The Mahāratnakūta Sūtra is one of the five major sutra groups in the Mahāyāna canon. Of the two great schools of Buddhism, Mahāyāna has the greatest number of adherents worldwide—it prevails among the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Tibetans, and Vietnamese—and contains within it a number of movements, notably Zen, which have been of growing interest in the West in recent decades. Yet despite this increased attention and enormous following, translations of Mahāyāna scriptures have been scarce and fragmentary; clearly, a comprehensive translation of a major work within the canon was called for.
This volume addresses that need. It contains 22 of the 49 Sūtras of the Mahāratnakūta (or "Treasury") Sūtra, many translated for the first time in a Western language, selected and arranged to give the modern reader a progressive introduction to one of the world's major religious traditions. Subjects covered include Māyā and miracles, the teachings on Consciousness, Emptiness, and monastic discipline, the Mystical Light of the Tathāgata, and the devotional practice of Pure Land, making this a comprehensive source book of Mahāyāna Buddhism hitherto unavailable in English. The book also includes an introduction to provide historical and interpretive guidance, annotations that assist in the comprehension of difficult passages, and an extensive glossary that will be valuable to specialist and layman alike. A team of scholars, working in Taiwan, spent eight years translating the Treasury's million words from Chinese, using Tibetan texts for comparison and checking each Sūtra with an international board of scholars. In the course of translating from the original, special effort was made to retain both the devotional style appropriate for religious reading and the precision required by the scholar, while presenting the material with a clarity and flow that would make it accessible to the Western layman. The editors then selected, arranged, and annotated the 22 Sūtras presented here. (Source Accessed May 20, 2021)
Citation
Chang, Garma C. C., ed. A Treasury of Mahāyāna Sūtras: Selections from the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra. Translated from the Chinese by The Buddhist Association of the United States. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1991.
Acknowledgementsvii
Prologueix
I. On Māyā and Miracles
1 The Prophecy of the Magician Bhadra's Attainment of Buddhahood (Sūtra 21)3
II. On Emptiness
2 The Demonstration of the Inconceivable State of Buddhahood (Sūtra 35)27
3 Flawless Purity: A Dialogue with the Laywomen Gaṅgottarā (Sūtra 31)37
4 How to Kill the Sword of Wisdom (Sūtra 36)41
5 A Discourse on Ready Eloquence (Sūtra 33)73
6 Mañjuśrī's Discourse on the Pāramitā of Wisdom (Sūtra 46)100
7 The Prophecy of Bodhisattva Fearless Virtue's Attainment of Buddhahood (Sūtra 32)115
8 The Universal Dharma-Door to the Inconceivable (Sūtra 10)134
9 The Inexhaustible Stores of Wisdom (Sūtra 20)149
10 The Prediction of Mañjuśrī's Attainment of Buddhahood (Sūtra 15)164
III. On the Light of the Tathāgata
11 The Manifestation of Lights (Sūtra 11)191
IV. On Consciousness
12 The Elucidation of Consciousness (Sūtra 39)223
V. On Virtue and Discipline
13 Bodhisattva Surata's Discourse (Sūtra 27)243
14 Sumati’s Questions (Sūtra 30)256
15 The Definitive Vinaya (Sūtra 24)262
16 Abiding in Good and Noble Deportment (Sūtra 44)280
VI. On Pure Land
17 The Dharma-Door of Praising Tathāgata Akṣobhya's Merits (Sūtra 6)315
18 The Land of Utmost Bliss (Sūtra 5)339
VII. On General Mahāyāna Doctrine
19 The True Lion's Roar of Queen Śrīmālā (Sūtra 48)363
20 The Sūtra of Assembled Treasures (Sūtra 43)387
21 Dialogue with Bodhisattva Infinite Wisdom (Sūtra 45)415
VIII. On Skillful Means
22 On the Pāramitā of Ingenuity (Sūtra 38)427
Glossary469
Numerical Glossary487
This is only a partial list of the translated works in this book.
