The ''Mahāvaipulya Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra'' ( Chinese: 大方等大集經,

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: ''Dàfāng děng dà jí jīng'', ''Great Extensive Great Collection Sūtra'') is a

Mahayana Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...

Buddhist

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

Mahayana sutras The Mahayana sutras are Buddhist texts that are accepted as wikt:canon, canonical and authentic Buddhist texts, ''buddhavacana'' in Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist sanghas. These include three types of sutras: Those spoken by the Buddha; those spoke ...

. The

sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...

was translated into Chinese three times. The only extant copy of the entire collection is found in Chinese, though the individual sutras can be found in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

and in the Tibetan canon. The anthology consists of 17 sutras across 60 fascicles.

Overview

Image of Sāgaramati bodhisattva from Jana Bahal, Nepal. Sāgaramati bodhisattva appears as a main character in the ''Sāgaramatiparipṛcchā''. The ''Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra'' is an important collection of Mahayana sutras for the Indian Mahayana commentary tradition. The sutras in this collection were important sources for Indian anthologies like the '' Śikṣāsamuccaya'' of

Shantideva Shantideva (Sanskrit: Śāntideva; ; ; ; ) was an 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet, and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalanda. He was an adherent of the Mādhyamaka philosophy of Nāgārjuna. Abhayadatta Sri also li ...

and the ''Sūtrasamuccaya.'' It is also a major source for the ''

Ratnagotravibhāga The ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' (Sanskrit, abbreviated as RGV, meaning: ''Analysis of the Jeweled Lineage, Investigating the Jewel Disposition'') and its ''vyākhyā'' commentary (abbreviated RGVV to refer to the RGV verses along with the embedded comm ...

'' which especially relies on the ''Dhāraṇiśvararāja Sūtra''. The sutra was also important in Central Asian Buddhism, and it is cited in the '' Book of Zambasta'' along with the ''

Prajñāpāramitā A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna. Prajñāpāramitā refers to a perfected way of seeing the natu ...

'' and '' Buddhāvataṃsaka'' sutras. The ''Mahāsaṃnipāta'' was also an important source for the East Asian Buddhist tradition, and it was translated numerous times by some of the preeminent translators of

Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, first=t, poj=Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu, j=Hon3 Cyun4 Fat6 Gaau3, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canonJiang Wu, "The Chin ...

. It was one of the first Mahayana sutras translated into Chinese as it was first translated by the 2nd century CE figure Lokakṣema (though his translation is no longer extant). Another version of the ''Mahāsaṃnipāta'', also now lost, was translated by

Kumārajīva Kumārajīva (Sanskrit: कुमारजीव; , 344–413 CE) was a bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, missionary and translator from Kucha (present-day Aksu City, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China). Kumārajīva is seen as one of the great ...

in the early 5th century. Another translation was carried out by Dharmakṣema from 414 to 421 (of fascicles I-XI & XIII) which is the basis for the version that is now extant as

Taishō Tripiṭaka The ''Taishō Tripiṭaka'' (; Japanese: ''Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō''; " Taishō Revised Tripiṭaka") is a definitive edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon and its Japanese commentaries used by scholars in the 20th century. The name is abbr ...

no. 397. This version was further completed with the addition of the missing '' Akṣayamatinirdeśa Sūtra'' by Zhiyan and Baoyun (fascicle XII, c. 427) and by further translations of Narendrayaśas (fascicles XIV-XVII, c. 586 CE).Braarvig 1993, p. xliO'Neill 2023, p. ix. The entire ''Mahāsaṃnipāta'' does not survive in the Tibetan canon. However, various independent chapters are preserved in Tibetan translations (chapter 1-2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12). The colophons and titles of these independent Tibetan translations mention that they are part of the ''Mahāsaṃnipāta'' collection. The sutras of the ''Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra'' discuss all of the main topics of Mahayana Buddhism. As such it is a major source for Mahayana teachings on the

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

path,

bodhicitta In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta ("aspiration to enlightenment" or "the thought of awakening") is the mind ( citta) that is aimed at awakening (bodhi) through wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings.Dayal, Har (1970). ''T ...

non-duality Nondualism includes a number of philosophical and spiritual traditions that emphasize the absence of fundamental duality or separation in existence. This viewpoint questions the boundaries conventionally imposed between self and other, min ...

dhāraṇī Dharanis (IAST: ), also known as (Skt.) ''vidyās'' and ''paritas'' or (Pal.) ''parittas'', are lengthier Buddhism, Buddhist mantras functioning as mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, and almost exclusively written originally in Sanskri ...

, and the decline of Dharma. The '' Dhāraṇīśvararāja sūtra'' (also known as the ''Tathāgatamahākaruṇānirdeśa'') was very influential on Indian Buddhism. This sutra is a key source for the ''

'' an important Indian treatise on

Buddha-nature In Buddhist philosophy and soteriology, Buddha-nature ( Chinese: , Japanese: , , Sanskrit: ) is the innate potential for all sentient beings to become a Buddha or the fact that all sentient beings already have a pure Buddha-essence within ...

. The ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' draws on the ''Dhāraṇīśvararāja'' for all seven of its main topics and for its discussions of the ''triratnavaṃśa'' (lineage of the

three jewels In Buddhism, refuge or taking refuge refers to a religious practice which often includes a prayer or recitation performed at the beginning of the day or of a practice session. Its object is typically the Three Jewels (also known as the Triple ...

). The ''Dhāraṇīśvararāja'' also explicitly points out that the nature of the minds of sentient beings is fundamentally pure (''cittaprakrtivisuddhi''), even if they are bound by the adventitious afflictions. This is a key notion also found in the ''

''. The ''Dhāraṇīśvararāja sūtra'' is also an important source for the Tibetan tradition's understanding of the

three turnings of the wheel of Dharma Buddhist Doctrinal Classification refers to various systems used by Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions to classify and organize the numerous texts and teachings that have developed over the history of Buddhism. According to Buddhist studies ...

since it describes the Buddha's teaching as consisting of three phases. The ''Candragarbha sutra'' was particularly influential because it enumerates the notion of the

decline of the Dharma The Decline of the Dharma or Ages of the Dharma, refers to traditional Buddhist accounts of how the Buddhist religion and the Buddha's teaching (Dharma) is believed to decline throughout history. It constitutes a key aspect of Buddhist eschatol ...

, or decline of the Buddha's teachings, dividing this into three eras. This teaching was very influential on

Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure land, Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of East Asi ...

in general as well as on Japanese Buddhist schools of the

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

period, such as Shinran's

Jōdo Shinshū , also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan. History Shinran (founder) S ...

, the largest Buddhist tradition in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Content

The Chinese edition of the ''Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra'' ( Taisho Tripitaka no. 397) contains the following sutras: # Jewelled Ornamentation (fascicle 1a) # Dhāraṇīśvārarāja Bodhisattva (fascicles 1b-4) # Ratnadārikā (fascicles 6-7) # Animiṣa Bodhisattva (fascicle 7) # Sāgaramati Bodhisattva (fascicles 8-11), also known as ''Sāgaramatiparipṛcchā'' # Avācya Bodhisattva (fascicle 12) # Anabhilāpya Bodhisattva (fascicle 13) # Gaganagañja (Sky Jewel) (fascicle 14-18) # Ratnaketu (fascicles 19-21), also known as ''Ratnaketu-dhāraṇī-sūtra'' # Gaganacakṣus (fascicles 22-24), # Ratnacūḍa Bodhisattva (fascicles 25-26) # Akṣayamati Bodhisattva, also known as '' Akṣayamatinirdeśa Sūtra'' (fascicles 27-30) # Sūryaguhya (fascicles 31-33) # Sūryagarbha (fascicles 34-45) # Candragarbha (fascicles 46-56) # Sumerugarbha (fascicles 57-58) # Bodhisattvas of the Ten Directions (fascicles 59-60)

English translations

Some parts of the sutra have been translated into English. 84000.co currently contains five translations of individual sutras: *
Teaching on the Great Compassion of the Tathāgata
' (''Tathāgatamahākaruṇānirdeśa'') (Tōh. no. 147) which corresponds to the Dhāraṇīśvārarāja Bodhisattva sutra.

(''Sāgaramatiparipṛcchā'') (Tōh. no. 152) *

' (''Ratnaketudhāraṇī'') (Tōh. no. 138) *

' (''Akṣayamatinirdeśa'') (Tōh. no. 175)

(''Sūryagarbha'') (Tōh. no. 257) Furthermore, Jaehee Han includes a translation of the ''Gaganagañja sūtra'' in thesis ''The Sky as a Mahāyāna Symbol of Emptiness and Generous Fullness: A Study and Translation of the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā'' (University of Oslo October 2020). The Chinese version of the ''Mahāsaṃnipāta'' is currently being translated by Alexander James O'Neill (along with Āloka Dharmacakṣus and Charles Patton). As of 2023, only the first volume is published as ''The Great Collection Sūtra: A Translation of the Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra Volume One'' (2023).

Sūtras of the ''Mahāsaṃnipāta'' Section

The

Chinese Buddhist Canon The Chinese Buddhist canon refers to a traditional collection of Chinese language Buddhist texts which are the central canonical works of East Asian Buddhism. The traditional term for the canon is Great Storage of Scriptures ().Jiang Wu, "The ...

also included various other sūtras which seemed to have been associated with the ''Mahāsaṃnipāta''. These are found in the Mahāsaṃnipāta Section (''Dàjí bù'',

Volume 13) of the Chinese canon. These sūtras are:O'Neill 2023, p. xviii. * Four versions of the ''

Ākāśagarbha Ākāśagarbha (, Standard Tibetan: ''Namkha'i Nyingpo'') is a bodhisattva in Chinese, Japanese and Korean Buddhism who is associated with the great element ('' mahābhūta'') of space ( ''ākāśa''). Overview Ākāśagarbha is regarded as on ...

Sūtra'' (T.405-408), equivalent to Tōh. no. 260
''Āryākāśagarbhanāmamahāyānasūtra''
* The ''Sūtra on the Contemplation of Ākāśagarbha Bodhisattva'' (T.409), * Four versions of the ''Daśacakra-kṣitigarbha Sūtra'' or ''Kṣitigarbha-praṇidhāna Sūtra'' (T410-413), * Two versions of the ''Bodhisattvabuddhānusmṛtisamādhi Sūtra'' (T414-415), * Four versions of the ''Bhadrapālaparivarta'' or '' Pratyutpannasamādhi Sūtra'' (T.416-419), * two versions of the ''Vikurvāṇarājaparipṛcchā Sūtra'' (T.420-421), * The ''Mahāyāna King of Similes Sūtra'' (T.422), * Two versions of the '' Saṃghāṭa Sūtra'' (T.423-424).

References

Sources