Mahasamnipata Sutra

The Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra (Chinese: 大方等大集經, pinyin: Dàfāng děng dà jí jīng, Japanese: Daijuku-kyō or Daishik-kyō) is an anthology of Mahayana Buddhist sutras.[1] The meaning in English is the Sutra of the Great Assembly or The Great Compilation.[2] The sutra was translated into Chinese by Dharmakṣema, beginning in the year 414. The anthology consists of 17 sutras across 60 fascicles, but the only extant copy of the entire collection is found in Chinese, though individual sutras can be found in Sanskrit and Tibetan.[3]

Content

The Chinese edition of the Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra (Taisho Tripitaka # 397) contains the following sutras:[1][4]

  1. The Jewel Necklace Sūtra
  2. The Dhāraṇiśvararāja Bodhisattva Sūtra
  3. The Jewel Maiden Sūtra
  4. The Animiṣa Bodhisattva Sūtra
  5. The Sāgaramati Bodhisattva Sūtra / Sāgaramatiparipṛcchā
  6. The Anupalambha Bodhisattva Sūtra
  7. The Anabhilāpya Bodhisattva Sūtra
  8. The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra
  9. Ratnaketudhāraṇī Sūtra
  10. The Gaganacakṣus Sūtra / Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā
  11. The Ratnacūḍa Sūtra
  12. Akṣayamatinirdeśa Sūtra
  13. The Sūryaguhya Sūtra
  14. The Sūryagarbha Sūtra
  15. The Candragarbha Sūtra
  16. The Sumerugarbha Sūtra
  17. Bodhisattvas of the Ten Directions Sūtra

The Candragarbha Sutra's theory of the three eras

Sutra number 15 in the collection is particularly influential because it enumerates the notion of the decline of the Dharma, or decline of the Buddha's teachings, dividing this into three eras, subdivided by 5 five-hundred periods of time:[5]

  • Former Day of the Law
    • The first five hundred year period will be the "age of enlightenment"
    • The second five hundred period will be the "age of meditation"
  • Middle Day of the Law
    • The third five hundred year period will be the "age of reading, reciting, and listening."
    • The fourth five hundred year period will be the "age of building temples and stupas"
  • Latter Day of the Law
    • The fifth five hundred year period will be the "age of conflict," where “quarrels and disputes will arise among the adherents to my teachings, and the pure Law will become obscured and lost.”

The anthology also discusses the arising of the aspiration for Enlightenment, similar to the Dasabhumika Sutra and the Lotus Sutra.[6]

References
  1. "The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue". www.acmuller.net. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  2. "NTI Reader". ntireader.org. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  3. Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. p. 508. ISBN 0691157863.
  4. "English Taishō Tripiṭaka - Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra Contents". sites.google.com. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  5. Kato, Bunno (1989). Threefold Lotus Sutra. Charles E Tuttle Co. p. 309. ISBN 4-333-00208-7.
  6. Venerable Yin-Shun (1998). The Way to Buddhahood: Instructions from a Modern Chinese Master. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-133-5.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.