Toh 2642Untitled
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Exposition of the Prajnaparamita Sutra Collection (Toh 2642)
Background
This sutra belongs to the Prajnaparamita Sutra collection of the Northern Mahayana canon, one of the most foundational bodies of scripture in Mahayana Buddhism. The Prajnaparamita collection was translated and widely transmitted throughout East Asia, especially in China, Tibet, and Japan, with renowned translations by Dharma masters such as Kumarajiva, Xuanzang, and Amoghavajra.
Prajnaparamita means "Transcendent Wisdom" (prajna = wisdom, paramita = perfection, ultimate crossing-over). This sutra guides bodhisattvas in cultivating the perfection of wisdom, one of the six or ten perfections of a bodhisattva, in order to pass beyond the obscuration of ignorance and attain unsurpassed awakening.
The setting for the teaching is usually Shakyamuni Buddha instructing bodhisattvas, among whom the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara or the bodhisattva Shariputra are central figures, symbolizing the search for transcendent wisdom and prajna insight.
Main Contents
The Prajnaparamita sutras explain the empty nature of all dharmas, one of the central teachings of the Mahayana. The aggregates (skandhas): form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness, have no independent, eternal, or intrinsic nature (svabhava). They are constantly changing and depend upon causes and conditions (pratityasamutpada).
The sutra emphasizes that transcendent wisdom is not ordinary knowledge; rather, the practitioner must directly experience the emptiness (shunyata) of all dharmas, including the concepts of bodhisattva, Buddha, and mind. This is "prajna free from views" (a-vidya-prajna), wisdom that does not cling to any form or concept.
The sutra also teaches the six perfections (shat-paramita) or ten perfections (dasha-paramita): generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom.
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