Sutra (English spelling)

Japanese: スートラ（英語表記）sūtra

In ancient India, the Vedas were written in a unique prose style, condensing the Vedas' supplementary teachings into short sentences for recitation, and the Vedas were compiled in this style. They were used among the schools that transmitted the Vedas, but later other schools of philosophy and the arts also used this style for their doctrinal outlines, so these works are also called sutras. The original meaning was "thread," and it is thought that this came to mean an outline that runs through the teachings, just as flowers are threaded together to make a garland. Buddhism also followed this example, and the written versions of Shakyamuni's teachings were collectively called sutras (in Pali, sutta) (however, many Buddhist scriptures cannot be said to be in sutra style).

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

古代インドでベーダ理解のための補助学の綱要を暗誦用に圧縮した，独特の散文体による短文の規定，およびそのような文体で編纂された綱要書。ベーダを伝承する学派の中で用いられたが，後にはそれ以外の哲学･学芸の学派もその教理の綱要書にこの文体を用いたので，それらの作品もスートラと呼ばれる。原義は〈糸〉で，花を貫いて花輪とするように，教法を貫く綱要の意となったと考えられる。仏教もこれにならい釈迦の教法を文章にまとめたものを総称してスートラ(パーリ語ではスッタsutta)と呼んだ(ただし，仏教の〈経典〉には文体的にはスートラ体といえないものが多い)。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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