Mahayana sutras 294639 225216112 2008-07-12T14:39:47Z SmackBot 433328 Date the maintenance tags or general fixes {|style="float:right" |{{Buddhism}} |- |{{MahayanaBuddhism}} |} '''Mahayana sutras''' are a very broad genre of [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] scriptures ([[sutras]]) which according to [[Mahayana]] Buddhists represent original teachings of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]. The earliest scripture that mentions "Mahayana" is the [[Lotus Sutra]], probably compiled in its earliest form in the first century CE. ==Historicity and Background== Generally, scholars conclude that the Mahayana scriptures were composed from the first century CE onwards, five centuries after the historical [[Gautama Buddha]], with some of them having their roots in other scriptures, composed in the first century BCE. The Mahayana sutras are thus not included in the more ancient [[Agama (text)#Buddhism|Agamas]], nor in the [[Sutta Pitaka]] of the [[Theravada]], both of which represent an older stratum of Buddhist scriptures, of which some scholars claim<ref>''While parts of the Pali Canon clearly originated after the time of the Buddha, much must derive from his teaching.'' - An introduction to Buddhism, Peter Harvey, 1990, p.3</ref> that it can be historically linked to [[Gautama Buddha]] himself. Although all Mahayana sutras begin with the sentence "thus have I heard", mentioning the same locations as the [[Pali Canon]], some scholars contend that the Mahayana sutras were mainly composed in the south<ref>‘The south (of India) was then vigorously creative in producing Mahayana Sutras’ – AK Warder, Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition, 1999, p. 335.</ref> of India, and that later the activity of writing additional scriptures was continued in the east<ref>Mahayanism in all probability germinated in the south, where the offshoots of the Mahasanghikas had their centres of activities, but where it appeared more developed was a place somewhere in the eastern part of India, a place where the Sarvastivadins were predominant.' Buddhist Sects in India, Nalinaksha Dutt, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition, 1978, p. 243)</ref> and north<ref>‘The sudden appearance of large numbers of (Mahayana) teachers and texts (in North India in the second century AD) would seem to require some previous preparation and development, and this we can look for in the South.’ AK Warder, Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition, 1999 p. 335.</ref> of India. Mahayana Buddhists traditionally believe that the Mahayana sutras, with the possible exception of those with an explicitly Chinese provenance, are an authentic account of the life and teachings of the Buddha. These sutras form the basis of the various [[Mahayana]] schools and are accepted as transmitting the genuine doctrines of the Buddha by devotees of Mahayana Buddhism. The various [[early Buddhist schools]], including Theravada, however, declared the Mahayana sutras to be heretical, saying they are late compositions which were never proclaimed by the historical Buddha. They claimed that Mahayana sutras contain various untruths and falsifications, and therefore do not represent the life and teachings of the historical [[Gautama Buddha]]<ref>''The early schools, wherever they were strongly established, adhered to the textual tradition of their Tripitaka and denounced the Mahayana sutras as fabrications, 'not the words of the Buddha'.'' AK Warder, Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition, p. 393.</ref>. The advocates of such views within the Early schools are mentioned and condemned in some early Mahāyāna sūtras<ref>for example: "Thinking in this way, they deprecate these Sūtras. They reject them, condemn them, speak badly of them, and also engage in interpolation. In many ways they are involved in these sūtras in order to reject, undermine and eradicate them. They also perceive people who believe in these Sūtras to be enemies. From the very beginning they are obstructed by karmic obstructions. Based on that, they continue to be obstructed by karmic obstructions. It is easy to designate the beginning of these karmic obstructions; it is difficult to designate during how many hundreds of millions of epochs they will continue to arise." Sandhi-nirmocana-sūtra, John Powers trans, Dharma Publishing 1995 (title: Wisdom of the Buddha), p125)</ref>. The controversy resulted in schisms in some Buddhist Communities ([[Sangha]]s). ===Scholars' opinion on historicity=== {{POV|date=July 2008}} The accounts of the texts specific to the Mahayana school (the [[Mahayana Sutras]]) are seen by scholars to not represent a true historic account of the life and teachings of Buddha. The traditional account of why these accounts are not preserved in the older Tripitaka texts (the [[Pali Canon]] and the [[Agama (text)#Buddhism|Agamas]]) of [[Early Buddhism]], invariably involve stories of mythical dragons ([[Nāga]]s) and denigrating accounts on the intelligence of humankind (not clever enough) at the time of the Buddha. The scholar [[A. K. Warder]] gives the following reasons for not accepting the Mahayana Sutras as giving a historical account of events in the life of [[Gautama Buddha]]<ref>Some of our sources maintain the authenticity of certain other texts not found in the canons of these schools (the early schools). These texts are those held genuine by the later school, not one of the eighteen, which arrogated to itself the title of Mahayana, 'Great Vehicle '. According to the Mahayana historians these texts were admittedly unknown to the early schools of Buddhists. However, they had all been promulgated by the Buddha. [The Buddha’s] followers on earth, the sravakas ('pupils'), had not been sufficiently advanced to understand them, and hence were not given them to remember, but they were taught to various supernatural beings and then preserved in such places as the Dragon World. … With the best will in the world we cannot accept this or similar accounts as historical facts. – Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition, page 4</ref>: #It is a curious aspersion on the powers of the Buddha that he failed to do what others were able to accomplish 600 years later. #Linguistically and stylistically the Mahayana texts belong to a later stratum of Indian literature than the [[Tripitaka]] known to the [[Early schools of Buddhism|early schools]]. #Everything about [[early Buddhism]], and even the Mahayana itself (with the exception of the [[Mantrayana]]), suggests that it was a teaching not meant to be kept secret but intended to be published to all the world, to spread enlightenment. #We are on safe ground only with those texts the authenticity of which is admitted by all schools of Buddhism (including the Mahayana, who admit the authenticity of the early canons as well as their own texts), not with texts accepted only by certain schools. #Mahayana developed gradually out of one, or a group, of the [[Early Buddhist Schools|eighteen early schools]], and originally it took its stand not primarily on any new texts but on its own interpretations of the universally recognised Tripitaka.<ref>Indian Buddhism, A.K. Warder, 3rd edition, page 4-5</ref> ==Mahayana View of the Sutras== According to Mahayana Buddhists the Mahayana Sutras present the more profound teachings of the Buddha and the path he revealed ([[Buddhadharma]]). Unlike the older schools, Mahayana Buddhists accept both the older sutras from the [[Tipitaka]] as well as the new sutras as original teachings. According to the Mahayana view, the sutras represent original teachings of the Buddha, as heard, orally transmitted and written down by his disciples and later [[Arhats]], some of which claim to have received teachings by Buddha(s) even after the physical death ([[Parinirvana]]) of the historical [[Buddha Shakyamuni]]. A traditional telling about the transmission of the Mahayana sutras even claims that many parts were actually written down at the time of the Buddha and stored for five hundred years in the realm of the dragons (or [[Naga (mythology)|Naga]]s). The reason given for the late disclosure of the Mahayana teachings is that most people were initially unable to understand the Mahayana sutras at the time of the Buddha (500 BCE) and suitable recipients for these teachings had still to arise amongst humankind<ref>‘though the Buddha had taught them (the Mahayana Sutras) they were not in circulation in the world of men at all for many centuries, there being no competent teachers and no intelligent students: the sutras were however preserved in the Dragon World and other non-human circles, and when in the 2nd century AD adequate teachers suddenly appeared in India in large numbers the texts were fetched and circulated. ... However, it is clear that the historical tradition here recorded belongs to North India and for the most part to Nalanda (in Magadha)’– AK Warder, Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition, 1999</ref>. One Mahayana tradition holds (based on the [[Sandhi-nirmocana Sutra]]) that Gautama Buddha's teachings may be divided into three general hierarchical categories, known as the "three turnings of the wheel of dharma" – the Hinayana turning, and two Mahayana turnings: the ''[[Prajna]] [[Paramita]]'' ([[Perfection of Wisdom]]), and [[Yogacara]]. The Mahayana Sutras would thus belong to the two later turnings, and not form part of the 'Hinayana' turning. The spirit in which Mahayana sutras are to be understood is stated in the [[Vimalakirti Sutra]]:{{Fact|date=January 2008}} *relying on the meaning and not on the literal expression; *relying on gnosis and not on consciousness; *relying on the ultimate teachings definitive in meaning and not insisting on the superficial teachings interpretable in meaning; *relying on reality and not insisting on opinions derived from personal authorities; In other words, these teachings should not necessarily be taken literally but understood directly by sages through contemplative gnosis. Certain Mahayana sutras however (such as the [[Srimala Sutra]] and the [[Mahaparinirvana Sutra]]) state that they themselves are definitive (''nitartha'') or complete statements of final Dharma and do not require further interpretative explication. ==Nature of the Mahayana Sutras== ===Diversity=== The teachings as contained in the Mahayana Sutras as a whole have been described as a loosely bound bundle of many teachings, which was able to contain the various contradictions between the varying teachings it is comprised of<ref>''It has become increasingly clear that Mahayana Buddhism was never one thing, but rather, it seems, a loosely bound bundle of many, and — like Walt Whitman — was large and could contain, in both senses of the term, contradictions, or at least antipodal elements.'', Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 492</ref>. Because of these contradictory elements, there are very few things which can be said with certainty about Mahayana Buddhism<ref>''There are, it seems, very few things that can be said with certainty about Mahayana Buddhism'', Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 492</ref><ref>''But apart from the fact that it can be said with some certainty that the Buddhism embedded in China, Korea, Tibet, and Japan is Mahayana Buddhism, it is no longer clear what else can be said with certainty about Mahayana Buddhism itself, and especially about its earlier, and presumably formative, period in India.'', Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 492</ref>. ===Polemical=== Being restatements of a doctrine, part of nearly every Mahayana Sutra contains a denigrative section of varying length, denunciating the earlier, original doctrine of [[Early Buddhism]]. The scholar AK Warder has commented on the unpleasant nature of these polemical statements, noting that such negative comments are mostly absent in the earlier texts (the [[Agama (text)#Buddhism|Agama]]s and [[Pali Canon]]), which are of a more tolerant and understanding nature<ref>‘Practically every Mahayana sutra repeats this denunciation of the 'inferior' (hina) way of the pupils in more or less shrill tones and at varying length, contrasting rather unpleasantly with the tolerance and understanding characteristic of most earlier Buddhist texts.’ Indian Buddhism, AK Warder, 3rd edition, p. 341</ref>. ==Collections of Mahayana Sutras== The Mahayana Sutras survive predominantly in primary translations in [[Chinese language|Chinese]] and [[Tibetan language|Tibetan]] from original texts in [[Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit]] or various [[Prakrit]]s. From these Chinese and Tibetan texts, secondary translations were also made into [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]], [[Korean language|Korean]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]] and [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]]. ===Mahayana Canon=== Although there is no definitive Mahayana canon as such, the printed or manuscript collections in Chinese and Tibetan, published through the ages, have preserved the majority of known Mahayana sutras. Many parallel translations of certain sutras exist. A handful of them, such as the [[Prajñāpāramitā sutras]] like [[Heart Sutra]] and the [[Diamond Sutra]], are considered fundamental by most Mahayana traditions. The standard modern edition of the Buddhist Chinese canon is the [[Taisho Tripitaka]], redacted during the 1920s in Japan, consisting of eighty-five volumes of writings which, in addition to numerous Mahayana texts, both canonical and not, also include [[Agama (text)#Buddhism|Agama]] collections, several versions of the [[Vinaya]], [[Abhidharma]] and [[Tantra|Tantric]] writings. The first thirty-two volumes contain works of Indic origin, volumes thirty-three to fifty-five contain works of native Chinese origin, volumes fifty-six to eighty-four contain works of Japanese composition. the eighty-fifth volume contains miscellaneous items including works found at [[Dunhuang]]. A number of apocryphal sutras composed in China are also included in the [[Chinese Buddhist Canon]], although the spurious nature of many more was recognized, thus preventing their inclusion into the canon. The [[Sanskrit]] originals of many Mahayana texts have not survived to this day, although Sanskrit versions of the majority of the major Mahayana sutras have survived. ===Divisions=== Mahayana sutras are divided into a number of traditions. Some, like the Prajñāpāramitā sutras, are almost completely philosopical in nature. Others are texts based on lives of [[Bodhisattva]]s and Buddhas outlining their vows for sentient salvations, or are made for the benefits of suffering beings. The later two classes usually contains specific [[dharana]] and [[mantra]]s. ===List of some Mahayana Sutras=== * Texts of Indian or Central Asian origin ** [[Innumerable Meanings Sutra]] (Ananta-nirdesa Sutra) ** [[Lalitavistara Sutra]] ** [[Lankavatara Sutra]] ** [[Lotus Sutra]] ** [[Perfection of Wisdom]] sutras (Prajñāpāramitā sutras) *** [[Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā sutra|{{IAST|Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā sutra}}]] *** [[Diamond Sutra]] *** [[Heart Sutra]] ** [[Ten Stages Sutra]] ** [[Vimalakirti Sutra|Vimalakirti-nirdesa Sutra]] * Texts of Chinese origin ** [[Perfect Enlightenment Sutra]] ** [[Platform Sutra]] * Other texts ** [[Amitabha Sutra]] ** [[Avatamsaka Sutra]] ** [[Contemplation Sutra]] ** [[Infinite Life Sutra]] ** [[Kandaraka Sutra]] ** [[Mahaparinirvana Sutra]] ** [[Sanghata Sutra]] ** [[Shurangama Sutra]] ** [[The Sutra of Forty-Two Sections|Sutra of Forty-Two Sections]] ** [[Sutra of Golden Light]](金光經) ** [[Sutra of The Great Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva]] ** [[Ullambana Sutra]] ** The Healing Buddha Sutra ** The Dharani Sutra of Hundred Thousand Seals{{Fact|date=February 2007}} ** The Dharani Sutra of Peaceful Home{{Fact|date=February 2007}} ===Brief discriptions of some Sutras=== ==== Perfection of Wisdom Texts ==== These deal with prajñā ([[wisdom]] or [[insight]]). Wisdom in this context means the ability to see reality as it truly is. They do not contain an elaborate philosophical argument, but simply try to point to the true nature of reality, especially through the use of paradox. The basic premise is a radical non-dualism, in which every and any dichotomist way of seeing things is denied: so phenomena are neither existent, nor non-existent, but are marked by sunyata, emptiness, an absence of any essential unchanging nature. The [[Perfection of Wisdom]] in One Letter illustrates this approach by choosing to represent the perfection of prajñā with the Sanskrit/Pali short ''a'' vowel ("अ", {{IPA2|[[schwa|[ə]]]}}) -- which, as a prefix, negates a word's meaning (e.g., changing ''[[svabhava]]'' to ''asvabhava'', "with essence" to "without essence"; cf. ''[[Mu (negative)|mu]]''); which is the first letter of Indic alphabets; and which, as a sound on its own, can be seen as the most neutral/basic of speech sounds (cf [[Aum]] and [[bija]]). Many sutras are known by the number of lines, or slokas, that they contained. [[Edward Conze]], who translated all of the Perfection of Wisdom sutras into English, identified four periods of development in this literature: # 100BCE-100CE: Ratnagunasamcayagatha and the Astasaharika (8,000 lines) # 100-300CE: a period of elaboration in which versions in 18,000, 25,000, and 100,000 lines are produced. Possibly also the Diamond Sutra # 300-500CE : a period of condensation, producing the well known [[Heart Sutra]], and the Perfection of Wisdom in one letter # 500-1000CE : texts from this period begin to show a tantric influence The Perfection of Wisdom texts have influenced every Mahayana school of Buddhism. ====Saddharma-pundarika==== Also called the [[Lotus Sutra]], White Lotus Sutra, Sutra of the White Lotus, or Sutra on the [[Nelumbo nucifera|White Lotus]] of the Sublime Dharma; Sanskrit: ''Saddharmapundarīka-sūtra''; 妙法蓮華經 Cn: ''Miàofǎ Liánhuā Jīng''; Jp: ''Myōhō Renge Kyō''. Probably composed in the period [[100]] <span style="font-variant:small-caps">bce</span>&ndash;[[100]] <span style="font-variant:small-caps">ce</span>, the White Lotus proposes that the three [[yana (Buddhism)|yana]]s (Shravakayana, Pratyekabuddhayana, and Bodhisattvayana) are not in fact three different paths leading to three goals, but one path, with one goal. The earlier teachings are said to be 'skilful means' in order to help beings of limited capacities. Notable for the (re)appearance of the Buddha Prabhutaratna, who had died several aeons earlier, because it suggests that a Buddha is not inaccessible after his parinirvana, and also that his life-span is said to be inconceivably long because of the accumulation of merit in past lives. This idea, though not necessarily from this source, forms the basis of the later [[Trikaya]] doctrine. Later associated particularly with the [[Tien Tai]] in China ([[Tendai]] in Japan) school and the [[Nichiren Buddhism|Nichiren]] schools in Japan. ====Pure Land Sutras====<!-- This section is linked from [[Pure Land Buddhism]] --> There are three major sutras that fall into this category: the [[Infinite Life Sutra]], also known as the Larger Pure Land Sutra; the [[Amitabha Sutra]], also known as the Smaller Pure Land Sutra; and the [[Contemplation Sutra]], or Visualization, Sutra. These texts describe the origins and nature of the Western [[Pure Land]] in which the Buddha [[Amitabha]] resides. They list the forty-eight vows made by Amitabha as a [[bodhisattva]] by which he undertook to build a Pure Land where beings are able to practise the Dharma without difficulty or distraction. The sutras state that beings can be reborn there by pure conduct and by practices such as thinking continuously of Amitabha, praising him, recounting his virtues, and chanting his name. These Pure Land sutras and the practices they recommend became the foundations of [[Pure Land Buddhism]], which focus on the salvific power of faith in the vows of Amitabha. ====The [[Vimalakirti Sutra|Vimalakirti Nirdesha Sutra]]==== Composed some time before [[150]]CE., the Bodhisattva Vimalakirti appears in the guise of a layman in order to teach the Dharma. Seen by some as a strong assertion of the value of lay practice. Doctrinally similar to the Perfection of Wisdom texts, another major theme is the Buddhafield (Buddha-kshetra), which was influential on Pure Land schools. Very popular in [[China]] and [[Japan]] where it was seen as being compatible with [[Confucian]] values. ====Samadhi Sutras==== Amongst the very earliest Mahayana texts, the Samadhi Sutras are a collection of sutras which focus on the attainment of profound states of consciousness reached in meditation, perhaps suggesting that meditation played an important role in early Mahayana. Includes the [[Pratyutpanna Sutra]] and the [[Shurangama Sutra|Shurangama-samadhi Sutra]]. ====Confession Sutras==== The Triskandha Sutra, and the Suvarnaprabhasa Sutra (or [[Golden Light Sutra]]), which focus on the practice of confession of faults. The Golden Light Sutra became especially influential in Japan, where one of its chapters (on the Universal Sovereign) was used by the Japanese emperors to legitimise their rule, and it provided a model for a well-run state. ====The [[Avatamsaka Sutra]] ==== A large composite text consisting of several parts, most notably the [[Dasabhumika Sutra]] and the [[Gandavyuha Sutra]]. Probably reached its current form by about the 4th Century CE, although parts of it such as those mentioned above, are thought to date from the 1st or 2nd century CE. The Gandavyuha sutra is thought to be the source of a cult of [[Vairocana]] that later gave rise to the Mahavairocana-abhisambodhi tantra, which became one of two central texts in [[Shingon Buddhism]], and is included in the [[Tibetan canon]] as a carya class [[tantra]]. The Avatamsaka Sutra became the central text for the [[Hua-yen]] (Jp. Kegon) school of Buddhism, the most important doctrine of which is the interpenetration of all phenomena. ====Third Turning Sutras==== Sutras which primarily teach the doctrine of ''vijnapti-matra'' or 'representation-only', associated with the Yogacara school. The ''[[Sandhinirmocana Sutra]]'' (c 2nd Century CE) is the earliest surviving sutra in this class. This sutra divides the teachings of the Buddha into three classes, which it calls the "Three Turnings of the Wheel of the Dharma." To the first turning, it ascribes the ''Agamas'' of the Shravakas, to the second turning the lower Mahayana sutras including the ''Prajna-paramita Sutras'', and finally sutras like itself are deemed to comprise the third turning. Moreover, the first two turnings are considered, in this system of classification, to be provisional while the third group is said to present the final truth without a need for further explication (''nitartha''). The well-known ''[[Lankavatara Sutra]]'', composed sometime around the 4th Century CE, is sometimes included in this group, although it should be noted that it is somewhat syncretic in nature, combining pure Yogacara doctrines with those of the ''tathagata-garbha'' system, and was unknown or ignored by the progenitors of the Yogacara system. The ''Lankavatara Sutra'' was influential in the [[Zen|Chan]] or [[Zen]] schools. ====[[Tathagatagarbha doctrine|Tathagatagarbha]] Class Sutras==== Especially the [[Tathagatagarbha Sutra]], the Shrīmālādevi-simhanāda Sūtra ([[Srimala Sutra]]) and the [[Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra]] (which is very different in character from the [[Pāli|Pali]] [[Mahaparinibbana Sutta]]). These texts teach that every being has a Tathagatagarbha: variously translated as [[Buddha nature]], Buddha seed, Buddha matrix. It is this Buddha nature, Buddha Essence or Buddha Principle, this aspect of every being which is itself already enlightened, that enables beings to be liberated. One of the most important responses of Buddhism to the problem of immanence and transcendence. The Tathagatagarbha doctrine was very influential in East Asian Buddhism, and the idea in one form or another can be found in most of its schools. The Buddha in these sutras insists that the doctrine of the Tathagatagarbha is ultimate and definitive (''nitartha'') - not in need of "interpretation" - and that it takes the Dharma to the next and final, clarifying step regarding the Emptiness ([[shunyata]]) teachings. ====Collected Sutras==== Two very large sutras which are again actually collections of other sutras. The Mahāratnakūta Sūtra contains 49 individual works, and the Mahāsamnipāta Sūtra is a collection of 17 shorter works. Both seem to have been finalised by about the 5th century, although some parts of them are considerably older. ====Transmigration Sutras==== A number of sutras which focus on the actions that lead to existence in the various spheres of existence, or which expound the doctrine of the twelve links of [[pratitya-samutpada]] or [[dependent-origination]]. ====Discipline Sutras==== Sutras which focus on the principles which guide the behaviour of Bodhisattvas. Including the Kāshyapa-parivarta, the Bodhisattva-prātimoksa Sūtra, and the Brahmajāla Sūtra. ====Sutras devoted to individual figures==== A large number of sutras which describe the nature and virtues of a particular Buddha or Bodhisattva and/or their Pure Land, including [[Mañjusri]], [[Ksitigarbha]], the Buddha [[Five Wisdom Buddhas|Akshobhya]], and Bhaishajyaguru also known as the [[Medicine Buddha]]. ====Vaipūlya Sūtra-s devoted to all Tathāgata-s==== The most widely used (in liturgy) of these is the ''Bhadra-kalpika Sūtra'', available in various languages (Chinese, Tibetan, Mongolian, etc.) in variants which differ (very slightly) as to the number of Tathāgata-s enumerated. (The Khotanese version, e.g., is the proponent of a 1005-Tathāgata system.) There is a use among the Shin-gon a sūtra naming some 10,000 Tathāgata-s, distinguishing the longer-lived (after enlightenment) ones (the same as in the approximately 1,000 in the ''Bhadra-kalpika'') as "Sun-Buddha-s", and the shorter-lived ones as "Moon-Buddha-s". ====Proto-Mahayana Sutras==== Early in the 20th Century, a cache of texts was found in a mound near [[Gilgit]] in Pakistan. Amongst them was the Ajitasena Sutra. The Ajitasena Sutra appears to be a mixture of Mahayana and pre-Mahayana ideas. It occurs in a world where monasticism is the norm, which is typical of the Pali Suttas; there is none of the usual antagonism towards the Shravakas (also called the Hinayana) or the notion of Arahantship, which is typical of Mahayana Sutras such as the White Lotus, or Vimalakirti Nirdesha. However, the sutra also has an Arahant seeing all the Buddha fields, it is said that reciting the name of the sutra will save beings from suffering and the hell realms, and a meditative practice is described which allows the practitioner to see with the eyes of a Buddha, and to receive teachings from them that are very much typical of Mahayana Sutras. ==References== *Nakamura, Hajime. 1980. ''Indian Buddhism: A Survey with Bibliographical Notes''. 1st edition: Japan, 1980. 1st Indian Edition: Delhi, 1987. ISBN 81-208-0272-1 *Warder, A. K. ''Indian Buddhism''. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi. 3rd revised edition: 1999. *Dutt, Nalinaksha. ''Buddhist Sects in India'', Motilal Banararsidass, Delhi, 2nd Edition, 1978 *''Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism'', Macmillan, 2004. ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.cttbusa.org/sutratexts.asp Mahayana Sutras] *[http://www.cttbusa.org/sutraswithcommentaries.asp Sutras with commentaries] *[http://www.fodian.net/world/ Buddhist Scriptures in Multiple Languages] *[http://www4.bayarea.net/~mtlee/ Mahayana Buddhist Sutras in English] *[http://www.globalbuddhist.net/Others/EnglishIndex.asp English translations of many Mahayana Buddhism texts] *[http://www.buddhanet.net/ebooks.htm BuddhaNet's eBook Library] (English pdfs) *[http://www.webspawner.com/users/bodhisattva/index.html Translations of major Tathagatagarbha sutras] *'''''Bhadra-kalpika Sūtra''''' [http://texts.00.gs/Bhadra-kalpika_Sutra,_1-2.htm] [http://texts.00.gs/Bhadra-kalpika_Sutra,_3-4.htm] [http://texts.00.gs/Bhadra-kalpika_Sutra,_5-6.htm] [http://texts.00.gs/Bhadra-kalpika_Sutra,_7-8.htm] *[http://www.nichirenshueuropa.com/pratica.html The practice of Lotus Sutra with audio files] *[http://www.nichirenshueuropa.com/sutra.html Passages of the Lotus Sutra in Sino-Japanese, English, Arabic, Italian and other languages] {{Buddhism topics}} [[Category:Buddhist texts]] [[Category:Mahayana sutras|*]] [[cs:Mahájánové sútry]] [[de:Mahayana-Sutras]] [[es:Sutras Majayana]] [[ko:대승경전]] [[lt:Mahajanos sūtros]]