Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism

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Mahāyānasūtras – 105 thousand ślokas in which this wisdom was inculcated in the shape of dialogues in which the Buddha was the principal speaker. Subsequently this sūtra was abbreviated into a hundred thousand, twenty five thousand, ten thousand, and lastly eight thousand ślokas. According to another tradition the sūtra with eight thousand ślokas was the original, it being subsequently gradually expanded. As a matter of fact, we are acquainted with Prajñāpāramitās of a hundred thousand, of twenty five thousand, of eight thousand, of two thousand five hundred and of seven hundred ślokas. In the Mahāyāna often as in the Hīnayāna there is mention of ten but more frequently of six pāramitās, viz., generosity, performance of duty, gentleness, intrepidity, meditation and wisdom. (Dharmasaṁgraha 17.) (The Prajñāpāramitās are prose works but in India it is customary to measure even texts in prose by ślokas each unit consisting of thirtytwo syllables.) [86] The Tibetan Sher-phyin is a literal translation of the Śatasahasrika which has been quoted as Bhagavati in the Sikṣasamuccaya. It was translated into Chinese between 402 and 405 according to Anesaki (Le Museon VII, 1903). This translation contains quotations from Pāḷi texts (Bendall C. pp. 143-148 and Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 1898 p. 370. The senseless customs of embodying constant repetitions which we find so annoying in the Pāḷi suttas becomes in the voluminous Prajñāpāramitās so limitless and excessive that it would be quite possible to strike out more than half of these colossal works like the Śatasahasrika for the same sentences and phrases recur times without number. Thus, for instance, it is not only said in the
Mahāyānasūtras – 106 introduction that out of the whole body of the Buddha rays of light break forth and an immeasurable effulgence is spread over the entire world; but it is repeated of his teeth, bones, of each member and particle of his body that rays of light issue from them to the east, the west and so on, and in the case of each cardinal point the entire description is repeated. It is not enough for these writers to say that “everything is only name,” but this everything is detailed to exhaustion in interminable series of sentences. It is conceivable that men should entertain the philosophical view that the world is not a reality and that all is negation and that man is unable to express any verdict on any question except in the shape of a negative, but that people should from this standpoint offer universal denial and write book after book and thousands of pages might appear impossible. But this impossibility is materialised in the Prajñāpāramitās. This extravagance for the sake of extravagance is explained by the supposition that the monks scribbled so much because it was with them a religious merit to transcribe as much as possible of these sacred books and to write out of them to the same extent. The same principal reiteration manifests itself in Buddhistic [87] art. Entire vast surfaces of rocks and caves are covered with the images of the Buddha. As regards the contents of these treatises the essential doctrine in the Hundred Thousand Prajñāpāramitās is the same as in the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā. The latter resembles considerable in form the Hīnayānasūtra. It consists of a few pages in which the doctrine of these texts is condensed. As in the voluminous Prajñāpāramitās here also it takes the form of a dialogue between the Buddha and Subhūti. The Śūnyatā doctrine is not explored and no attempt is made to inculcate it; but it is simply repeatedly stated. There is no pretence at argument. Starting from the ancient Buddhist dogma of the nonEgo here not only the Ego but everything else is
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1 Literary History of Sanskrit Budd
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3 Translation into Chinese and Tibe
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5 Chapter 7: Mahāyānasūtras Wors
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7 The aspirant’s obligations Self
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9 Preface What follows is the first
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11 Chapter 1: Two Schools of Buddhi
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Two Schools of Buddhism - 13 remain
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15 Chapter 2: Sanskrit Buddhist Can
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Sanskrit Buddhist Canon - 17 transl
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19 Chapter 3: Mahāvastu As belongi
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Mahāvastu - 21 3), lastly recounts
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Mahāvastu - 23 Its Jātakas Quite
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Mahāvastu - 25 Inferno as well as
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Mahāvastu - 27 Suttanipāta. When,
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Lalitavistara - 29 of the Buddha.
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Lalitavistara - 31 light expands it
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Lalitavistara - 33 episodes in part
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Lalitavistara - 35 an anonymous com
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Lalitavistara - 37 and Bloch Zeitsc
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39 Chapter 5: Aśvaghoṣa and his
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Aśvaghoṣa and his School - 41 Ac
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Aśvaghoṣa and his School - 43 An
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Aśvaghoṣa and his School - 45 Th
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Aśvaghoṣa and his School - 47 Ju
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Aśvaghoṣa and his School - 49 le
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Aśvaghoṣa and his School - 51 Va
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Aśvaghoṣa and his School - 53 Ta
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Page 60 and 61: 59 Chapter 6: Avadāna The Jātakam
Page 62 and 63: Avadāna - 61 these species of avad
Page 64 and 65: Avadāna - 63 This process of worki
Page 66 and 67: Avadāna - 65 Maiden Disciple: Stor
Page 68 and 69: Avadāna - 67 Buddha. This narrativ
Page 70 and 71: Avadāna - 69 our printed edition (
Page 72 and 73: Avadāna - 71 story of Śārdūlaka
Page 74 and 75: Avadāna - 73 Triśanku; and who el
Page 76 and 77: Avadāna - 75 Pūrṇa who goes out
Page 78 and 79: Avadāna - 77 legends in these Avad
Page 80 and 81: Avadāna - 79 verse, again Pāḷi
Page 82 and 83: 81 Chapter 7: Mahāyānasūtras [64
Page 84 and 85: Mahāyānasūtras - 83 out into a f
Page 86 and 87: Mahāyānasūtras - 85 delighted an
Page 88 and 89: Mahāyānasūtras - 87 Exaggeration
Page 90 and 91: Mahāyānasūtras - 89 reproach for
Page 92 and 93: Mahāyānasūtras - 91 Age of the S
Page 94 and 95: Mahāyānasūtras - 93 world fashio
Page 96 and 97: Mahāyānasūtras - 95 His peregrin
Page 98 and 99: Mahāyānasūtras - 97 which are co
Page 100 and 101: Mahāyānasūtras - 99 Kāruṇāpu
Page 102 and 103: Mahāyānasūtras - 101 Samādhirā
Page 104 and 105: Mahāyānasūtras - 103 fragment of
Page 108 and 109: Mahāyānasūtras - 107 denied, - e
Page 110 and 111: 109 Chapter 8: Nāgārjuna [89] The
Page 112 and 113: Nāgārjuna - 111 entire system of
Page 114 and 115: Nāgārjuna - 113 were executed and
Page 116 and 117: Nāgārjuna - 115 (Haraprasad Shast
Page 118 and 119: Nāgārjuna - 117 Asaṅga Asaṅga
Page 120 and 121: Nāgārjuna - 119 The commentary sh
Page 122 and 123: Nāgārjuna - 121 For other authori
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Page 126 and 127: Nāgārjuna - 125 the salvation of
Page 128 and 129: Nāgārjuna - 127 Some of the passa
Page 130 and 131: Nāgārjuna - 129 precepts of good
Page 132 and 133: Nāgārjuna - 131 109 ff.). Still i
Page 134 and 135: Strotras, Dhāraṇīs, Tantras - 1
Page 148 and 149: 147 Appendix II. Sūtrālaṅkāra,
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Page 154 and 155: Sūtrālaṅkāra - 153 The Nationa
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Sūtrālaṅkāra - 155 Life of Aś
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Sūtrālaṅkāra - 157 the age of
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Sūtrālaṅkāra - 159 open, activ
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Sūtrālaṅkāra - 161 sacrifice t
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Sūtrālaṅkāra - 163 Sanskrit. I
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Sūtrālaṅkāra - 165 has so ofte
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Sūtrālaṅkāra - 167 The unident
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Sūtrālaṅkāra - 169 is the repu
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Sūtrālaṅkāra - 171 Maheśa ren
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Sūtrālaṅkāra - 173 domesticati
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Sūtrālaṅkāra - 175 His renowne
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Sūtrālaṅkāra - 177 mentioned i
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Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism

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