Prajnaparamita Sutra - Hannyakyo

A general term for the earliest group of sutras in Mahayana Buddhism. Many sutras bearing this name have been translated into Chinese, with 42 included in the "Taisho Shinshu Daizokyō" alone, and there are also a large number of Sanskrit and Tibetan translations. This is the most important sutra as it marks the beginning of Mahayana Buddhism, but since then, many have been created and gradually expanded, with the largest being the "Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra" translated by Xuanzang, which spans 600 volumes. This is the largest of all sutras. It preaches the wisdom of prajna, which is based on the idea of ​​"emptiness," which preaches the denial of all substance and substantial thought, and promotes the practice of the six paramitas. Furthermore, the "Rishu (Prajnaparamita) Sutra," which became the basis of esoteric Buddhism, is from a much later period, while the "Vajra (Prajnaparamita) Sutra" was circulated in Zen circles, and the "Heart Sutra" is widely read and loved by Buddhists in general except for Pure Land Buddhism and Nichiren Buddhism, and is also widely copied, making it the one of the most well-known today.

[Mitsunori Saegusa]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

大乗仏教の最初期の経典群の総称。これを名のる経典は数多く漢訳されて、「大正新脩(たいしょうしんしゅう)大蔵経」に収められているものだけでも42経もあり、サンスクリット本やチベット訳もかなりそろっている。大乗仏教の第一声を告げる経として、もっとも重要な経であるが、以後次々とつくられ、しだいに増広されて、最大のものは玄奘(げんじょう)の訳した『大般若波羅蜜多(はらみった)経』600巻に及ぶ。これはあらゆる経典中最大のものである。いっさいの実体と実体的思想との否定をうたう「空(くう)」の思想をよりどころとする般若の知慧(ちえ)を説き、六波羅蜜の実践を推進する。なお、密教のよりどころとなった『理趣(りしゅ)（般若）経』はかなり後代のものであり、また『金剛（般若）経』は禅関係で流布し、『般若心経(しんぎょう)』は浄土教と日蓮(にちれん)宗を除く仏教全般に広く愛読され、書写も盛んであり、現在もっともよく知られる。

［三枝充悳］

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