Prajnaparamita

The Prajnaparamita is a series of Buddhist religious texts concerning the virtue of wisdom. In Sanskrit, the name Prajnaparamita is translated as "perfection of wisdom." The texts, known as sutras, are important works in Mahayana Buddhism, a branch of the religion that developed around the first century BCE. There are about forty Prajnaparamita sutras, each varying in length, but all dealing with the achievement of spiritual enlightenment by understanding the nature of reality and existence. A version of one of the most popular texts, the Diamond Sutra, is considered the world's oldest surviving book that can be verified with a date.

Background

Buddhism was founded around the fifth century BCE by a Nepalese sage named Siddhartha Gautama. He is better known as the Buddha, a title that means "the awakened one." The basic tenet of Buddhism is that life is composed of suffering brought about by desire. The way to end this suffering is to eliminate desire by following a path of meditation, wisdom, and proper living to achieve enlightenment. The original Buddhist tradition was called Theravada Buddhism and spread throughout India and Southeast Asia. Practitioners of this tradition emphasized meditation, discipline, and a strict adherence to the teachings of the Buddha. By the first century BCE, however, there was a growing dissatisfaction with this form of Buddhism. Some followers thought that Theravada was inaccessible to the common person, and they split to form the tradition of Mahayana Buddhism.

Mahayana, a term that means "the great vehicle," became the dominant form of Buddhism in China, Tibet, Japan, and Korea. While both forms of Buddhism maintained the same core beliefs, Theravada put more emphasis on eliminating the ego, or self, to reach the ultimate goal of enlightenment. Mahayana teachings hold that there is no concept of self and that all beings should help each other follow the path to enlightenment. While Theravada maintained its focus on silent, disciplined meditation, Mahayana used repetitive chants, or mantras, in its meditation.

Overview

The Prajnaparamita sutras are the core texts of Mahayana Buddhism and teach the idea that a path to enlightenment can be achieved by understanding wisdom. In Mahayana tradition, wisdom is the complete realization of the concept of sunyata or "emptiness." This refers to the belief that life is void of personal identity, or self, and that all existence is interconnected and temporary. One of the Prajnaparamita texts, the Heart Sutra, states, "form is emptiness, emptiness is form," meaning both mental and physical existence are transitory by their very nature. For example, a person exists in a physical form with a name, feelings, and thoughts. This form, however, is changeable and impermanent, and one day it will transition to another form and become emptiness. Therefore, it contains both emptiness and form. The concept of emptiness in Mahayana does not equate to nothingness but rather states that the nature of reality cannot contain the element of self-existence.

The first Prajnaparamita sutras were written about the time of the split between Buddhist traditions in the first century BCE. Further texts and refinements were added over the course of several centuries. Traditional Mahayana belief, however, holds that the sutras were recorded during the lifetime of the Buddha and hidden away from humans for four centuries by the gods. This was done at the request of Buddha himself because he felt that humans needed time to prepare themselves to receive the teachings. The legend states that a great sage named Nagarjuna was approached by a race of dragons in human form. These dragons invited him to their kingdom under the sea, where they showed him the Prajnaparamita sutras and other works of Mahayana literature. Nagarjuna studied the texts for fifty years before returning to the Earth's surface and spreading what he had learned.

Mahayana scholars considered the sutras to be examples of perfect wisdom and taught them to students in monastic universities. Learning the sutras consisted of three phases. The first involved memorizing the Prajnaparamita texts and any updated interpretations. The second required a formal debate about the works with those who were considered to have mastered the teachings. The third phase involved intense meditation to discover new understandings of their wisdom. The entire body of Prajnaparamita texts is personified in the figure of a female deity, also named Prajnaparamita. This deity is considered the Mother of All Wisdom or Mother of All Buddhas.

The original Prajnaparamita text is believed to be the Great Mother: The Prajnaparamita of 100,000 Lines. It is an account of the Buddha performing a miracle and giving a discourse on transcendent wisdom to his followers on Vulture Peak, a mountain in northern India. Many future versions of the sutra followed a similar naming convention, with texts named after the number of lines they contained. The most common version is the Prajnaparamita of 8,000 Lines; there are other versions of 25,000 lines, 18,000 lines, and the shortest religious work in history, the Prajnaparamita in a Single Letter. This version, which consists entirely of the Sanskrit letter A, is meant to be a symbolic source of meditation.

Other Prajnaparamita texts are the Heart Sutra and the Diamond Sutra, so called because it is said to "cut like a diamond" through earthly illusion to illuminate the truth. The text is a discussion of identity and disputes the concept that human nature is absolute. It also suggests that the memorization and teaching of the book's wisdom is a far greater accomplishment than charitable acts. A copy of the Diamond Sutra discovered in a Chinese cave in the early twentieth century is considered the oldest surviving dated book in history. Inscriptions at the end of the text state it was copied by a man named Wang Jie in May 868 CE.

Bibliography

Conze, Edward, editor, and Ānandajoti Bhikkhu, translator. “Prajñāpāramitā-Hṛdayam: The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom.” Ancient Buddhist Texts, Aug. 2013, ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Texts-and-Translations/Short-Pieces-in-Sanskrit/Prajnaparamita-Hrdaya.htm. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Hanh, Thich Nhat. The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra. Parallax Press, 2009.

Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices. Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Hixon, Lex. Mother of the Buddhas: Meditations on the Prajnaparamita Sutra. Quest Books, 1993.

Mäll, Linnart. Studies in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā and Other Essays. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2005.

"Publication: Prajnaparamita in a Single Letter (Sutra)." Himalayan Art Resources Inc., www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setid=4483. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

To, Lock. "The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra." Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc., 2000, www.buddhanet.net/pdf‗file/heart‗s2.pdf. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Vredeveld, Peter. "Prajna Paramita—The Perfection of Buddhism." Original Buddhas, www.originalbuddhas.com/blog/the-perfection-of-wisdom. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.