another genre of Mahāyāna meditation texts called Visualization Sutras ( Chinese: 觀經, ''guan jing'').Soper, Alexander Coburn. ''Literary Evidence for Early Buddhist Art in China''. Artibus Asiae Supplementum 19. Ascona, Switzerland: Artibus Asiae, 1959. A key feature of these sutras is their promotion of meditation practices which focus on mentally visualizing or maintaining a mental image. Perhaps the most popular of these is the ''Sutra on the Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life''. Others include the ''Sutra on the Sea of Samādhi Attained through Contemplation of the Buddha'' (''Guan Fo Sanmei Hai Jing''), and the ''Sutra on the Contemplation of the Cultivation Methods of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra'' (''Guan Puxian Pusa Xingfa Jing''), commonly known as Samantabhadra Contemplation Sutra. There are also some meditation focused texts called '' Dhyāna Sūtras'' (禪経) translated into Chinese by figures like Kumarajiva. Some of these Sūtras contain Mahāyāna meditation teachings.


''Buddhāvataṃsaka'' ''Sūtra''

There are also various composite "sūtras," which are actually large collections of other sūtras. One quite influential composite sūtra is the ''
Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra The ''Buddhāvataṃsaka-nāma-mahā­vaipulya-sūtra (The Mahayana, Mahāvaipulya Sūtra named "Buddhāvataṃsaka")'' is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras, Mahāyāna sutras of East Asian Buddhism.Hamar, Imre. Buddhāvataṃsakasūtr ...
'' (''The Buddha Wreath Sūtra''), a large text contraining numerous chapters on varying topics, some of which circulated separately as independent sūtras before being joined into the mature ''Buddhāvataṃsaka''.Williams (2008), pp. 132-133. The largest and most influential of these include the '' Daśabhūmika Sūtra'' and the '' Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra''. The ''Buddhāvataṃsaka'' probably reached its current form by about the 4th century CE, and this compilation may have happened in Central Asia. Williams notes that the ''Buddhāvataṃsaka sutra'' includes both the Yogacara mind-only teaching and the emptiness doctrine, but does so mainly from the perspective of highly advanced beings who have spiritually realized these teachings through deep meditative absoprtion, and thus have all sorts of magical powers which they use to help others. The ''Buddhāvataṃsaka'' is therefore a text that depicts various mystical visionary scenes, with countless world systems and countless Buddhas and bodhisattvas who travel freely throughout this multiverse helping all beings out of compassion. One of the most important Buddhas in this text is Mahāvairocana ("Great Illuminator"), who fills the entire cosmos with his light, his omniscient awareness and his magical emanations (one of which was
Shakyamuni Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
). In China, the ''Buddhāvataṃsaka'' became the central text for the Huayen (Jp. Kegon) school of Buddhism, which later went on to influence Chinese
Chan Buddhism Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and Song ...
and
Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure land, Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of East Asi ...
.


''Mahāratnakūṭa'' and ''Mahāsamnipāta'' Sūtras

Two other important Mahāyāna "sūtras" which are also collections of smaller independent sūtras are the '' Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra'' (''The Heap of Jewels Sūtra'') which contains 49 individual sūtras, and the '' Mahāsamnipāta Sūtra'' (''Sūtra of the Great Assembly'') which is a collection of 17 sūtras. Important sutras in the ''Mahāratnakūṭa'' include the '' Bodhisattvapiṭaka, the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra, the Longer Sukhāvatī-vyūha Sutra, the Akṣobhya-vyūha,
Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra The ''Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra'' (''The inquiry of Ugra'') is an early Indian sutra which is particularly important for understanding the beginnings of Mahayana Buddhism. It contains positive references to both the path of the bodhisattva and the ...
(The inquiry of Ugra)'', the ''Saptaśatikā (700 Line) Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra,'' and the '' Tathāgataguhya Sūtra'' (''The Secrets of the Tathāgata'').''Sangharakshita. ''The Eternal Legacy: An Introduction to the Canonical Literature of Buddhism.'' 2006. p. 168-169'' Important sutras in the ''Mahāsamnipāta'' include larger works like the '' Akṣayamati-nirdeśa'', and the ''Gaganagañja-paripṛcchā,'' which themselves also circulated as independent sutras.''Pagel, Ulrich (1994).
The Bodhisattvapiṭaka and Akṣayamatinirdeśa: Continuity and Change in Buddhist Sūtras
'' The Buddhist Forum Volume v.3 Pages 333 - 373.
''


Hagiographical sutras about the Buddha

Some Mahayana sutras focus on the hagiography of the Buddha, other Buddhas, or even tell stories of numerous Buddhas. The ''
Lalitavistara Sūtra The ''Lalitavistara Sūtra'' is a Sanskrit Mahayana sutras, Mahayana Buddhist sutra that tells the story of Gautama Buddha from the time of his descent from Tushita until his first sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath near Varanasi. The term ''La ...
'' is one of the most important of the hagiographical sutras. It focuses on the story of Shakyamuni Buddha's final birth. The ''Karuṇā­puṇḍarīka Sūtra'' (''White Lotus of Compassion Sutra'') is another hagiographical sutra which tells a story about a key event in the past life of Shakyamuni Buddha. The '' Bhadrakalpika Sūtra'' give a list of over one thousand Buddhas which will arise in this "fortunate aeon".


Sūtras on specific bodhisattvas

A large number of Sūtras focus on the nature, teachings and virtues of a particular bodhisattva. They include: * Sūtras which focus on the bodhisattva
Mañjuśrī Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents ''Prajñā (Buddhism), prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word "wikt:%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%9E%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0 ...
and his teachings, such as the ''Mañjuśrī-buddhakṣetra-guṇavyūha'' (''Array of Mañjushri's Buddhaland''). * Sutras which focus on Avalokitesvara, like the
Sūtra of the Prophecy Bestowed upon Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva
' * The Amoghapāśa sūtras (a special form of Avalokitesvara) * The '' Kṣitigarbhasūtra,'' which focuses on the bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha. * Sūtras which focus on the bodhisattva
Ākāśagarbha Ākāśagarbha (, Standard Tibetan: ''Namkha'i Nyingpo'') is a bodhisattva in Chinese, Japanese and Korean Buddhism who is associated with the great element ('' mahābhūta'') of space ( ''ākāśa''). Overview Ākāśagarbha is regarded as on ...
. * Sūtras which focus on
Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...
, such as the ''Maitreyavyakarana (Maitreya Prophecy)'' and ''The Sutra That Expounds the Descent of Maitreya Buddha'' (Taisho 454)''.'' *The '' Samantabhadra Meditation Sūtra''


Yogācāra Sūtras

These sutras primarily teach doctrines associated with the
Yogācāra Yogachara (, IAST: ') is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through the interior lens of meditation, as well as philosophical reasoning (hetuvidyā). ...
school, such as the doctrine of ''vijñapti-mātra'' (ideas-only, impressions-only etc.), which states that there can only ever be awareness of mental images or impressions which manifest themselves as external objects, but are not actually external to the mind. The '' Ārya-saṃdhi-nirmocana-Sūtra'' (''Noble sūtra of the Explanation of the Profound Secrets,'' c. 2nd century CE) is the earliest surviving sutra in this class, and its the main text. It divides the teachings of the Buddha into three types, which it calls the "
three turnings of the wheel of Dharma Buddhist Doctrinal Classification refers to various systems used by Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions to classify and organize the numerous texts and teachings that have developed over the history of Buddhism. According to Buddhist studies ...
." To the first turning, it ascribes the '' Āgamas'' of the '' śravakas'', to the second turning the lower Mahāyāna sutras including the ''Prajñāpāramitā'' sutras, and finally sutras like itself are deemed to comprise the third turning. Moreover, the first two turnings are considered to be provisional (''neyārtha'') in this system of classification, while the third group is said to present the final truth without a need for further explication (''nītārtha''). Another Indian Yogācāra sutra is the '' Buddhabhūmi Sūtra'' (Sutra on the Buddha Land). This sutra was important enough in India to have at least two Indian Yogācāra commentaries written on it, Śīlabhadra's '' Buddhabhūmi''-''vyākhyāna'' and Bandhuprabha's ''Buddhabhūmyupadeśa''.Keenan, John P. ''A Study of the Buddhabhūmyupadeś́a: The Doctrinal Development of the Notion of Wisdom in Yogācāra Thought''. Institute of Buddhist Studies and Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai America, 2014. This text is also an important source of Indian Pure Land Buddhist ideas. The ''
Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra The ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: लङ्कावतारसूत्रम्, "Discourse of the Descent into Laṅkā", , Chinese: 入楞伽經) is a prominent Mahayana Buddhist sūtra. It is also titled ''Laṅkāvatāraratnasūt ...
'' (c. 4th century CE) and the '' Ghanavyūha Sūtra,'' are also seen as sūtras associated with the Yogācāra tradition. However both are somewhat syncretic in nature, combining Yogācāra doctrines with those of the
buddha-nature In Buddhist philosophy and soteriology, Buddha-nature ( Chinese: , Japanese: , , Sanskrit: ) is the innate potential for all sentient beings to become a Buddha or the fact that all sentient beings already have a pure Buddha-essence within ...
texts. In particular, both sutras associate the tathāgatagarbha (i.e. buddha-nature) with the Yogācāra doctrine of the storehouse consciousness ('' alayavijñāna''). The ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'' was particularly influential for
Chan Buddhism Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and Song ...
.


The ''Vimalakirtinirdeśa''

In the '' Vimalakirtinirdeśa'', composed some time between the first and second century CE, the bodhisattva Vimalakīrti appears as a layman to teach the Dharma. This is seen by some as a strong assertion of the value of lay practice. The sutra teaches, among other subjects, the meaning of non-dualism, the doctrine of the true body of the Buddha, the characteristically Mahāyāna claim that the appearances of the world are mere illusions, and the superiority of the Mahāyāna over other paths. It places in the mouth of the lay practitioner Vimalakīrti a teaching addressed to both
arhat In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism ...
s and
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
s, regarding the doctrine of
śūnyatā ''Śūnyatā'' ( ; ; ), translated most often as "emptiness", " vacuity", and sometimes "voidness", or "nothingness" is an Indian philosophical concept. In Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, and other Indian philosophical traditions, the concept ...
. In most versions, the discourse of the text culminates with a wordless teaching of silence. This sutra has been very popular in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.


Buddha-nature Sūtras

The class of texts called "
Tathāgatagarbha sūtras The Tathāgatagarbha sūtras are a group of Mahayana sutras that present the concept of the "womb" or "embryo" (''garbha'') of the tathāgata, the buddha. Every sentient being has the possibility to attain Buddhahood because of the '' tathāga ...
" teach the important Mahāyāna doctrine of '' Tathāgatagarbha,'' (
Tathāgata Tathāgata () is a Pali and Sanskrit word used in ancient India for a person who has attained the highest religious goal. Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, used it when referring to himself or other past Buddhas in the Pāli Canon. Like ...
-embryo, Tathāgata-womb, Inner Tathāgata, also known as ''Sugatagarbha'') and ''Buddha-dhatu'' (Buddha nature'','' Buddha source, Buddha element). According to Williams, this doctrine states that all beings "have a Tathāgata .e. a Buddhawithin them, in seed or embryo, that sentient beings are the wombs or matrices of the Tathāgata, or that they have a Tathāgata as their essence, core, or essential inner nature."Williams (2008), p. 104. The earliest of these texts have been seen by modern scholars as including the ''
Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra The ''Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra'' (Sanskrit; , ; Vietnamese: ''Kinh Đại Bát Niết Bàn'') or ''Nirvana Sutra'' for short, is an influential Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist Sutra, scripture of the Buddha-nature class. The original ...
'' (not to be confused with the
Pāli Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a classical Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Therav� ...
'' Mahaparinibbana Sutta'' and its parallels) and the '' Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra'' (however, the dating of these texts is far from settled)''.'' Other important sutras in this genre include the '' Śrīmālā Sūtra'', the '' Aṅgulimālīya Sūtra,'' the '' Anūnatvāpurnatvanirdeśa (The Teaching on the Absence of Increase and Decrease),'' the '' Mahābherī Sūtra'' (''Great Drum''), and the '' Mahāmegha Sūtra'' (''Great Cloud Sutra'') .


Ethical Discipline Sūtras

These focus on principles that guide the ethical behaviour (''
Śīla Buddhist ethics are traditionally based on the Enlightenment in Buddhism, enlightened perspective of the Buddha. In Buddhism, ethics or morality are understood by the term ''śīla'' () or ''sīla'' (Pāli). ''Śīla'' is one of three sections o ...
'') of bodhisattvas and the
bodhisattva precepts The Bodhisattva Precepts ( Skt. ''bodhisattva-śīla'' or ''bodhisattva-saṃvāra'', , ; Tibetan: byang chub sems dpa’i sdom pa) are a set of ethical trainings ('' śīla'') used in Mahāyāna Buddhism to advance a practitioner along the path ...
, and include the ''Kāshyapa-parivarta'', the ''Bodhisattva-prātimokṣa Sutra'', the ''Upāliparipṛcchā'' (also known in Chinese as ''The Buddha Speaks of Decisive Vinaya Sutra'') and the '' Brahmajāla Sutra'' (or ''Brahmajāla Bodhisattva Śīla Sūtra).'' For East Asian Zen monastics, the '' Bequeathed Teachings Sutra'' is a widely chanted and studied text on ethical discipline. Yet there is also the ''Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra, Purification of Karmic Obscurations'' (''Karmāvaraṇaviśuddhi'') describing “the monk Stainless Light, who had been seduced by a prostitute and feels strong remorse for having violated his vows” after which “the Buddha explains the lack of inherent nature of all phenomena and the luminous nature of mind.”


Confession Sūtras

The '' Sutra of the Three Heaps'' (Sanskrit: ''Triskandhadharmasutra'') and the ''
Golden Light Sutra The Golden Light Sutra or (; ) is a Buddhist text of the Mahayana branch of Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the full title is ''Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtrendrarājaḥ'' "The King of Sutras on the Sublime Golden Radiance" History The sutra was origina ...
'' (''Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra'') focus on the practice of confession of faults. The ''Golden Light Sutra'' became especially influential in East Asian Buddhism, particularly because of its teaching on how the
Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhism, Buddhist gods or Deva (Buddhism), ''devas'', each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings is a standard component of Chinese Buddhism, Ch ...
protect the ruler who governs his country in the proper manner and upholds the sutra. The ''Sutra of the Three Heaps'' meanwhile remains an important confession focused sutra in Tibetan Buddhism.


Dhāraṇī sutras

Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī, Uighur script with comments in Brahmi, Murtuk, 13th-14th century">Old_Uyghur_alphabet.html" ;"title="Old Turkic in Old Uyghur alphabet">Uighur script with comments in Brahmi, Murtuk, 13th-14th century Dhāraṇī sutras are Mahayana sutras that focus on specific dhāraṇīs (recitations, chants, incantations, spells), which are mostly in some form of Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit">Dharani">dhāraṇīs (recitations, chants, incantations, spells), which are mostly in some form of Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit. Dhāraṇīs are understood as having various magical powers, including protection against evil, purification, promotion of good rebirth, generation of merit, and even enlightenment. The word ''dhāraṇī'' derives from a Sanskrit root √''dhṛ'' meaning "to hold or maintain". The Dhāraṇī sutra genre is ancient, and similar works can be found in even non-Mahayana Buddhist canons, one example being the ''Atanatiya Sutra''. Several early Buddhist schools had also maintained a collection of scriptures focused on dhāraṇī and magical practices, sometimes called Dhāraṇī Tripiṭaka, Piṭaka or called the Vidyādhara Piṭaka (Wizardry Collection) which included various types of rituals and spells (vidyā). For example, the
Dharmaguptaka The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools from the ancient region of Gandhara, now Pakistan. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas f ...
school's Tripiṭaka is said to have contained a
Dhāraṇī Dharanis (IAST: ), also known as (Skt.) ''vidyās'' and ''paritas'' or (Pal.) ''parittas'', are lengthier Buddhism, Buddhist mantras functioning as mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, and almost exclusively written originally in Sanskri ...
Piṭaka. The Mahayana Dhāraṇī sutras developed out of this ancient Buddhist magical tradition. While many classic Mahayana sutras (like the ''Lotus'' and ''Golden Light'') contain dhāraṇī, Dhāraṇī sutras are focused specifically on dhāraṇī practice and associated rites. Mahayana dhāraṇī literature became popular in East Asia in the first millennium CE, with Chinese records suggesting their profusion by the early centuries of the common era. These migrated from China to Korea and Japan. The demand for printed dhāraṇī led to innovations in block printing. Today, the recitation of dhāraṇī remains a major part of Mahayana Buddhist practice, and they are also used as amulets and protective charms.Some important dhāraṇī texts include: * ''
Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra The ushnisha (, Pali: ''uṇhīsa'') is a protuberance on top of the head of a Buddha. In Buddhist literature, it is sometimes said to represent the "crown" of a Buddha, a symbol of Enlightenment and status the King of the Dharma. Descrip ...
(Dhāraṇī of Victorious Uṣṇīṣa)'' * ''
Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī The , also known as the , or Great Compassion Dhāraṇī / Mantra (Standard Chinese, Chinese: 大悲咒, ''Dàbēi zhòu''; Japanese language, Japanese: 大悲心陀羅尼, ''Daihishin darani'' or 大悲呪, ''Daihi shu''; Vietnamese language, ...
(Dhāraṇī of the Blue Necked One)'' * '' Cundī Dhāraṇī Sūtra'' * ''Eleven-Faced Avalokitesvara Heart Dharani Sūtra'' (''Avalokiteśvara-ekadaśamukha Dhāraṇī Sūtra'') * ''Amoghapāśa Dhāraṇī Sūtra'' (不空罥索咒經, Taishō no. 1093)'','' first translated in 587 by Jñānagupta (ca. 522–600). * '' Pañcarakṣā,'' five dhāraṇīs of the "Five Protectresses" *'' Pure Land Rebirth Dhāraṇī'' *''Aparimitāyur-jñāna-suviniścita-tejo-rājāya dhāraṇī'' (an Amitayus ''dhāraṇī'') *The ''Great Dharani Sutra of Immaculate and Pure Light'' (Korean: 무구정광대다라니경; Hanja: 無垢淨光大陀羅尼經; RR: Mugu jeonggwang dae darani-gyeong) is currently the oldest surviving woodblock print in the world. *The '' Cintāmaṇicakra Dhāraṇī Sūtra'' (''Ruyilun tuoluoni jing'' 如意輪陀羅尼經, T. 1080) translated by Bodhiruci *''Sūtra of the Whole-Body Relic Treasure Chest Seal Dhāraṇī''. Dhāraṇī texts were often collected together into Dhāraṇī collections, such as the ''Dhāraṇī Saṃgraha'' and the ''Collected Dhāraṇī Sūtras'' (Tuoluoni jijing 陀羅尼集), Taisho Tripitaka no. 901, translated by Atikūṭa in 654.


Esoteric Sūtras

Esoteric Sūtras (''Guhyamantra,'' i.e. "Secret mantra" sutras'','' known as 密教 '' Mìjiao'' in Chinese and '' Mikkyō'' in Japanese) comprise an important category of works that are related to mantric and esoteric Buddhist practices. Most of these differ from simpler ''
Dhāraṇī Dharanis (IAST: ), also known as (Skt.) ''vidyās'' and ''paritas'' or (Pal.) ''parittas'', are lengthier Buddhism, Buddhist mantras functioning as mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, and almost exclusively written originally in Sanskri ...
sutras'' in that they contain much more elaborate ritual technology and schemas (such as the use of images, altars, fire offerings, abhiṣeka, mandalas or visualization meditations). While earlier ''Dhāraṇī sutras'' focus on the simple recitation mantric formulas, later esoteric sūtras contain descriptions of
mandala A mandala (, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...
s,
mudra A mudra (; , , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As well as being spiritual ges ...
s, complex rituals involving elements like bathing, setting up a ritual perimeter, and so forth. These more complex esoteric sutras developed gradually out of simpler ''Dhāraṇī'' recitation sutras.Shinohara, Koichi (2014). ''Spells, Images, and Mandalas: Tracing the Evolution of Esoteric Buddhist Rituals,'' pp. xviii-xxi, 91-126. Columbia University Press. According to Koichi Shinohara, the early "esoteric" sutras were not initially considered a separate category of " tantric" or "esoteric" sutras, and they were not seen as separate from mainstream Mahayana. By the 7th century, the complexity of the rituals had reached a new stage of mature Indian Mantric Buddhism, as seen in the ''
Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra The ''Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra'' (''Vairocana, Vairocana’s Awakening Sutra'', ), also known as the ''Mahāvairocana Tantra'' (; ; also known as 大日經 :zh-tw:大日經, ''Da Ri Jing'') is an important Vajrayana Buddhist text composed ...
''. Over time, these esoteric sutras became seen as part of a separate category of texts and even of a separate "vehicle" to liberation - the Mantrayana or
Vajrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...
. While the texts listed below call themselves sutras, later Buddhist traditions often reclassified these as " tantras" due to their Mantrayana content.Silk, Jonathan A. (editor) ''Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism Volume I: Literature and Languages,'' p. 382. Some important esoteric Mahayana texts include: *The ''
Golden Light Sutra The Golden Light Sutra or (; ) is a Buddhist text of the Mahayana branch of Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the full title is ''Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtrendrarājaḥ'' "The King of Sutras on the Sublime Golden Radiance" History The sutra was origina ...
'' (''Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra'') contains perhaps the first mandala with five Buddhas, a key feature of later tantric texts. It also includes dhāraṇī and other ritual practices. *The '' Śūraṅgama Sūtra'', which teaches the "''Sitātapatra Uṣṇīṣa Dhāraṇī''" (Ch. 大白傘蓋陀羅尼) and is included in the Taisho Tripitaka's Esoteric Sutra category. *The ''
Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra The ''Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra'' ("''The Basket's Display''", Full Sanskrit: ''Āryakāraṇḍavyūhanāmamahāyānasūtra'', Tibetan: phags paza ma tog bkod pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo; zh, t=佛說大乘莊嚴寶王經, p=Fó s ...
'', known for teaching the famous mantra of
Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (meaning "the lord who looks down", International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), also known as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World") and Chenrezig (in Tibetan), is a Bodhisattva#Bhūmis (stages), tenth-level bodhisattva associ ...
, "
Om mani padme hum ' (, ) is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It first appeared in the Mahayana ''Kāraṇḍavyūha sūtra'', where it is also referr ...
" and the Cundi dhāraṇī. *'' Amoghapāśa sūtras,'' a group of texts which include numerous rituals associated with the Lotus Buddha family and contain the important ''
Mantra of Light file:World's Largest Gold & Jade Buddha, Nanshan Guanyin Park (10098528223).jpg, A statue of Avalokiteśvara, Amoghapāśa Lokeśvara at Nanshan Island, Nanshan, China. The Mantra of Light, alternatively (光明真言, pinyin: ''guāngmíng zhēny ...
''. *''
Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra The ''Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra'' (''Vairocana, Vairocana’s Awakening Sutra'', ), also known as the ''Mahāvairocana Tantra'' (; ; also known as 大日經 :zh-tw:大日經, ''Da Ri Jing'') is an important Vajrayana Buddhist text composed ...
,'' one of the first mature
Mantrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...
sutras, a key text for
Chinese Esoteric Buddhism Chinese Esoteric Buddhism refers to traditions of Tantra and Vajrayana, Esoteric Buddhism that have flourished among the Chinese people. The Tantric masters Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra, established the Esoteric Buddhist ''Zhenyan'' ...
and
Shingon is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō- ...
. * '' Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha Sūtra,'' and the '' Vajraśekhara Sūtra''. Some late Prajñaparamita texts (dated to c. 8th century up to 11th century CE) also include mantric and dhāraṇī elements, and are thus known as esoteric Prajñaparamita sutras.Bianchini, Francesco (2020)
''Tradition and Innovation in late South Asian Buddhism: The Impact of Spell Practices on the Recasting of Prajnaparamita Scriptures''.
St John’s College, The University of Oxford.
These later esoteric Prajñāpāramitā sutras are generally short texts which contain
mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...
s and/or dhāraṇīs and also reference esoteric Buddhist (
Mantrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...
) ideas. They often promote simple practices based on recitation which lead to the accumulation of merit and help one reach awakening. Esoteric Prajñāpāramitā sutras include: '' Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' (150 lines), the famous ''
Heart Sutra The ''Heart Sūtra'', ) is a popular sutra in Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the title ' translates as "The Heart of the Prajnaparamita, Perfection of Wisdom". The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (''śūnyatā''), em ...
'' (''Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya''), the ''Ekaślokikā prajñāpāramitā, Svalpākṣarā Prajñāpāramitā, Kauśikā'' ''Prajñāpāramitā, Saptaślokikā Prajñāpāramitā'', the ''*Prajñāpāramitānāmāṣṭaśataka'' and the ''Candragarbha Prajñāpāramitā.''


Non-Indic sūtras

There are various sūtras that were traditionally considered to be translations from Indian sources (and which are written to mimic Indic works) but that modern scholars have now shown were most likely composed in
East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
or
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
. These texts may also contain colophons which claim to be translations of an Indian original. These sutras are sometimes called "
apocrypha Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...
l" sūtras (a term borrowed from
biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...
) by modern scholars. In Buddhist studies, the term does not necessarily carry the pejorative connotations that it may have in other contexts (and these works are certainly not considered " heretical"). According to Charles Muller, "while certain texts are fit to be classified with the 'spurious' connotations of the term apocrypha, a significant portion of them were extremely well written works, whose contents accorded with the most profound of the Buddhist doctrines." East Asian Buddhists were aware of the phenomenon of writing original works and attributing them to Indian sources. These texts were sometimes classified either as i-ching (疑經 "scriptures of doubtful authenticity") or as wei-ching (僞教 "spurious scriptures"). Chinese Buddhists like Seng-yu (僧祐; 445–518) noted these spurious works in their Buddhist text catalogues. Some Mahayana sutras in the Chinese canon which have been influential in East Asian Buddhism and were likely composed outside of India (in whole or in part) include: *'' Amitāyus Contemplation Sūtra'' (佛說觀無量壽佛經, ''Guan-wuliangshou-jing, Sutra on the Visualization of he BuddhaImmeasurable Life''), an important sutra in
Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure land, Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of East Asi ...
, now considered by most scholars to be a Chinese (or possibly Central Asian) composition."Amitayurdhyana Sutra" in *'' Brahma's Net Sutra'' (梵網經; ''Fànwǎng jīng),'' which according to Muller is now considered apocryphal by most scholars''.'' *'' Blood Bowl Sutra (''血盆經''; Xuèpénjīng''), of Chinese origin. * ''Vajrasamadhi'' ''Sūtra'' (金剛三昧經, ''Kŭmgang sammaegyŏng''), traditionally seen as an Indian text, scholars have recently found that it was produced in Korea in about 685 CE. *''
Innumerable Meanings Sutra The ''Innumerable Meanings Sutra'' also known as the ''Immeasurable Meanings Sutra'' and ''Sutra of Infinite Meanings'' (Sanskrit: अनन्त निर्देश सूत्र, ''Ananta Nirdeśa Sūtra''; ; Japanese: ''Muryōgi Kyō''; ...
'' (無量義經; pinyin: ''Wúliáng yì jīng''). *'' Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment'' (圓覺經; pinyin'': Yuánjué jīng''). *'' Humane King Sutra'' (仁王經; ''rén wáng jīng''). *'' Śūraṅgama Sūtra'' (楞严經) - the status of this sutra is still a subject of debate. Some scholars, like Kogen Mizuno and Bernard Faure, consider it apocryphal, while others like Ronald Epstein disagree. Since there are many apocryphal sutras in the Chinese Canon, modern scholars have developed various taxonomies of the different types of Apocryphal Sūtras. For example, according to Mochizuki Shinkō's ''Bukkyō kyōten seiritsushi ron,'' there are three main types of apocryphal Chinese "sutras". Makita Tairyō outlines five types of apocryphal sutras.


Mahāyāna sutra commentaries

There are many commentaries to the Mahāyāna sutras. Some Indian commentaries survive, mostly in translation. Other commentaries were written in Chinese and Tibetan. Important Mahāyāna sutra commentaries include: * Commentaries on the ''
Diamond Sutra The ''Diamond Sutra'' (Sanskrit: ) is a Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism, Buddhist sutra from the genre of ('perfection of wisdom') sutras. Translated into a variety of languages over a broad geographic range, the ''Diamond Sūtra'' is one of th ...
'' by
Asanga Asaṅga (Sanskrit: असंग, , ; Romaji: ''Mujaku'') (fl. 4th century C.E.) was one of the most important spiritual figures of Mahayana Buddhism and the founder of the Yogachara school.Engle, Artemus (translator), Asanga, ''The Bodhisattva P ...
and
Vasubandhu Vasubandhu (; Tibetan: དབྱིག་གཉེན་ ; floruit, fl. 4th to 5th century CE) was an influential Indian bhikkhu, Buddhist monk and scholar. He was a philosopher who wrote commentary on the Abhidharma, from the perspectives of th ...
. * Vasubandhu's commentaries on the '' Amitabha sutra'' (''Amitayus sutropadeśa'') and on the ''
Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: ''Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram'', ''Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma'', zh, p=Fǎhuá jīng, l=Dharma Flower Sutra) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. ...
.'' * ''Śatasāhasrikā-pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāṣṭādaśasāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-bṛhaṭṭīkā'', often attributed to
Vasubandhu Vasubandhu (; Tibetan: དབྱིག་གཉེན་ ; floruit, fl. 4th to 5th century CE) was an influential Indian bhikkhu, Buddhist monk and scholar. He was a philosopher who wrote commentary on the Abhidharma, from the perspectives of th ...
(4th century). * The '' Dazhidulun'' (大智度論, T no. 1509), the large commentary on the ''Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā'' translated by the Kuchan monk
Kumārajīva Kumārajīva (Sanskrit: कुमारजीव; , 344–413 CE) was a bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, missionary and translator from Kucha (present-day Aksu City, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China). Kumārajīva is seen as one of the great ...
(344–413 CE).Lamotte, Etienne; Gelongma Karma Migme Chodron. THE TREATISE ON THE GREAT VIRTUE OF WISDOM OF NĀGĀRJUNA (MAHĀPRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀŚĀSTRA) VOL. I CHAPTERS I – XV COMPOSED BY THE BODHISATTVE NĀGĀRJUNA AND TRANSLATED BY THE TRIPIṬAKADHARMĀCĀRYA KUMĀRAJIVA OF THE LAND OF KOUTCHA UNDER THE LATER TS’IN * Two commentaries on the '' Daśabhūmika sutra, the Daśabhūmikavibhāṣā'' attributed to Nagarjuna and the ''Dasabhūmikabhāsya'' of
Vasubandhu Vasubandhu (; Tibetan: དབྱིག་གཉེན་ ; floruit, fl. 4th to 5th century CE) was an influential Indian bhikkhu, Buddhist monk and scholar. He was a philosopher who wrote commentary on the Abhidharma, from the perspectives of th ...
. * Two sutra commentaries by
Sthiramati Sthiramati (Sanskrit; Chinese: Anhui 安慧, and Jianhui 堅慧; Tibetan: ''Blo gros brtan pa'') was a 6th-century Indian Buddhist scholar-monk.Edelglass, W., Harter, P.-J., & McClintock, S. (Eds.). (2022). ''The Routledge Handbook of Indian Bud ...
, ''Commentary on the Kāśyapa Chapter'' (''*Kāśyapaparivartaṭīkā''), and ''Commentary on the Exposition of Akṣayamati'' (''*Akṣayamatinirdeśaṭīkā''). * Dignāga's ''Samantabhadracaryā­praṇidhānārtha-saṃgraha'' (''A Summary for the Purpose of The Prayer for Completely Good Conduct'', Tibetan translation at Toh 4012) a commentary on the last section of the ''Gaṇḍavyūha Sutra'', the ''Samantabhadracaryā­praṇidhāna'' (which also circulated as an independent sutra). * ''Zhu Weimojie jing'' (注維摩詰經), collected commentaries to the '' Vimalakirti sutra'' which are attributed to Kumārajīva and his translation team. * Three Indian commentaries to the '' Śālistamba sutra,'' the ''Śālistambakakārikā'', the ''Śālistambakamahāyanasūtra­ṭīkā,'' and the ''Śālistamba a��īkā'' ( Kamalashila). * The commentaries on the '' Abhisamayālaṅkāra'' by Arya Vimuktisena and by Haribhadra (late 8th century) are simultaneously also commentaries on the ''Prajñāpāramitā'' sutras. * The ''Da Ban Niepan Jing Ji Jie'' (大般涅槃經集解), the earliest available commentary on the '' Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra,'' attributed to Bao Liang and other Chinese scholars of the
Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () or Xiao Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was pre ...
''.'' * There are two commentaries on ''Saṃdhinirmocanasutra'' attributed to Asaṅga, the ''Compendium of Ascertainments'' (''Viniscaya-samgrahani'') and the ''Āryasaṃdhinirmocana-bhasya''. Their attribution to Asanga is questioned by modern scholars.Lugli, Ligeia
Asaṅga
oxfordbibliographies.com, 2014. DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780195393521-0205.
* ''Āryasaṃdhinirmocana-sutre-arya-maitreya-kevala-parivarta-bhasya'',
Jñānagarbha Jñānagarbha (Sanskrit: ज्ञानगर्भ, Tibetan: ཡེ་ཤེས་སྙིང་པོ་, Wyl. ye shes snying po) was an 8th-century Buddhist philosopher from Nalanda Monastery who wrote on Madhyamaka and Yogacara and is cons ...
's (8th-century) commentary to the eighth chapter of the ''Saṃdhinirmocanasutra''. * The ''Kīrtimala'' (Tibetan: ''grags pa'i phreng ba''), a commentary the '' Samādhirāja Sūtra'' by Mañjuśrīkīrti, survives in Tibetan translation.Regamey, Constantin (1938). ''Philosophy in the Samādhirājasūtra: Three Chapters From the Samādhirājasūtra,'' p. 3. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. * Ratnākaraśānti's (late-10th century to mid-11th century) ''Prajñāpāramitopadeśa.'' * Two Indian commentaries on the ''
Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra The ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: लङ्कावतारसूत्रम्, "Discourse of the Descent into Laṅkā", , Chinese: 入楞伽經) is a prominent Mahayana Buddhist sūtra. It is also titled ''Laṅkāvatāraratnasūt ...
'' by Jñānaśrībhadra (11th century) and Jñānavajra (12th century) survive in Tibetan translation. * Commentaries by the
Sogdia Sogdia () or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemen ...
n Sanskrit scholar and translator
Fazang Fazang (; 643–712) was a Sogdian- Chinese Buddhist scholar, translator, and religious leader of the Tang dynasty. He was the third patriarch of the Huayan school of East Asian Buddhism, a key figure at the Chinese Imperial Court, and an inf ...
, including a commentary to the ''Ghanavyūha sūtra'' titled ''Dasheng miyan jing shu'' (大乘密嚴經疏, no. X368), a commentary to the '' Ghanavyūha sūtra'', a ''Commentary on the Brahmajala sutra'' (''Fanwang jing pusa jieben shu'', Taisho 40, no. 1813) and a ''Commentary to the Lankavatara sutra''.Jorgensen, John
The Zen Commentary on the Lankāvatāra Sūtra by Kokan Shiren (1278–1346) and its chief antecedent, the commentary by the Khotanese monk Zhiyan
禅文化研究所紀要 第32号(平成25年11月), Australian National University
Hamar, Imre (2014).
The Buddhāvataṃ saka-sūtra and Its Chinese Interpretation: The Huayan Understanding of the Concepts of Ālayavijñāna and Tathāgatagarbha
'' p. 149
* Zhiyi's commentaries to the ''Lotus Sutra: Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra'' (法華文句, Fahua Wenju)'', and Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra'' (法華玄義, Fahua Xuanyi)


Mahāyāna Sūtra Collections

Some Buddhist Schools in India had collections of Mahāyāna Sūtras which were part of their scriptural canon, sometimes in their own textual collection referred to as ''Bodhisattva Piṭaka''. Jan Nattier notes that the ''Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra'' mentions a ''Bodhisattva Piṭaka'' (as part of a four part canon that also includes the Sutra Piṭaka, the Vinaya Piṭaka, and the Abhidharma Piṭaka). According to Nattier, schools which maintained a ''Bodhisattva Piṭaka'' include the
Dharmaguptaka The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools from the ancient region of Gandhara, now Pakistan. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas f ...
and perhaps the
Bahuśrutīya Bahuśrutīya (Sanskrit: बहुश्रुतीय) was one of the early Buddhist schools, according to early sources such as Vasumitra, the ''Śāriputraparipṛcchā'', and other sources, and was a sub-group which emerged from the Mahāsā� ...
(or whoever authored the '' Tattvasiddhi-Śāstra''). Some sutras translated by Lokaksema (c. 147-189 CE) also mention a "''Bodhisattva Piṭaka".'' In the 4th century Mahāyāna
abhidharma The Abhidharma are a collection of Buddhist texts dating from the 3rd century BCE onwards, which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. It also refers t ...
work '' Abhidharmasamuccaya'',
Asaṅga Asaṅga (Sanskrit: असंग, , ; Romaji: ''Mujaku'') (fl. 4th century C.E.) was one of the most important spiritual figures of Mahayana Buddhism and the founder of the Yogachara school.Engle, Artemus (translator), Asanga, ''The Bodhisattva P ...
refers to the collection which contains the āgamas as the ''Śrāvakapiṭaka'', and associates it with the �rāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.Boin-Webb, Sara (tr). Rahula, Walpola (tr). Asanga. ''Abhidharma Samuccaya: The Compendium of Higher Teaching.'' 2001. pp. 199-200 Asaṅga classifies the Mahāyāna Sūtras as belonging to the ''Bodhisattvapiṭaka'', which is designated as the collection of teachings for bodhisattvas. The Mahāyāna Sūtras survive predominantly in "Buddhist Chinese" (''fójiào hànyǔ'' 佛教漢語, a variety of written ancient Chinese) and Classical Tibetan">Classical Chinese">ancient Chinese) and Classical Tibetan translations. The source texts were probably in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit or various Prakrit languages such as Gandhari language, Gandhari. The main collections are found in the Tibetan
Kangyur The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a defined collection of sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, comprising the Kangyur and the Tengyur. The ''Kangyur'' or ''Kanjur'' is Buddha's recorded teachings (or the 'Translation of ...
and the Chinese Buddhist canon, Chinese Tripiṭaka. There are also numerous Sanskrit manuscripts of individual texts from various finds like
Dunhuang Dunhuang () is a county-level city in northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Sachu (Dunhuang) was ...
, and Sanskrit collections from
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
. Many parallel translations of certain Sūtras exist. A handful of them, such as the ''
Prajñāpāramitā A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna. Prajñāpāramitā refers to a perfected way of seeing the natu ...
'' sutras like the ''
Heart Sutra The ''Heart Sūtra'', ) is a popular sutra in Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the title ' translates as "The Heart of the Prajnaparamita, Perfection of Wisdom". The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (''śūnyatā''), em ...
'' and the ''
Diamond Sutra The ''Diamond Sutra'' (Sanskrit: ) is a Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism, Buddhist sutra from the genre of ('perfection of wisdom') sutras. Translated into a variety of languages over a broad geographic range, the ''Diamond Sūtra'' is one of th ...
'', are considered fundamental by most modern Mahāyāna traditions.


The earliest group of Mahāyāna Sūtras translated into Chinese

Some scholars have traditionally considered the earliest Mahāyāna Sūtras to include the very first versions of the ''Prajñāpāramitā'' series, along with texts concerning Akshobhya, which were probably composed in the 1st century BCE in the south of India. According to A.K. Warder, some scholars think that the earliest Mahāyāna Sūtras were mainly composed in the south of India, and later the activity of writing additional scriptures was continued in the north. Some of the earliest Mahāyāna Sūtras were translated by the Kushan monk Lokakṣema, who came to China from the kingdom of Gandhāra. His first translations to Chinese were made in the
Eastern Han The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
capital of
Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...
between 178 and 189 CE. The editors of the Taishō Tripiṭaka attribute twelve texts to Lokakṣema. These attributions have been studied in detail by Erik Zürcher, Paul Harrison and
Jan Nattier Jan Nattier is an American scholar of Mahāyana Buddhism. Early life and education She earned her PhD in Inner Asian and Altaic Studies from Harvard University (1988), and subsequently taught at the University of Hawaii (1988-1990), Stanford Unive ...
, and some have been called into question. Zürcher considers it reasonably certain that Lokakṣema translated the following: * T224. ''
Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra The ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: अष्टसाहस्रिका प्रज्ञापारमिता सूत्र; English language, English: ''The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand ines ...
'' ("The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines"; 道行般若經) * T280. ''The Scripture on the Tusita Heaven'' (佛說兜沙經.), part of the proto- Avatamsaka Sutra * T313. '' Akṣobhya-vyūha'' (阿閦佛國經) * T350. ''Kaśyapa-parivarta'' ("The Kāśyapa Chapter"; 說遺日摩尼寶經) * T418. '' Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra'' (般舟三昧經) * T458. ''Mañjuśrī's Inquiry Concerning the Bodhisattva Career'' (文殊師利問菩薩署經) * T626. ''Ajātaśatru Kaukṛtya Vinodana Sūtra'' (阿闍世王經) * T807. ''The Hundred Jewels of the Inner Treasury'' (佛說內藏百寶經) Harrison is doubtful about T626, and considers that T418 is the product of revision and does not date from Lokakṣema's time. Conversely, Harrison considers that T624 ''Druma-kinnara-rāja-paripṛcchā-sūtra'' (伅真陀羅所問如來三昧經) ought to be considered genuine.


Kumārajīva translations

Another set of Mahayana sutras, which gives an indication of which Mahayana sources were widespread in
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
, are those translated by the Indian-Kuchan translator
Kumārajīva Kumārajīva (Sanskrit: कुमारजीव; , 344–413 CE) was a bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, missionary and translator from Kucha (present-day Aksu City, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China). Kumārajīva is seen as one of the great ...
(344–413 CE) and his team (probably from
Kucha Kucha or Kuche (also: ''Kuçar'', ''Kuchar''; , Кучар; zh, t= 龜茲, p=Qiūcí, zh, t= 庫車, p=Kùchē; ) was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the northern edge of what is now the Taklam ...
n target sources) in
Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...
. The main sutras they translated are: * '' Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' (''Diamond Sutra'') * '' Smaller Sukhāvatī-vyūha'' (T 366) * '' Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra (Lotus Sutra)'' (T 263—62) * '' Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra'' (T 475) * ''
Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra The ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: अष्टसाहस्रिका प्रज्ञापारमिता सूत्र; English language, English: ''The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand ines ...
'', (T 227, 408 CE) * ''Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (''T 223, 403-404 CE) * '' Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra'' (T 642) * ''Daśabhūmikā Sūtra'' (T 286) in collaboration with Buddhayaśas. * ''Acintyaprabhāsa-nirdeśa-sūtra'' (T 484) * ''Viśeṣacintā-brahma-paripṛcchā'' (T 585—86) * ''Bhadrakalpa'' (T 425) * ''Vasudhara-sūtra'' (T 481—82) * ''Pūrṇa-paripṛcchā'' ( T 310, 17) * ''Ratnajāli-paripṛcchā'' (T 433) * ''Vidhi-hṛdaya-vyūha'' (T 307) * ''Sarva-puṇya-samuccaya-samādhi-sūtra'' (T 381—82)


The ''Sūtrasamuccaya''

The ''Sūtrasamuccaya'' is a compendium of sūtra quotations which survives in Tibetan and Chinese translation. It is sometimes attributed to
Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist Philosophy, philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most importa ...
, but is likely to be from a later period (possibly 4th century CE or later). This anthology gives us an idea of some of the important Mahāyāna Sūtras that were being studied and quoted in Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism at this time. The ''Sūtrasamuccaya'' quotes from some early Buddhist texts, but mainly focuses on Mahāyāna Sūtras. The following Mahāyāna Sūtras are quoted in the ''Sūtrasamuccaya'': * Saddharmapundarika-sutra (Lotus Sutra) * Nirnaya-raja-sutra * Bodhisattva-pitaka * Bhagavajjnana-vaipulya-sutra * Candra-garbha-parivarta * Gandavyuha-sutra * Bhadrakalpika-sutra * Tathagata-guhya-sutra * Vimatisamudghata-sutra * Sraddha-bala-dhana-sutra * Sagara-naga-raja-pariprccha * Tathagataguna-jñanacintyavis-ayavatara-nirdesa-sutra * Astasahasrika Prajñaparamita * Astadasasahasrika Prajñaparamita * Pancavimsatisahasrika Prajñaparamita * Simhasutejo'vadana * Prasenajit-pariprccha * Prasanta-viniscaya-pratiharya-sutra * Ajatasatru-parivarta * Ratnarasi-sutra * Kasyapaparivarta * Pitaputrasamagamana-sutra * Dharmasamgiti-sutra * Aksayamati-nirdesa-sutra * Upayakausalya-sutra * Viradattagrhapati-pariprcchda * Ratnamegha-sutra * Dharani-svararaja-pariprccha * Maitreya-simhanada-sutra * Mañjusri-vikridita-sutra * Candrapradipa (=Samadhiraja, Candraprabhaparivarta) sutra * Niyataniyatavataramudrasutra * Mañjusri-vikurvana-parivarta * Sagaramati-pariprccha-sutra * Ugra-pariprccha-sutra * Pravrajyantaraya-sutra * Udayanavatsaraja-pariprccha * Saddharma-smrtyupasthana-sutra * Vimalakirti-nirdesa * Satyaka-parivarta * Vicikitsasudhvamsa-sutra (''possibly identical to Vimatisamudghata-sutra'') * Suryagarbha-parivarta * Akasagarbha-parivarta * Ksitigarbha-sutra * Adhyasayasamcodana-sutra * Brahma-pariprccha * Puspakuta-sutra * Mahakaruna-(pundarika)-sutra * Tathagata-bimba-parivarta * Anupurva-samudgata-sutra * Tathagatotpattisambhava-sutra * Lokottara-parivarta * Lankavatara-sutra * Mahasamnipata-parivarta * Avaivartacakra-sutra * Srimalasimhanada-sutra * Bhadramayakara-sutra * Buddhavatamsaka-sutra * Brahma-visesacinti-pariprccha * Saptasatika Prajñaparamita * Ratnasamnicaya-nirdesa-sutra * Trisatika Prajñaparamita * Ratnadattamanava-sutra * Tathagata-kosa-sutra * Maradamana-parivarta * Dasabhumika-sutra


Madhyamaka school

According to David Seyfort Ruegg, the main sutra sources of the
madhyamaka Madhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; ; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ་ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the Śūnyatā, emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no Svabhava, ''svabhāva'' d ...
tradition are the ''Prajñāpāramitā'', ''Ratnakūṭa'' and ''Avataṃsaka'' sutras.Ruegg, David Seyfort, ''''The Literature of the Madhyamaka School of Philosophy in India,'''' Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1981, p. 7. Other sutras which were widely cited by Indian madhamika philosophers are: '' Vimalakīrtinirdeṣa'', the '' Śuraṃgamasamādhi,'' the '' Saddharmapuṇḍarīka'', the '' Daśabhūmika'', the '' Akṣayamatinirdeśa'', the '' Tathāgataguhyaka'', and the '' Kāśyapaparivarta''. Ruegg also notes that the later madhyamaka Candrakīrti (c. 600 – c. 650) cites the ''Prajñāpāramitā sutras'' as well as:
the ''Akṣayamatinirdeśa, Anavataptahradāpasaṃkramaṇa, Upāliparipṛcchā, Kāśyapaparivarta, Gaganagañja, Tathāgataguhya, Daśabhūmika, Dṛḍhādhyāśaya, Dhāraṇīśvararāja, Pitāputrasamāgama, Mañjuśrīparipṛcchā, Ratnakūṭa, Ratnacūḍaparipṛcchā, Ratnamegha, Ratnākara, Laṅkāvatāra, Lalitavistara, Vimalakirtinirdesa, Śālistamba, Satyadvayāvatāra'', '' Saddharmapuṇḍarīka'', ''Samādhirāja'' (''Candrapradīpa''), and ''Hastikakṣya''.
''The Compendium of Training'' (''Śikṣāsamuccaya'') by the eighth-century madhyamaka scholar Śāntideva, cites a total of ninety-seven Mahāyāna sūtras, some of which are now lost. According to Donald Lopez:
Śāntideva cites three passages from the ''Lotus Sūtra'', compared, for example, with two from the '' Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā'' and two from the '' Laṅkāvatārasūtra''. Among the most cited sūtras are the '' Akṣayamatinirdeśa'' (eighteen citations), the '' Ugraparipṛcchā'' (twenty citations), the ''Dharmasaṃgīti'' (eighteen citations), and the ''Ratnamegha'' (twenty-four citations).


In the Chinese canon

Though there are various editions of the
Chinese Buddhist canon The Chinese Buddhist canon refers to a traditional collection of Chinese language Buddhist texts which are the central canonical works of East Asian Buddhism. The traditional term for the canon is Great Storage of Scriptures ().Jiang Wu, "The ...
(大藏經;
pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
: ''Dàzàngjīng''), one of the most widespread modern editions is the Japanese Taisho Tripitaka, redacted during the 1920s. It consists of eighty-five volumes. The Mahāyāna Sūtras are contained in various sections of the canon: * '' Prajñapāramitā'' Section * '' Saddharma Puṇḍarīka'' Section * '' Avataṃsaka'' Section * '' Ratnakūṭa'' Section * '' Mahāparinirvāṇa'' Section * ''Mahāsannipāta'' Section * Sutra Collection Section


In the Tibetan Canon

In the
Tibetan Buddhist Canon The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a compilation of the Buddhist sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Canon includes the Kangyur, which is the Buddha's recorded teachings, and the Tengyur, which is commentaries by gr ...
, Mahāyāna Sūtra translations are found in the
Kangyur The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a defined collection of sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, comprising the Kangyur and the Tengyur. The ''Kangyur'' or ''Kanjur'' is Buddha's recorded teachings (or the 'Translation of ...
( Wylie: ''bka'-'gyur''). They are traditionally divided into four divisions: * ''Prajñāpāramitā'' (''sher phyin''), 23 Sūtras. * ''Buddhāvataṃsaka'' (''phal chen''), a single long text which is actually a composite work. * ''Ratnakūta'' (''dkon brtsegs''), 49 Sūtras. * ''General Sūtra collection'' (''mdo sde''), 266 sūtras, varied in length, subject, interlocutors and origins. Most are Mahāyāna works, but a few are non-Mahāyāna texts.


Newar Buddhism

Newar Buddhism has a group of nine Sanskrit Mahayana sutras that are considered the key texts of the tradition. They are:Shakya, Miroj. ''The Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Project: Problems and Possibilities'' in "Veidlinger, Daniel (2019) Digital Humanities and Buddhism: An Introduction. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG." # ''
Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra The ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: अष्टसाहस्रिका प्रज्ञापारमिता सूत्र; English language, English: ''The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand ines ...
'' # '' Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra'' # '' Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra'' # '' Samādhirāja Sūtra'' # '' Gandavyūha Sūtra'' # ''
Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra The ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: लङ्कावतारसूत्रम्, "Discourse of the Descent into Laṅkā", , Chinese: 入楞伽經) is a prominent Mahayana Buddhist sūtra. It is also titled ''Laṅkāvatāraratnasūt ...
'' # '' Daśabhūmika Sūtra'' # ''
Lalitavistara Sūtra The ''Lalitavistara Sūtra'' is a Sanskrit Mahayana sutras, Mahayana Buddhist sutra that tells the story of Gautama Buddha from the time of his descent from Tushita until his first sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath near Varanasi. The term ''La ...
'' # '' Tathāgataguhya Sūtra'' (actually replaced by the ''Guhyasamaja'' since the tradition lost the ''Tathāgataguhya'')


See also

*
Buddhist texts Buddhist texts are religious texts that belong to, or are associated with, Buddhism and Schools of Buddhism, its traditions. There is no single textual collection for all of Buddhism. Instead, there are three main Buddhist Canons: the Pāli C ...
*
Sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...
* Buddhist Tantras *
Tripitaka There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist scriptural canons.
* List of suttas *
Pali Canon The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...
*
Sanskrit Buddhist literature Sanskrit Buddhist literature refers to Buddhist texts composed either in classical Sanskrit, in a Register (sociolinguistics), register that has been called "Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit" (also known as "Buddhistic Sanskrit" and "Mixed Sanskrit"), ...


Notes


Bibliography

* Dutt, Nalinaksha (1978). ''Buddhist Sects in India'', Motilal Banararsidass, Delhi, 2nd Edition * * Kanno, Hiroshi (2003)
Chinese Sutra Commentaries from the Early Period
Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University, IRIAB, vol VI, 301-320 * ''Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism'', Macmillan, 2004. * * Nakamura, Hajime (1980). ''Indian Buddhism: A Survey with Bibliographical Notes''. 1st edition: Japan, 1980. 1st Indian Edition: Delhi, 1987. * * * * * Pfand, Peter (1986). ''Māhāyana Texts Translated into Western Languages – A Bibliographical Guide''. E.J. Brill, Köln, * * * Walser, Joseph
Genealogies of Mahāyāna Buddhism: Emptiness, Power and the question of Origin
Routledge. * Walser, Joseph (2012), ''Nagarjuna in Context Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture.'' Columbia University Press. * Warder, A. K. (1999). ''Indian Buddhism''. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi. 3rd revised edition * Williams, Paul (2008). ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations''. Taylor & Francis


External links

*Bingenheimer, Marcus (2014)

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20170707191832/http://www.fodian.net/world/index.html Buddhist Scriptures in Multiple Languages (Taisho Tripitaka)br>Mahayana Canonical Text Titles and Translations in English
*
Mahayana SutrasDigital Sanskrit Buddhist CanonMahayana Buddhist Sutras in English
(English pdfs)
Complete English translation and analysis of the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra
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*Bhadra-kalpika Sūtr

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