The Origin and Significance of Prajna Paramita Sutra

Prajna Sutra is one of the oldest scriptures in Mahayana Buddhist classics and the foundation of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. These ancient texts can be found in Canon in China and Buddhist scriptures in Tibet.

Prajna paramita means "complete wisdom", while Buddhist scriptures are regarded as Prajna paramita, which presents the perfection of wisdom as an understanding or direct experience of emptiness.

Several Prajna Paramita Sutras, from very long to very short, are usually named according to the number of lines written in them. Therefore, one is the perfection of wisdom in 25 thousand lines. The other is 20000 lines of perfect intelligence, then 8000 lines, and so on. The longest is Satasahasrika Prajna Paramita Sutra, with a total of 100000 lines. The most famous wisdom sutra is the Diamond Sutra (also known as Three Hundred Lines of Wisdom and Heart Sutra).

The Origin of Prajna Sutra

According to the legend of Mahayana Buddhism, the Prajna Sutra is the rule of the Buddha over all his disciples in history. But because the world was not ready for them, they were hidden until Nagarjuna (about the 2nd century) found them in an underwater cave guarded by Naga. The "discovery" of Prajna Paramita Sutra is considered to be the second of the three turns of the Dharma wheel.

However, scholars believe that the oldest Prajna Sutra was written around 100 BC, and some may date back to the 5th century. In most cases, the oldest versions of these texts are Chinese versions, which can be traced back to the beginning of BC 1000.

Buddhism often teaches that the longer the Prajna Paramita Sutra is, the older it is, while the simpler Diamond Sutra and Heart Sutra are extracted from the longer it is. Historians once partially supported the view of distillation, although this view has been challenged recently.

The perfection of wisdom?

It is believed that the oldest wisdom sutra is the Prajna Paramita Sutra of Astasrika, which is also called wisdom perfection in 8,000 lines. Some manuscripts of Ashtar Saharika were found to be radioactive carbon in 75 AD, which is related to its antiquity. It is believed that the scriptures of Heart and Diamond were written between 300 and 500 A.D., although recent research shows that Heart and Diamond was written in the 2nd century A.D. ... these dates mainly appeared in the translation dates and quotations of these scriptures on the basis of Buddhist scholarships.

However, there is another thought that the Diamond Sutra is older than the Apropoda Paramita Sutra of Ashtar Hasri. This is based on the analysis of the contents of two scriptures. Diamonds seem to reflect the tradition of oral recitation and describe the disciple Xu Bodhi who was taught by the Buddha. However, Subhuti is the teacher of Astasahasrika, and the text reflects the written and more literary traditions. In addition, some theories seem to be more developed in Asta Saharika.

Unknown author?

Most importantly, when these classics were written, they were not completely determined, and the author himself did not know. Although they were originally written in India for a long time, recent scholarships show that some of them may have originated from G- Datura. There is evidence that the early Buddhist school, Mahasangjika, was a pioneer of Mahayana Buddhism, possessed some early versions of these scriptures and probably developed them. But others may have originated from the Sthaviravadin school, which is the pioneer of upper-class Buddhism today.

Except for some valuable archaeological discoveries, the exact source of Prajna Paramita Sutra may never be known.

The Significance of Prajna Paramita's Multiple Classics

Nagarjuna is the founder of a school of philosophy called zhongguan. Obviously, it developed from the Prajna Sutra, which may be understood as the anatomy or deconstruction of the Buddha. No ego? ",is considered to be the inevitable conclusion.

In short: all phenomena and existence have no self-nature and mutual existence. They are neither one nor many, neither individuals nor inseparable. Because the phenomenon has no inherent characteristics, it will neither be born nor destroyed; ? Impure? Cleanliness is not defiled; ? Neither coming nor leaving. Because all living things exist with each other, we are not really separated from each other. Really realize that this is a painful enlightenment and liberation.

Today, the Prajna Sutra is still a part of Zen Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism and other Mahayana Buddhism. ?