Mahāyāna sūtras are a large class of ancient Buddhist texts composed primarily during the first centuries CE. They take the literary form of more traditional sūtras, but are distinguished mainly in their claim to present special teachings intended for bodhisattvas. Although they were long considered the scriptural texts of "Mahāyāna Buddhism," their authors and users never split institutionally from so-called Hīnayāna Buddhists. Rather than the texts of a distinct form of Buddhism, it is better to regard them as a controversial class of text that spread within pre-existing Buddhist institutional structures. Although they were thought to have been composed and used chiefly in written form, they were mainly transmitted orally by figures known as dharmabhāṇakas, or "preachers of Dharma," who recited and taught them in public preaching rituals. Rather than advocating that they become bodhisattvas, the authors of these texts depict their followers as having already become advanced bodhisattvas in past lives. Some have argued that early sūtras show an orientation toward asceticm and meditation, but the texts rarely mention these practices. They mainly advocate practices oriented toward the supernatural and the afterlife, especially textual practices focused on Mahāyāna sūtras themselves.
目次
Introduction 38 Historical Background 39 Textual Practice 43 Multiple Mahāyānas 46 Standard Interpretations 48 The Idea of the Bodhisattva 53 Soteriology 55 Ontology and Buddhology 63 Conclusion 65 Appendix: Overview of Scholarship 66 Bibliography 68
