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| Translations of Prajñāpāramitā | |
|---|---|
| English | Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom |
| Sanskrit | प्रज्ञापारमिता (IAST: Prajñāpāramitā) |
| Burmese | ပညာပါရမီတ (MLCTS:pjɪ̀ɰ̃ɲà pàɹəmìta̰) |
| Chinese | 般若波羅蜜多 (Pinyin:bōrě bōluómìduō) |
| Japanese | 般若波羅蜜多 (Rōmaji:hannya-haramitta) |
| Khmer | ប្រាជ្ញាបារមី (UNGEGN:prachnhéabarômi) |
| Korean | 반야바라밀다 (RR:Banyabaramilda) |
| Mongolian | Төгөлдөр билгүүн |
| Sinhala | ප්රඥා පාරමිතා |
| Tibetan | ་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་ (shes rab kyi pha rol tu chin pa) |
| Thai | ปรัชญาปารมิตา |
| Vietnamese | Bát-nhã-ba-la-mật-đa |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
Prajñāpāramitā means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" inMahāyāna. Prajñāpāramitā refers to a perfected way of seeing thenature of reality, as well as to a particular body ofMahāyāna scriptures (sūtras), known as the Prajñāpāramitā sutras, which includes such texts as theHeart Sutra andDiamond Sutra.
The wordPrajñāpāramitā combines theSanskrit wordsprajñā "wisdom" (or "knowledge") withpāramitā, "excellence," "perfection," "noble character quality," or "that which has gone beyond," "gone to the other side," "transcending."[1] Prajñāpāramitā is a central concept in Mahāyāna Buddhism and is generally associated with ideas such as emptiness (śūnyatā), 'lack ofsvabhāva' (essence), theillusory (māyā) nature of things, how all phenomena are characterized by "non-arising" (anutpāda, i.e. unborn) and theMadhyamaka thought ofNāgārjuna.[2][3] Its practice and understanding are taken to be indispensable elements of theBodhisattva path.
According toEdward Conze, the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras are "a collection of about forty texts ... composed somewhere on theIndian subcontinent between approximately 100 BC and AD 600."[4] Some Prajnāpāramitā sūtras are thought to be among the earliestMahāyāna sūtras.[5][6]
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Western scholars have traditionally considered the earliest sūtra in the Prajñāpāramitā class to be theAṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra or "Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines", which was probably put in writing in the 1st century BCE.[7] This chronology is based on the views ofEdward Conze, who largely considered dates of translation into other languages. This text also has a corresponding version in verse format, called theRatnaguṇasaṃcaya Gāthā, which some believe to be slightly older because it is not written in standard literary Sanskrit. However, these findings rely on late-dating Indian texts, in which verses and mantras are often kept in more archaic forms.[8]
According to Edward Conze, the PP literature developed in nine stages: (1) Anurtext similar to the first two chapters of the SanskritRatnagunasaṃcaya Gāthā; (2) Chapters 3 to 28 of theRatnagunasaṃcaya are composed, along with the prose of theAṣṭasāhasrikā. This base text was further expanded with (3) material from theAbhidharma, and (4) concessions to the "Buddhism of Faith" (referring toPure Land references in the sūtra). This process led to (5) further expansion into larger PP sūtras as well as (6) contraction into the shorter sūtras (i.e.Diamond Sūtra,Heart Sūtra, down to thePrajñāpāramitā in One Letter). This expanded corpus formed the basis for the (7) Indian PP Commentaries, (8) Tantric PP works and (9) ChineseChan texts.[9] Jan Nattier also defends the view that theAṣṭasāhasrikā developed as various layers were added over time.[8] However, Matthew Orsborn has recently argued, based on thechiastic structures of the text that the entiresūtra may have been composed as a single whole (with a few additions added on the core chapters).[10]
A number of scholars have proposed that the Mahāyāna Prajñāpāramitā teachings were first developed by theCaitika subsect of theMahāsāṃghikas. They believe that theAṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra originated amongst the southern Mahāsāṃghika schools of theĀndhra region, along theKṛṣṇa River.[11] These Mahāsāṃghikas had two famous monasteries nearAmarāvati Stupa andDhānyakataka, which gave their names to the Pūrvaśaila and Aparaśaila schools.[12] Each of these schools had a copy of theAṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra inPrakrit.[12] Guang Xing also assesses the view of the Buddha given in theAṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra as being that of the Mahāsāṃghikas.[12]Edward Conze estimates that this sūtra originated around 100 BCE.[12]
In 2012, Harry Falk and Seishi Karashima published a damaged and partialKharoṣṭhī manuscript of theAṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā.[13] It is very similar to the first Chinese translation of theAṣṭasāhasrikā byLokakṣema (ca. 179 CE) whose source text is assumed to be in theGāndhārī language; Lokakṣema's translation is also the first extant translation of the Prajñāpāramitā genre into a non-Indic language. Comparison with the standard Sanskrit text shows that it is also likely to be a translation from Gāndhāri as it expands on many phrases and provides glosses for words that are not present in the Gāndhārī. This points to the text being composed in Gāndhārī, the language ofGandhara (the region now called the Northwest Frontier of Pakistan, includingPeshawar,Taxila andSwat Valley). The "Split" manuscript is evidently a copy of an earlier text, though Falk and Karashima do not give an estimate on how old the original may be.
In contrast to western scholarship, Japanese scholars have traditionally considered theDiamond Sūtra (Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) to be from a very early date in the development of Prajñāpāramitā literature.[14] The usual reason for this relative chronology which places theVajracchedikā earlier is not its date of translation, but rather a comparison of the contents and themes.[15] Some western scholars also believe that theAṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra was adapted from the earlierVajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra.[14]
Examining the language and phrases used in both theAṣṭasāhasrikā and theVajracchedikā,Gregory Schopen also sees theVajracchedikā as being earlier than theAṣṭasāhasrikā.[16] This view is taken in part by examining parallels between the two works, in which theAṣṭasāhasrikā seems to represent the later or more developed position.[16] According to Schopen, these works also show a shift in emphasis from an oral tradition (Vajracchedikā) to a written tradition (Aṣṭasāhasrikā).[16]
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ThePañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā prajñāpāramitāSūtra (T.Shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa; C.Mohe bore boluomi jing, 摩訶般若波羅蜜經) is one of the largest PP sutras, comprising three volumes of the TibetanKangyur (26-28). It was also one of the most important and popular PP sutras in India, seeing as how there are numerous Indian commentaries on this text, including commentaries by Vimuktisena, Haribhadra, Smṛtijñānakīrti, and Ratnakarashanti. The sutra also survives in the original Sanskrit, which was found inGilgit. It also exists in four Chinese translations.[17]
According to Nattier, thePañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā is basically theAṣṭasāhasrikā base text which has been "sliced" up and filled with other material, increasing the length of the text considerably.[8] This process of expansion continued, culminating in the massiveŚatasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (100,000 lines), the largest of the PP sutras.
According to Joseph Walser, there is evidence that thePañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (25,000 lines) and theŚatasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (100,000 lines) have a connection with theDharmaguptaka sect, while theAṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (8,000 lines) does not.[18]
Other PP texts were also composed which were much shorter and had a more independent structure from theAṣṭasāhasrikā. Regarding the shorter PP texts, Conze writes, "two of these, theDiamond Sūtra and theHeart Sūtra are in a class by themselves and deservedly renowned throughout the world of Northern Buddhism. Both have been translated into many languages and have often been commented upon.".[19] Jan Nattier argues the Heart Sutra to be an apocryphal text composed in China from extracts of thePañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā and other texts c. 7th century.[20] Red Pine, however, does not support Nattiers argument and believes the Heart Sutra to be of Indian origin.[21]
During the later phase of Indian Buddhism,Tāntric Prajñāpāramitā texts were produced from the 8th century up to the 11th century CE. These later esoteric Prajñāpāramitā sutras are generally short texts which containmantras and/ordhāraṇīs and also reference esoteric Buddhist (Mantrayana) ideas.[22] They often promote simple practices based on recitation which lead to the accumulation of merit and help one reach awakening.[22]
Esoteric Prajñāpāramitā sutras include texts such as theAdhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (150 lines), the famousHeart Sutra (Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya), theEkaślokikā prajñāpāramitā, Svalpākṣarā Prajñāpāramitā, KauśikāPrajñāpāramitā, Saptaślokikā Prajñāpāramitā, the*Prajñāpāramitānāmāṣṭaśataka and theCandragarbha Prajñāpāramitā.[23] Some of these sources, like theSvalpākṣarā, claim that simply reciting thedharanis found in the sutras are as beneficial as advanced esoteric Buddhist practices (with the full ritual panoply ofmandalas andabhiseka).[24] These scriptures may have been recited in esoteric rituals and two of them remain in widespread use today: Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya (commonly recited throughout Asia by Buddhists) and theAdhyardhaśatikā (an widely recited text inShingon Buddhism).[25]
By the middle of the 3rd century CE, it appears that some Prajñāpāramitā texts were known inCentral Asia, as reported by the Chinese monkZhu Zixing, who brought back a manuscript of thePrajñāpāramitā of 25,000 lines:[26]
When in 260 AD, the Chinese monk Zhu Zixing chose to go toKhotan in an attempt to find original Sanskritsūtras, he succeeded in locating the SanskritPrajñāpāramitā in 25,000 verses, and tried to send it to China. In Khotan, however, there were numerousHīnayānists who attempted to prevent it because they regarded the text asheterodox. Eventually, Zhu Zixing stayed in Khotan, but sent the manuscript toLuoyang where it was translated by a Khotanese monk named Mokṣala. In 296, the Khotanese monk Gītamitra came toChang'an with another copy of the same text.
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| Sections |
Sections
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In China, there was extensive translation of many Prajñāpāramitā texts beginning in the second century CE. The main translators include:Lokakṣema (支婁迦讖),Zhī Qīan (支謙),Dharmarakṣa (竺法護), Mokṣala (無叉羅),Kumārajīva (鳩摩羅什, 408 CE),Xuánzàng (玄奘), Făxián (法賢) andDānapāla (施護).[27] These translations were very influential in the development ofEast Asian Mādhyamaka and onChinese Buddhism.
Xuanzang (fl. c. 602–664) was a Chinese scholar who traveled to India and returned to China with three copies of theMahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra which he had secured from his extensive travels.[28] Xuanzang, with a team of disciple translators, commenced translating the voluminous work in 660 CE using the three versions to ensure the integrity of the source documentation.[28] Xuanzang was being encouraged by a number of the disciple translators to render an abridged version. After a suite of dreams quickened his decision, Xuanzang determined to render an unabridged, complete volume, faithful to the original of 600 fascicles.[29]
An important PP text in East Asian Buddhism is theDazhidulun (大智度論, T no. 1509), a massive commentary on thePañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā translated byKumārajīva (344–413 CE).[30] There are also later commentaries from Zen Buddhists on the Heart and Diamond sutra andKūkai's commentary (9th century) is the first-known Tantric commentary.
The PP sutras were first brought toTibet in the reign ofTrisong Detsen (742-796) by scholarsJinamitra andSilendrabodhi and the translator Ye shes De.[31] Tibetan Buddhist scholasticism generally studies the PP sutras through theAbhisamayālaṅkāra and its numerous commentaries. The focus on theAbhisamayālaṅkāra is particularly pronounced in theGelug school, who according toGeorges Dreyfus "take theOrnament as the central text for the study of the path" and "treat it as a kind of Buddhist encyclopedia, read in the light of commentaries byJe Dzong-ka-ba,Gyel-tsap Je, and the authors of manuals [monastic textbooks]."[32]
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An Indian commentary on theMahāyānasaṃgraha, entitledVivṛtaguhyārthapiṇḍavyākhyā (A Condensed Explanation of the Revealed Secret Meaning, Derge No. 4052), lists eight Prajñāpāramitā sūtras which were "taught to bodhisattvas" and are seen as superior (from theSravakayana sutras) because they are superior "in eliminating conceptually imaged forms".[33]
The eight texts are listed according to length and are the following:[33]
The Chinese scholar and translatorXuanzang (玄奘, 602-664) is known for his translation of a massive Sanskrit collection of Prajñāpāramitā sutras called "the Xuánzàng Prajñāpāramitā Library" or "The Great Prajñāpāramitāsūtra" (般若 波羅蜜 多 經, pinyin:bōrě bōluómì duō jīng).[34]
Xuanzang returned to China with three copies of this Sanskrit work which he obtained in South India and his translation is said to have been based on these three sources.[35] In total it includes 600 scrolls, with 5 million Chinese characters.
This collection consists of 16 Prajñāpāramitā texts:[36]
A modern English translation:The Great Prajna Paramita Sutra (vols. 1 to 6) translated by Naichen Chen (Tucson: Wheatmark).
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| Tibetan Buddhist canon |
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| 1. Kangyur |
Kangyur 1. Vinaya 2. Prajnaparamita 3. Buddhavatamsaka 4. Ratnakuta 5. Sutra 6. Late translated Sutras 6. Tantra
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| 2. Tengyur |
Tengyur 1. Stava 2. Tantra
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In theTibetan Buddhist tradition, theAbhisamayālaṅkāra is traditionally said to be a commentary to seventeen Prajñāpāramitā (PP) source texts. These are seen as the most important PP sutras and they collectively known as the "Seventeen Mothers and Sons" (Wyl.yum sras bcu bdun).[37]
In the Prajñāpāramitā section of theKangyur, there are also other Prajñāpāramitā sutras besides the seventeen Mothers and Sons:[38]
There are various Indian and later Chinese commentaries on the Prajñāpāramitā sutras, some of the most influential commentaries include:
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A key theme of the Prajñāpāramitā sutras is the figure of theBodhisattva (literally: awakening-being) which is defined in the 8,000-line Prajñāpāramitā sutra as:
A Bodhisattva is then a being that experiences everything "without attachment" (asakti) and sees reality or suchness (Tathātā) as it is. The Bodhisattva is the main ideal inMahayana (Great Vehicle), which sees the goal of the Buddhist path as becoming aBuddha for the sake of all sentient beings, not just yourself:
A central quality of the Bodhisattva is their practice of Prajñāpāramitā, a most deep (gambhīra) state of knowledge which is an understanding of reality arising from analysis as well asmeditative insight. It is non-conceptual andnon-dual (advaya) as well astranscendental.[42] Literally, the term could be translated as "knowledge gone to the other (shore)",[43] or transcendental knowledge. The Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says:
A further passage in the 8,000-line Prajñāpāramitā sutra states that Prajñāpāramitā means that a Bodhisattva stands in emptiness (shunyata) by not standing (√sthā) or supporting themselves on any dharma (phenomena), whether conditioned or unconditioned. The dharmas that a Bodhisattva does "not stand" on include standard listings such as: thefive aggregates, the sense fields (ayatana),nirvana,Buddhahood, etc.[45] This is explained by stating that Bodhisattvas "wander without a home" (aniketacārī); "home" or "abode" meaning signs (nimitta, meaning a subjective mental impression) of sensory objects and the afflictions that arise dependent on them. This includes the absence, the "not taking up" (aparigṛhīta) of even "correct" mental signs and perceptions such as "form is not self", "I practice Prajñāpāramitā", etc. To be freed of all constructions and signs, to be signless (animitta) is to be empty of them and this is to stand in Prajñāpāramitā.[46] The Prajñāpāramitā sutras state that all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the past have practiced Prajñāpāramitā. Prajñāpāramitā is also associated withSarvajñata (all-knowledge) in the Prajñāpāramitā sutras, a quality of the mind of a Buddha which knows the nature of all dharmas.
According to Karl Brunnhölzl, Prajñāpāramitā means that "all phenomena from form up through omniscience being utterly devoid of any intrinsic characteristics or nature of their own."[47] Furthermore, "such omniscient wisdom is always nonconceptual and free from reference points since it is the constant and panoramic awareness of the nature of all phenomena and does not involve any shift between meditative equipoise and subsequent attainment."[48]
Edward Conze outlined several psychological qualities of a Bodhisattva's practice of Prajñāpāramitā:[49]
The Prajñāpāramitā sutras also teach of the importance of the otherpāramitās (perfections) for the Bodhisattva such asKsanti (patience): "Without resort to this patience (kṣānti) they [bodhisattvas] cannot reach their respective goals".[50]
Another quality of the Bodhisattva is their freedom from fear (na vtras) in the face of the seemingly shocking doctrine of the emptiness of all dharmas which includes their own existence. A good friend (kalyanamitra) is useful in the path to fearlessness. Bodhisattvas also have no pride or self-conception (na manyeta) of their own stature as Bodhisattvas.[51] These are important features of the mind of a bodhisattva, calledbodhicitta. The Prajñāpāramitā sutras also mention that bodhicitta is a middle way, it is neither apprehended as existent (astitā) or non-existent (nāstitā) and it is "immutable" (avikāra) and "free from conceptualization" (avikalpa).[52]
The Bodhisattva is said to generate "great compassion" (maha-karuṇā) for all beings on their path to liberation and yet also maintain a sense of equanimity (upekṣā) and distance from them through their understanding of emptiness, due to which, the Bodhisattva knows that even after bringing countless beings to nirvana, "no living being whatsoever has been brought to nirvana."[53]Bodhisattvas andMahāsattvas are also willing to give up all of their meritorious deeds for sentient beings and develop skillful means (upaya) in order to help abandon false views and teach them the Dharma. The practice of Prajñāpāramitā allows a Bodhisattva to become:
"a saviour of the helpless, a defender of the defenceless, a refuge to those without refuge, a place to rest to those without resting place, the final relief of those who are without it, an island to those without one, a light to the blind, a guide to the guideless, a resort to those without one and....guide to the path those who have lost it, and you shall become a support to those who are without support."[54]
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Tathātā (Suchness or Thusness) and the related termDharmatā (the nature of Dharma), andTathāgata are also important terms of the Prajñāpāramitā texts. To practice Prajñāpāramitā means to practice in accord with 'the nature of Dharma' and to see the Tathāgata (i.e. the Buddha). As the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra states, these terms are generally used equivalently: "As the suchness (tathatā) of dharmas is immovable (acalitā), and the suchness (tathatā) of dharmas is theTathāgata."[55] The Tathāgata is said in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra to "neither come nor go". Furthermore, the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra includes a list of synonyms associated with Tathāgata as also being "beyond coming and going", these include: 1. Suchness (tathatā); 2. Unarisen (anutpāda); 3. Reality limit (bhūtakoṭi); 4. Emptiness ("Śūnyatā"); 5. Division (yathāvatta); 6. Detachment (virāga); 7. Cessation (nirodha); 8. Space element (ākāśadhātu). The sutra then states:
Apart from these dharmas, there is no Tathāgata. The suchness of these dharmas, and the suchness of the Tathāgatas, is all one single suchness (ekaivaiṣā tathatā), not two, not divided (dvaidhīkāraḥ). ... beyond all classification (gaṇanāvyativṛttā), due to non-existence (asattvāt).[55]
Suchness then does not come or go because like the other terms, it is not a real entity (bhūta,svabhāva), but merely appears conceptually throughdependent origination, like a dream or an illusion.
Edward Conze lists six ways in which the ontological status of dharmas is considered by the Prajñāpāramitā:[49]
It is through seeing this Tathātā that one is said to have a vision of the Buddha (the Tathāgata), seeing this is called seeing the Buddha'sDharmakaya (Dharma body) which is a not his physical body, but none other than the true nature of dharmas.[56]
Most modern Buddhist scholars such asLamotte, Conze andYin Shun have seenŚūnyatā (emptiness, voidness, hollowness) asthe central theme of the Prajñāpāramitā sutras.[57]Edward Conze writes:
It is now the principal teaching of Prajñāpāramitā with regard to own-being that it is "empty." The Sanskrit term issvabhāva-śūnya. This is atatpuruṣa compound (one in which the last member is qualified by the first without losing its grammatical independence), in whichsvabhava may have the sense of any oblique case. TheMahayana understands it to mean that dharmas are empty of any own-being, i.e., that they are not ultimate facts in their own right, but merely imagined and falsely discriminated, for each and every one of them is dependent on something other than itself. From a slightly different angle this means that dharmas, when viewed with perfectedgnosis, reveal an own-being which is identical with emptiness, i.e in their own-being they are empty.[49]
The Prajñāpāramitā sutras commonly useapophatic statements to express the nature of reality as seen by Prajñāpāramitā. A common trope in the Prajñāpāramitā sutras is the negation of a previous statement in the form 'A is not A, therefore it is A', or more often negating only a part of the statement as in, "XY is a Y-less XY".[58] Japanese Buddhologist, Hajime Nakamura, calls this negation the 'logic of not' (na prthak).[59] An example from theDiamond Sutra of this use of negation is:
The rationale behind this form is the juxtaposition of conventional truth with ultimate truth as taught in the Buddhisttwo truths doctrine. The negation of conventional truth is supposed to expound the ultimate truth of the emptiness (Śūnyatā) of all reality - the idea that nothing has an ontological essence and all things are merely conceptual, without substance.
The Prajñāpāramitā sutras state that dharmas should not be conceptualized either as existent, nor as non existent, and use negation to highlight this: "in the way in which dharmas exist (saṃvidyante), just so do they not exist (asaṃvidyante)".[60]
The Prajñāpāramitā sutras commonly state that all dharmas (phenomena), are in some way like anillusion (māyā), like adream (svapna) and like amirage.[61] TheDiamond Sutra states:
Even the highest Buddhist goals likeBuddhahood andNirvana are to be seen in this way, thus the highest wisdom or prajña is a type of spiritual knowledge which sees all things as illusory. As Subhuti in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra states:
This is connected to the impermanence and insubstantial nature of dharmas. The Prajñāpāramitā sutras give the simile of a magician (māyākāra: 'illusion-maker') who, when seemingly killing his illusory persons by cutting off their heads, really kills nobody and compare it to the bringing of beings to awakening (by 'cutting off' the conceptualization of self view; Skt:ātmadṛṣṭi chindati) and the fact that this is also ultimately like an illusion, because their aggregates "are neither bound nor released".[64] The illusion then, is the conceptualization and mental fabrication of dharmas as existing or not existing, as arising or not arising. Prajñāpāramitā sees through this illusion, being empty of concepts and fabrications.
Perceiving dharmas and beings like an illusion (māyādharmatā) is termed the "great armor" (mahāsaṃnaha) of the Bodhisattva, who is also termed the 'illusory man' (māyāpuruṣa).[65]
According to Paul Williams, another major theme of the Prajñāpāramitā sutras is "the phenomenon of laudatory self reference—the lengthy praise of the sutra itself, the immense merits to be obtained from treating even a verse of it with reverence, and the nasty penalties which will accrue in accordance withkarma to those who denigrate the scripture."[66]
According toEdward Conze, later Prajñāpāramitā sutras added much new doctrinal material. Conze lists the later accretions as:[67]
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