TheMahayana sutras areBuddhist texts that are accepted ascanonical and authenticbuddhavacana inMahayana Buddhist sanghas. These include three types of sutras: Those spoken bythe Buddha; those spoken through the Buddha's blessings; and those spoken through mandate.[1] They are largely preserved inSanskrit manuscripts, and in translations such as theTibetan Buddhist canon, andChinese Buddhist canon. Several hundred Mahāyāna sutras survive in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese translations.[2] The Buddhist scholarAsanga classified the Mahāyāna sūtras as part of theBodhisattvaTripiṭaka, a collection of texts meant forbodhisattvas.[3]
Buddhists consider the most important Mahayana sutras to be the spoken teachings ofShakyamuni Buddha. These were quickly recorded one year following hisMahaparinirvana, when the Buddha's main attendantAnanda recited these Sutras in their entirety at theFirst Buddhist Council, where they were recorded. At that Council, two other attendants recited two other classifications of the Buddha's teachings.[1][4] Other Mahāyāna sūtras are presented as being taught by masters such asbodhisattvas likeMañjuśrī andAvalokiteśvara. 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 theNāgas (snake deities, dragons) until the proper time for their dissemination arrived. They are also sometimes calledVaipulya ("extensive") sūtras by earlier sources.[5]
Modern scholars ofBuddhist studies generally agree these sūtras began to be more widely disseminated between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE.[6][7] They continued being composed, compiled, and edited until thedecline of Buddhism in ancient India. Some of them may have also been composed outside of India, such as inCentral Asia and inEast Asia.[8] Some of the most influential Mahāyāna sūtras include theLotus Sutra, thePerfection of Wisdom Sutras, theAvatamsaka Sutra, theLankavatara Sutra, thePure Land Sutras, and theNirvana Sutra.
The Mahāyāna sūtras were not accepted by all Buddhists in ancient India, and the variousIndian Buddhist schools disagreed on their status as "word of the Buddha".[9] They are generally not accepted as the Buddha's word by the school ofTheravāda Buddhism.[10]
The origins of the Mahāyāna and their sūtras are not completely understood.[11] Modern scholars have proposed numerous theories about the origins of Mahāyāna and the Mahāyāna texts.
Some of the main theories are the following:[12][13]
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."[5] The figures of this movement probably saw themselves as bodhisattvas entrusted with teaching and preserving the Mahāyāna sūtras.[5]
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.".[18] Likewise,Hajime Nakamura states:
Unlike the various recensions of theHīnayāna 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.[18]
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.[19] Mahāyānists also never had a separateVinaya (monastic rule) from theearly Buddhist schools.[20] The Chinese monkYijing 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.[21]Some scholars likeRichard Gombrich 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.[12]
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.[22][23][24]
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 intoChina byLokakṣema, the first translator of Mahāyāna Sūtras into Chinese during the second century.[25]
The Mahāyāna movement remained quite small until the fifth century, with very few manuscripts having been found before then (the exceptions are fromBamiyan). According to Joseph Walser, the fifth and sixth centuries saw a great increase in their production.[26] By this time, Chinese pilgrims, such asFaxian,Yijing, andXuanzang 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.[27]
Dating the Mahāyāna sūtras is quite difficult; and many can only be dated firmly to when they were translated into another language.[28]
Andrew Skilton summarizes a common prevailing view of the Mahāyāna sūtras among modern Buddhist studies scholars as follows:
Western scholarship does not go so far as to impugn the religious authority of Mahayana sutras, but it tends to assume that they are not the literal word of the historical Śākyamuni Buddha. Unlike the śrāvaka critics just cited, we have no possibility of knowing just who composed and compiled these texts, and for us, removed from the time of their authors by up to two millennia, they are effectively an anonymous literature. It is widely accepted that Mahayana sutras constitute a body of literature that began to appear from as early as the 1st century BCE, although the evidence for this date is circumstantial. The concrete evidence for dating any part of this literature is to be found in dated Chinese translations, amongst which we find a body of ten Mahayana sutras translated by Lokaksema before 186 C.E. – and these constitute our earliest objectively dated Mahayana texts. This picture may be qualified by the analysis of very early manuscripts recently coming out of Afghanistan, but for the meantime this is speculation. In effect we have a vast body of anonymous but relatively coherent literature, of which individual items can only be dated firmly when they were translated into another language at a known date.[28]
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.[29] Warder also notes that the Tibetan historianTāranātha (1575–1634) proclaimed that after the Buddha taught the sutras, they disappeared from the human world and circulated only in the world of thenagas. In Warder's view, "this is as good as an admission that no such texts existed until the 2nd century A.D."[30]
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."[31] 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.[31]
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 thePāli Canon. 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".[32]
Mahāyāna sūtras are generally regarded by Mahāyānists as being more profound than theśrāvaka texts as well as generating more spiritual merit and benefit. Thus, they are seen as superior and more virtuous to non-Mahāyāna sūtras.[33][34]
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 theMahāsāṃghika school and the Theravada tradition ofSri Lanka became divided into groups which accepted or did not accept these texts.[9] Theravāda commentaries of theMahavihara sub-school mention these texts (which they callVedalla/Vetulla) as not being the Buddha word and being counterfeit scriptures.[35] TheSaṃmitīya school was also known as being strongly opposed to the Mahayana sutras as noted by the Tibetan historianTāranātha.[36]Xuanzang reports that aSaṃmitīya known as Prajñāgupta composed a treatise which argued against the Mahāyāna.[37]
Various Mahāyāna sūtras warn against the charge that they are not word of the Buddha and defend their authenticity in different ways.[38] Some Mahāyāna sūtras such as theGaṇḍavyūha often criticize early Buddhist figures, such asSariputra for lacking knowledge and goodness, and thus, these elders orśrāvaka are seen as not intelligent enough to receive the Mahāyāna teachings.[39]
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.[40] Some traditional accounts of the transmission of thePrajñāpāramitāsūtras claim that they were originally stored or hidden in the realm of thenāgas (serpent-like supernatural beings). Later, these sūtras were retrieved byNāgārjuna.[41] Other Mahāyāna sources state that they were preached or preserved by bodhisattvas likeMañjuśrī or Buddhas likeVajradhāra.[42][43]
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.[38] The practice of visualization of Buddhas (in texts like theSukhāvatīvyūha) 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 bydevas (deities). Paul Harrison notes that the idea that devas may preach the Buddha word is also present in non-Mahāyāna texts.[44] Paul Harrison has also noted the importance of dream revelations in certain texts such as theArya-svapna-nirdesa which lists and interprets 108 dream signs.[45]
A different Mahāyāna justification for the authenticity of the Mahāyāna sūtras is that they are in accord with the truth, with the Buddha'sDharma 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]."[46] 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 VenerableHsuan Hua, there are five types of beings who may speak "Buddha word": a Buddha, a disciple of a Buddha, adeva (heavenly being), aṛṣi (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.[47]
The Indian Mahāyāna scholarShantideva (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 [samsara].[46]
Williams writes that similar ideas can be found in thePali Canon, 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.[48]
The modern Japanese Zen Buddhist scholarD. 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.[49]
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.[50] Because of these contradictory elements, there are "very few things that can be said with certainty about Mahāyāna Buddhism".[51][52]
Central to the Mahāyāna sūtras is the ideal of theBodhisattva 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.[53] 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 ofbodhicitta) and without the requirement of a living Buddha.[53] 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.[53] Some Mahāyāna sūtras promote it as a universal path for everyone, while others like theUgraparipṛcchā see it as something for a small elite of hardcore ascetics.[54]
While some Mahāyāna sūtras like the Vimalakirti sūtra and the White Lotus sūtra criticizearhats andsravakas (referring to non-Mahāyānists) as lacking wisdom, and reject their path as a lower vehicle, i.e. 'hīnayāna' (the 'inferior way'), earlier Mahāyāna sūtras do not do this.[55][56] 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 orpratyekabuddhahood 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."[5] Paul Williams also writes that earlier Mahāyāna sūtras like theUgraparipṛcchā Sūtra and theAjitasena sutra do not present any antagonism towards the hearers or the ideal ofarhatship like later sutras.[54]
According to David Drewes, Mahāyāna sūtras contain several elements besides the promotion of thebodhisattva ideal, including "expanded cosmologies and mythical histories, ideas ofpurelands and great, 'celestial'Buddhas andbodhisattvas, descriptions of powerful new religious practices, new ideas on the nature of the Buddha, and a range of new philosophical perspectives."[5]
Several Mahāyāna sūtras depict Buddhas or Bodhisattvas not found in earlier texts, such as the BuddhasAmitabha,Akshobhya andVairocana, and the bodhisattvasMaitreya,Mañjusri,Ksitigarbha, andAvalokiteshvara. An important feature of Mahāyāna is the way that it understands the nature ofBuddhahood. 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.[57]
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".[58]Buddha Sakyamuni's life and death on earth is then usually understooddocetically, 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.[58]
Mahāyāna sūtras, especially those of thePrajñāpāramitā genre, teach the importance of the practice of the six perfections (pāramitā) as part of the path toBuddhahood, and special attention is given to the perfection of wisdom (prajñāpāramitā) which is seen as primary.[59] The importance of developingbodhicitta, 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 ofmerit, the universal currency of the Buddhist world, a vast quantity of which was believed to be necessary for the attainment of Buddhahood".[53]
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:[5]
Another innovative "shortcut" to Buddhahood in Mahāyāna sutras are what are often calledPure Land practices. These involve the invocation of Buddhas such asAmitabha andAksobhya, 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.[53]
The study of Mahāyāna sūtras is central toEast Asian Buddhism, where they are widely read. In Tibetan Buddhism meanwhile, there is a greater emphasis on the study of Mahāyānaśāstras (philosophical treatises), which are seen as more systematic ways of studying the content found in the sūtras.[60]
Numerous Mahayana sutras teach the veneration and recitation of the sutras themselves as a religiousicon and as an embodiment of the Dharma and the Buddha. In IndianMahayana Buddhism, 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 andapotropaic protection from harm. This practice is promoted in some of thesutras themselves.[61]
The Prajñāpāramitā sutras promote the copying, reading, recitation, contemplation, and distribution of the sutra, and they also teach its worship and veneration. TheAṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra states:
Here, the sons or daughters of good family are enjoined to put up a copy of thePrajñāpāramitā 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.[61]
The Prajñāpāramitā sutras also reference themselves as the highest object of study and worship, claiming that studying, reciting, and worshiping them is superior to worshipingstupas,Buddha relics, and other objects.[62] TheAṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā claims that this is because "the relics of the Tathāgata have come forth from this perfection of wisdom". Since the very concept ofPrajñāpāramitā (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.[62]
Furthermore, Mahayana sutras like theAṣṭasāhasrikā often claim that the Buddha is present in the text. For example theAṣṭasāhasrikā says that "when a pūja is done to the Prajñāpāramitā, it is a pūja to the venerable past, present, and future Buddhas."[63] This sutra also states that wherever the sutra itself is placed or recited, it makes the ground acaitya (a sacred space, shrine, sanctuary).[63] According to Jacob Kinnard, Prajñāpāramitā sutras even present their physical form (as books, manuscripts, etc) as being akin to the Buddha'srūpakāya (physical form to be worshiped, like his relics) as well as being hisdharmakāya (which contains theDharma, the Buddha's teachings).[63]
TheAṣṭasāhasrikā 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.'[62]
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, theAṣṭasāhasrikā 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 [always] 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.[62]
The worship of Mahayana sutra books and even in anthropomorphic form (through deities likePrajñāpāramitā Devi) remains important in many Mahayana Buddhist traditions, includingNewar Buddhism,Tibetan Buddhism andEast Asian Buddhism. 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, amantra representing the sutra or just the title of the sutra is recited. For example, the practice of chanting the title of theLotus Sutra (called theDaimoku) is the central practice inNichiren Buddhism, a form of Mahayana which focuses on the veneration of this sutra. In theHuayan tradition meanwhile, a central practice is the recitation and copying of theAvatamsaka Sutra (which is often done in a group setting or on solitary retreat).[64]
TheAjitasena Sūtra has been called "Proto-Mahāyāna" by Paul Williams. While it promotes Buddhahood for all, the text lacks the usual antagonism towards theśravakas andarhats, as is typical of later Mahāyāna texts like theVimalakīrti-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 (includingSukhavati andAbhirati) on becoming an arhat.[55]
TheSalistamba Sūtra (rice stalk or rice sapling sūtra) has been considered one of the first Mahayana sutras.[65] According to N. Ross Reat, this sutra has many parallels with the material in the Pali suttas (especially theMahatanha-sahkhaya sutta, M1:256-71), and could date as far back as 200 BCE.[66] It is possible that this sutra represents a period of Buddhist literature before Mahāyāna doctrine had diverged significantly from the doctrines of theearly Buddhist texts.[67]
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Some of thePrajñāpāramitā Sūtras are considered to be some of the earliest Mahāyāna Sūtras. Various Western scholars generally hold that theAṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra is one of the earliest of these texts (c. 1st century BCE). TheVajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra is also seen by scholars like Schopen and numerous Japanese scholars as being very early.[68][69]
Paul Williams also notes that in Lewis Lancaster's analysis of the earliest Chinese versions of theAṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra "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."[70]
The main topics of these Sūtras are the path of thebodhisattva, the sixtranscendent 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.[71] "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."[72] Since all phenomena (evenNirvana) lack any essence, unchanging core or independence, they are merely conceptual constructs and as such, they are like magical illusions (maya).[73]
Many of these sutras are known by the number of lines, orślokas, that they contain, such as thePañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā (25,000 line) PP Sūtra, theAṣṭadaśasāhasrikā (18,000 lines), and theŚatasāhasrikā (100,000 lines) etc.
TheSaddharma-pundarīka-sūtra (True DharmaWhite 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 theTiantai andNichiren schools).[74]
Probably written down between 100 BCE –150 CE, theLotus Sūtra states that the threeyānas (śrāvakayāna,pratyekabuddhayāna andbodhisattvayāna) are not real paths leading to different goals, there is in fact onlyone path (ekayāna), with one goal -Buddhahood.[75] The sutra predicts that all those who hear the Dharma will eventually achieve this goal. The earlier teachings are said to beskilful means to teach beings according to their capacities.[76][77]
The sutra is notable for the idea that a Buddha is not inaccessible after hisparinirvāṇa 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.[78]
In some East Asian traditions, the Lotus Sūtra has been compiled together with two other sutras which serve as a prologue and epilogue, respectively theInnumerable Meanings Sutra and theSamantabhadra Meditation Sutra. This composite sutra is often called theThreefold Lotus Sūtra orThree-Part Dharma Flower Sutra.[79]
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 ofAmitābha Buddha, calledSukhāvatī (the Blissful). These texts are very influential in East Asia, particularly inPure Land Buddhism, which focuses on the salvific power of faith in Amitābha'ssalvific vow-power (pūrva-praṇidhāna-vaśa, the power of his past vows) to effortlessly transport all beings who think of him to his pure land.[80]
The three main "Pure land sutras" in East Asian Pure Land Buddhism are:[80]
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 theBhaiṣajyaguru-vaiḍūryaprabhārāja Sūtra, which focuses onBhaiṣajyaguru, a healing Buddha also known as the "Medicine Buddha"; as well as theAkṣobhyatathāgata-syavyūha Sūtra, which focuses on the BuddhaAkṣobhya and his pure land ofAbhirati (which is one of the oldest "Pure land" texts).[81]
Amongst the earliest Mahāyāna texts, the "SamādhiSūtras" are a group of sutras that focus on the attainment of profound states of consciousness reached in meditation (samādhi, "meditative absorption, concentration"), perhaps suggesting that meditation played an important role in the development of early Mahāyāna.[82] However, in these texts, the term "samādhi" general signifies a more complex and diverse idea which includes numerous practices that are not purelycontemplative.[83]
"SamādhiSūtras" include:[82][84]
There is also another genre of Mahāyāna meditation texts calledVisualization Sutras (Chinese: 觀經,guan jing).[85] A key feature of these sutras is their promotion of meditation practices which focus on mentally visualizing or maintaining a mental image.[86] Perhaps the most popular of these is theSutra on the Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life. Others include theSutra on the Sea of Samādhi Attained through Contemplation of the Buddha (Guan Fo Sanmei Hai Jing), and theSutra on the Contemplation of the Cultivation Methods of the BodhisattvaSamantabhadra (Guan Puxian Pusa Xingfa Jing), commonly known as Samantabhadra Contemplation Sutra.[85]
There are also some meditation focused texts calledDhyāna Sūtras (禪経) translated into Chinese by figures likeKumarajiva. Some of these Sūtras contain Mahāyāna meditation teachings.
There are also various composite "sūtras," which are actually large collections of other sūtras. One quite influential composite sūtra is theBuddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra (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 matureBuddhāvataṃsaka.[87] The largest and most influential of these include theDaśabhūmika Sūtra and theGaṇḍavyūha Sūtra.[87] TheBuddhāvataṃsaka probably reached its current form by about the 4th century CE, and this compilation may have happened in Central Asia.[88]
Williams notes that theBuddhāvataṃsaka 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.[89] TheBuddhāvataṃsaka 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 isMahāvairocana ("Great Illuminator"), who fills the entire cosmos with his light, his omniscient awareness and his magical emanations (one of which wasShakyamuni Buddha).[90] In China, theBuddhāvataṃsaka became the central text for theHuayen (Jp.Kegon) school of Buddhism, which later went on to influence ChineseChan Buddhism andPure Land Buddhism.[91]
Two other important Mahāyāna "sūtras" which are also collections of smaller independent sūtras are theMahāratnakūṭa Sūtra (The Heap of Jewels Sūtra) which contains 49 individual sūtras, and theMahāsamnipāta Sūtra (Sūtra of the Great Assembly) which is a collection of 17 sūtras.
Important sutras in theMahāratnakūṭa include theBodhisattvapiṭaka, theŚrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra, theLonger Sukhāvatī-vyūha Sutra, the Akṣobhya-vyūha,Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra (The inquiry of Ugra), theSaptaśatikā (700 Line) Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, and theTathāgataguhya Sūtra (The Secrets of the Tathāgata).[92][93][94][95] Important sutras in theMahāsamnipāta include larger works like theAkṣayamati-nirdeśa, and theGaganagañja-paripṛcchā, which themselves also circulated as independent sutras.[96][97]
Some Mahayana sutras focus on the hagiography of the Buddha, other Buddhas, or even tell stories of numerous Buddhas. TheLalitavistara Sūtra is one of the most important of the hagiographical sutras. It focuses on the story of Shakyamuni Buddha's final birth.
TheKaruṇāpuṇḍarīka 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.[98]
TheBhadrakalpika Sūtra give a list of over one thousand Buddhas which will arise in this "fortunate aeon".
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A large number of Sūtras focus on the nature, teachings and virtues of a particular bodhisattva. They include:
These sutras primarily teach doctrines associated with theYogācāra school, such as the doctrine ofvijñapti-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.[101]
TheĀrya-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."[8] To the first turning, it ascribes theĀgamas of theśravakas, to the second turning the lower Mahāyāna sutras including thePrajñāpāramitā 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).[102]
Another Indian Yogācāra sutra is theBuddhabhūmi 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'sBuddhabhūmi-vyākhyāna and Bandhuprabha'sBuddhabhūmyupadeśa.[103] This text is also an important source of Indian Pure Land Buddhist ideas.[103]
TheLaṅkāvatāra Sūtra (c. 4th century CE) and theGhanavyūha Sūtra, are also seen as sūtras associated with the Yogācāra tradition.[104][105] However both are somewhat syncretic in nature, combining Yogācāra doctrines with those of thebuddha-nature texts. In particular, both sutras associate the tathāgatagarbha (i.e. buddha-nature) with the Yogācāra doctrine of the storehouse consciousness (alayavijñāna).[106][107] TheLaṅkāvatāra Sūtra was particularly influential forChan Buddhism.
In theVimalakirtinirdeśa, composed some time between the first and second century CE,[108] the bodhisattvaVimalakīrti appears as a layman to teach the Dharma. This is seen by some as a strong assertion of the value of lay practice.[109] The sutra teaches, among other subjects, the meaning ofnon-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 thelay practitioner Vimalakīrti a teaching addressed to botharhats andbodhisattvas, regarding the doctrine ofśūnyatā. In most versions, the discourse of the text culminates with a wordless teaching of silence.[110] This sutra has been very popular inChina andJapan.[111]
The class of texts called "Tathāgatagarbha sūtras" teach the important Mahāyāna doctrine ofTathāgatagarbha, (Tathāgata-embryo, Tathāgata-womb, Inner Tathāgata, also known asSugatagarbha) andBuddha-dhatu (Buddha nature, Buddha source, Buddha element). According to Williams, this doctrine states that all beings "have a Tathāgata [i.e. a Buddha] within 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."[112]
The earliest of these texts have been seen by modern scholars as including theMahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (not to be confused with thePāliMahaparinibbana Sutta and its parallels) and theTathāgatagarbha Sūtra (however, the dating of these texts is far from settled).[112][113]
Other important sutras in this genre include theŚrīmālā Sūtra, theAṅgulimālīya Sūtra, theAnūnatvāpurnatvanirdeśa (The Teaching on the Absence of Increase and Decrease), theMahābherī Sūtra (Great Drum), and theMahāmegha Sūtra (Great Cloud Sutra) .[114][115]
These focus on principles that guide the ethical behaviour (Śīla) of bodhisattvas and thebodhisattva precepts, and include theKāshyapa-parivarta, theBodhisattva-prātimokṣa Sutra, theUpāliparipṛcchā (also known in Chinese asThe Buddha Speaks of Decisive Vinaya Sutra) and theBrahmajāla Sutra (orBrahmajāla Bodhisattva Śīla Sūtra). For East Asian Zen monastics, theBequeathed Teachings Sutra is a widely chanted and studied text on ethical discipline.[116] Yet there is also theNoble 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.”[117]
TheSutra of the Three Heaps (Sanskrit:Triskandhadharmasutra) and theGolden Light Sutra (Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra) focus on the practice of confession of faults. TheGolden Light Sutra became especially influential in East Asian Buddhism, particularly because of its teaching on how theFour Heavenly Kings protect the ruler who governs his country in the proper manner and upholds the sutra.[118]
TheSutra of the Three Heaps meanwhile remains an important confession focused sutra in Tibetan Buddhism.[119]
Dhāraṇī sutras are Mahayana sutras that focus on specificdhāraṇīs (recitations, chants, incantations, spells), which are mostly in some form ofBuddhist 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.[120][121] The worddhāraṇī derives from a Sanskrit root √dhṛ meaning "to hold or maintain".[120]
The Dhāraṇī sutra genre is ancient, and similar works can be found in even non-Mahayana Buddhist canons, one example being theAtanatiya Sutra.[122] Several early Buddhist schools had also maintained a collection of scriptures focused on dhāraṇī and magical practices, sometimes called DhāraṇīPiṭaka or called the Vidyādhara Piṭaka (Wizardry Collection) which included various types of rituals and spells (vidyā).[123] For example, theDharmaguptaka school's Tripiṭaka is said to have contained aDhāraṇī Piṭaka.[124] The Mahayana Dhāraṇī sutras developed out of this ancient Buddhist magical tradition. While many classic Mahayana sutras (like theLotus andGolden 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,[125] 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.[126] 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:
Dhāraṇī texts were often collected together into Dhāraṇī collections, such as theDhāraṇī Saṃgraha and theCollected Dhāraṇī Sūtras (Tuoluoni jijing 陀羅尼集), Taisho Tripitaka no. 901, translated by Atikūṭa in 654.
Esoteric Sūtras (Guhyamantra, i.e. "Secret mantra" sutras, known as 密教Mìjiao in Chinese andMikkyō in Japanese) comprise an important category of works that are related tomantric andesoteric Buddhist practices. Most of these differ from simplerDhāraṇī 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 earlierDhāraṇī sutras focus on the simple recitation mantric formulas, later esoteric sūtras contain descriptions ofmandalas,mudras, complex rituals involving elements like bathing, setting up a ritual perimeter, and so forth. These more complex esoteric sutras developed gradually out of simplerDhāraṇī recitation sutras.[128]
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.[128] By the 7th century, the complexity of the rituals had reached a new stage of mature Indian Mantric Buddhism, as seen in theVairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra.[128]
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 orVajrayana. While the texts listed below call themselves sutras, later Buddhist traditions often reclassified these as "tantras" due to their Mantrayana content.[129] Some important esoteric Mahayana texts include:
Some latePrajñaparamita 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.[133][134] These later esoteric Prajñāpāramitā sutras are generally short texts which containmantras and/ordhāraṇīs and also reference esoteric Buddhist (Mantrayana) ideas.[134] They often promote simple practices based on recitation which lead to the accumulation of merit and help one reach awakening.[134]
Esoteric Prajñāpāramitā sutras include:Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (150 lines), the famousHeart Sutra (Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya), theEkaślokikā prajñāpāramitā, Svalpākṣarā Prajñāpāramitā, KauśikāPrajñāpāramitā, Saptaślokikā Prajñāpāramitā, the*Prajñāpāramitānāmāṣṭaśataka and theCandragarbha Prajñāpāramitā.[135]
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 inEast Asia orCentral Asia. These texts may also containcolophons which claim to be translations of an Indian original.[136] These sutras are sometimes called "apocryphal" sūtras (a term borrowed frombiblical studies) 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").[136]
According toCharles 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."[136] 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.[136]
Some Mahayana sutras in theChinese canon which have been influential in East Asian Buddhism and were likely composed outside of India (in whole or in part) include:[136]
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'sBukkyō kyōten seiritsushi ron, there are three main types of apocryphal Chinese "sutras".[136] Makita Tairyō outlines five types of apocryphal sutras.[136]
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:
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 asBodhisattva Piṭaka. Jan Nattier notes that theUgraparipṛcchā Sūtra mentions aBodhisattva 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 aBodhisattva Piṭaka include theDharmaguptaka and perhaps theBahuśrutīya (or whoever authored theTattvasiddhi-Śāstra).[165] Some sutras translated byLokaksema (c. 147-189 CE) also mention a "Bodhisattva Piṭaka".[166]
In the 4th century Mahāyānaabhidharma workAbhidharmasamuccaya,Asaṅga refers to the collection which contains the āgamas as theŚrāvakapiṭaka, and associates it with theśrāvakas andpratyekabuddhas.[167] Asaṅga classifies the Mahāyāna Sūtras as belonging to theBodhisattvapiṭaka, which is designated as the collection of teachings for bodhisattvas.[167]
The Mahāyāna Sūtras survive predominantly in "Buddhist Chinese" (fójiào hànyǔ 佛教漢語, a variety of writtenancient Chinese) andClassical Tibetan translations. The source texts were probably inBuddhist Hybrid Sanskrit or variousPrakrit languages such asGandhari. The main collections are found in the TibetanKangyur and theChinese Tripiṭaka. There are also numerousSanskrit manuscripts of individual texts from various finds likeDunhuang, and Sanskrit collections fromNepal. Many parallel translations of certain Sūtras exist. A handful of them, such as thePrajñāpāramitā sutras like theHeart Sutra and theDiamond Sutra, are considered fundamental by most modern Mahāyāna traditions.
Some scholars have traditionally considered the earliest Mahāyāna Sūtras to include the very first versions of thePrajñāpāramitā series, along with texts concerningAkshobhya, which were probably composed in the 1st century BCE in the south of India.[168][169] According toA.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.[170]
Some of the earliest Mahāyāna Sūtras were translated by theKushan monkLokakṣema, who came to China from the kingdom ofGandhāra. His first translations to Chinese were made in theEastern Han capital ofLuoyang between 178 and 189 CE.[25] The editors of theTaishō Tripiṭaka attribute twelve texts to Lokakṣema. These attributions have been studied in detail byErik Zürcher,Paul Harrison andJan Nattier, and some have been called into question. Zürcher considers it reasonably certain that Lokakṣema translated the following:[171]
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 T624Druma-kinnara-rāja-paripṛcchā-sūtra (伅真陀羅所問如來三昧經) ought to be considered genuine.
Another set of Mahayana sutras, which gives an indication of which Mahayana sources were widespread inCentral Asia, are those translated by the Indian-Kuchan translatorKumārajīva (344–413 CE) and his team (probably fromKuchan target sources) inChang'an. The main sutras they translated are:[172][173][174]
TheSūtrasamuccaya is a compendium of sūtra quotations which survives in Tibetan and Chinese translation. It is sometimes attributed toNagarjuna, but is likely to be from a later period (possibly 4th century CE or later).[175] 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. TheSūtrasamuccaya quotes from someearly Buddhist texts, but mainly focuses on Mahāyāna Sūtras.
The following Mahāyāna Sūtras are quoted in theSūtrasamuccaya:[176]
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According toDavid Seyfort Ruegg, the main sutra sources of themadhyamaka tradition are thePrajñāpāramitā,Ratnakūṭa andAvataṃsaka sutras.[177] Other sutras which were widely cited by Indian madhamika philosophers are:Vimalakīrtinirdeṣa, theŚuraṃgamasamādhi, theSaddharmapuṇḍarīka, theDaśabhūmika, theAkṣayamatinirdeśa, theTathāgataguhyaka, and theKāśyapaparivarta.[177]
Ruegg also notes that the later madhyamakaCandrakīrti (c. 600 – c. 650) cites thePrajñāpāramitā sutras as well as:
theAkṣayamatinirdeśa, Anavataptahradāpasaṃkramaṇa, Upāliparipṛcchā, Kāśyapaparivarta, Gaganagañja, Tathāgataguhya, Daśabhūmika, Dṛḍhādhyāśaya, Dhāraṇīśvararāja, Pitāputrasamāgama, Mañjuśrīparipṛcchā, Ratnakūṭa, Ratnacūḍaparipṛcchā, Ratnamegha, Ratnākara, Laṅkāvatāra, Lalitavistara, Vimalakirtinirdesa, Śālistamba, Satyadvayāvatāra,Saddharmapuṇḍarīka,Samādhirāja (Candrapradīpa), andHastikakṣya.[177]
The Compendium of Training (Śikṣāsamuccaya) by the eighth-century madhyamaka scholarŚāntideva, cites a total of ninety-seven Mahāyāna sūtras, some of which are now lost. According to Donald Lopez:[178]
Śāntideva cites three passages from theLotus Sūtra, compared, for example, with two from theAṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā and two from theLaṅkāvatārasūtra. Among the most cited sūtras are theAkṣayamatinirdeśa (eighteen citations), theUgraparipṛcchā (twenty citations), theDharmasaṃgīti (eighteen citations), and theRatnamegha (twenty-four citations).
Though there are various editions of theChinese Buddhist canon (大藏經;pinyin:Dàzàngjīng), one of the most widespread modern editions is the JapaneseTaisho Tripitaka, redacted during the 1920s. It consists of eighty-five volumes.
The Mahāyāna Sūtras are contained in various sections of the canon:
In theTibetan Buddhist Canon, Mahāyāna Sūtra translations are found in theKangyur (Wylie:bka'-'gyur). They are traditionally divided into four divisions:[179]
Newar Buddhism has a group of nine Sanskrit Mahayana sutras that are considered the key texts of the tradition. They are:[180][181]
Between the tremendous emphasis that Mahāyāna sūtras place on memorization and the central role that they attribute to dharmabhāṇakas, which I have discussed elsewhere(2011), Mahāyānists surely could have preserved their texts without writing.48 Though most Mahayana sutras undoubtedly would eventually have been lost without writing, this is a separate issue, and something that is also true of nikaya/agama sutras. Writing was not necessary for the Mahayana to emerge." and "Moriz Winternitz observed more than a century ago that the characteristic of repetition found in Pāli texts "is exaggerated to such a degree in the longer Prajñā-pāramitās that it would be quite possible to write down more than one half of a gigantic work like the Śatasāhasrikā-Prajñā-Pāramitā from memory(1927,2:322)."
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Dharani is a synonym ofraksha and the Paliparitta, 'protecting magic formula', 'talisman'. According to theSaddharma-Pundarika, the dharanis are taught 'for protection, safety and shelter of the preachers'. Dharanis are also used as amulets.
This is an index to the Taisho Tripitaka - nb Volume 19 is listed as 密教部 or Esoteric Sutra Section is where Taisho 945 (Surangama Sutra) is located.
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