TheMahāratnakūṭa Sūtra (Sanskrit;traditional Chinese:大寶積經; simplified Chinese:大宝积经; pinyin:dàbǎojī jīng, Tib.dam-chos dkon-mchog-brtsegs-pa) is a major ancient collection of IndianMahāyāna Buddhistsūtras. It is also known simply asRatnakūṭa Sūtra (寶積經), literally theSutra of the Heap of Jewels inSanskrit (kūṭa means ‘accumulation’ or ‘heap’).

TheMahāratnakūṭa contains many importantMahāyāna sūtras, like theŚrīmālā-devī-siṁhanāda, theMaitreya-paripṛcchā,Kāśyapa-parivarta, and theSukhāvatīvyūha. TheHeap of Jewels collection exists in Chinese and Tibetan translations. It also gives its name to one of the main divisions of Mahayana sutras in theChinese Buddhist canon and in theTibetan Buddhist canon.

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Mahāyāna Buddhism
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Mahayana sutras Prajñāpāramitā sūtras Lotus Sūtra Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra Vimalakirtinirdeśa Pure Land Sutras Lalitavistara Sūtra Samādhirāja Sūtra Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra Tathāgatagarbha sūtras Śrīmālādevī Sūtra Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra Ghanavyūha sūtra Golden Light Sutra Tathāgataguhyaka Sūtra Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra
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TheMahāratnakūṭa Sūtra contains 49 texts of varying length, which are termed "assemblies" by tradition. This collection includes theŚrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra, theLonger Sukhāvatī-vyūha Sutra, theAkṣobhya-vyūha Sūtra, a long text called theBodhisattvapiṭaka, and others.^[1]

Parts of this collection was brought to China and translated byBodhiruci in the 8th century.^[2] Bodhiruci translated some of the texts, and included others which had been previously translated. This later Bodhiruci (also known as Bodhiruci II) should not be confused with anotherBodhiruci who was the translator of the commentary onTen Stages Sutra.

TheRatnakūṭa collection totals 49 Mahāyāna sūtras, divided into 120 fascicles in the Chinese translation.^[3] Garma Chang, who is listed as General Editor of a volume of select sūtras from theMahāratnakūṭa translated from Chinese into English, (see below, Further Reading, Garma C.C. Chang, (1983).A Treasury of Mahāyāna Sūtras: Selections from the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra. Title Page) summarizes the breadth and variety of texts contained in this collection:^[1]

We have found this work to contain a broad coverage of various subjects. The topics discussed range from the monastic precepts (Vinaya) to intuitive wisdom (prajñā), from good deportment to the manifestation of the Tathāgata's light, from illusion (māyā) to ingenuity (upāya) to the nature of consciousness and thePure Land practice. It can perhaps be called a small encyclopedia of Mahāyāna Buddhism, which should be useful to general readers as well as to scholars.

In theTaishō Tripiṭaka in volumes 11 and 12a, the Mahāratnakūṭa is the text numbered 310, and texts numbered 311 through 373 are various other translations of some of the sutras contained in the Mahāratnakūṭa.

According to theNikāyasaṅgraha (aTheravādin text), theRatnakūṭa Sūtra was composed by the "Andhakas", meaning theMahāsāṃghikaCaitika schools of theĀndhra region.^[4][5] The texts of the sutra seem to have been collected over a number of centuries, and their varying subject matter is suggestive of historical transitions between major eras of Buddhist thought.^[1] The collection may have developed from a "Bodhisattvapitaka" attributed to some of the early Mahayana schools.^[1]

Chinese Buddhist Canon
Sections
Sections 1. Agama (Dirgha Madhyama Samyukta Ekottara) 2. Jataka 3. Prajnaparamita 4. Saddharma Pundarika 5. Avatamsaka 6. Ratnakuta 7. Nirvana 8. Mahasannipata 9. Sutrasanipata 10. Tantra 11. Vinaya 12. Sutravyakarana 13. Abhidharma 14. Madhyamaka 15. Yogachara 16. Sastra 17. Sutravibhasa 18. Vinayavibhasa 19. Sastravibhasa 20. Sarvasamaya 21. Histories 22. Cyclopedia 23. Non-Buddhist Texts 24. Catalogues 25. Additional Sutra Clarifications 26. Siddham 27. Ancient 28. Doubtful 29. Illustrations 30. Shōwa Treasures of the Faith
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Tibetan Buddhist canon
1. Kangyur
Kangyur 1. Vinaya 2. Prajnaparamita 3. Buddhavatamsaka 4. Ratnakuta 5. Sutra 6. Late translated Sutras 6. Tantra (Kriya Carya Yoga Anuttarayoga) 7. Pratantra 8. Vimalaprabha 9. Dharani 10. Pranidhana 11. Kangyur Catalogue 12. Postscripts
2. Tengyur
Tengyur 1. Stava 2. Tantra (Kriya Carya Yoga Anuttarayoga Other) 3. Prajnaparamita 4. Madhyamaka 5. Sutranta 6. Cittamatra 7. Abhidharma 8. Vinaya 9. Jataka 10. Lekha 11. Pramana 12. Grammar 13.Science andArts (Medicine Technology andArts Politics andEthics Miscellaneous) 14. Works ofAtisa 15. Tengyur Catalogue
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• Garma C.C. Chang, trans. (1983).A Treasury of Mahāyāna Sūtras: Selections from the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra.ISBN 978-0-271-03428-7
• Pederson, K. Priscilla (1980). "Notes on the Ratnakūṭa Collection" in Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 3 (2), 60-66

• "Taishō Tripiṭaka: Ratnakūṭa division (English translations)". Lapis Lazuli Texts. Retrieved2014-06-29.

• Mahayana sutras
• Vaipulya sutras

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