When Shakyamuni Buddha first turned the Wheel of Dharma, he crossed

over the Venerable Ajnatakaundinya. The very last time he spoke the

Dharma, he crossed over the Venerable Subhadhra. All of those whom

he should have crossed over had already been crossed over. He lay

between the Twin Sala trees and was about to enter Nirvana. At this

time, in the middle period of the night, all was quiet,without any

sound. Then for the sake of all of his disciples he spoke on the

essentials of the Dharma.

UPHOLDING THE PRECEPTS

All of you Bhikshus, after my Nirvana, you should reverence and

honor the Pratimoksha. It is like finding a light in darkness, or

like a poor person obtaining a treasure. You should know that it is

your great teacher, and is not different from my actual presence in

the world. Those of you who uphold the pure precepts should not buy,

sell or trade. You should not covet fields or buildings, or keep

servants or raise animals. You should stay far away from all kinds

of agriculture and wealth as you would avoid a pit of fire. You

should not cut down grass or trees, plow fields or dig the earth.

Nor may you compound medicines, prophesize good and evil, observe

the constellations, cast horoscopes by the waxing and waning of the

moon, or compute astrological fortunes. All of these activities are

improper.

Regulate yourselves by eating at the appropriate time and by living

in purity. You should not participate in worldly affairs or act as

an envoy, nor should you become involved with magical spells and

elixiers of immortality, or with making connections with high

ranking people, being affectionate towards them and condescending

towards the lowly.

With an upright mind and proper mindfulness you should seek to cross

over. Do not conceal your faults or put on a special appearance to

delude the multitudes. Know the limits and be content with the four

kinds of offerings. When you receive offerings, do not store them up.

This is a general explanation of the characteristics of upholding

the precepts. The precepts are the root of proper freedom; therefore

they are called the Pratimoksha (lit. the root of freedom). By

relying on these precepts, you will give rise to all dhyana

concentrations, and reach the wisdom of the cessation of suffering.

For this reason, Bhikshus, you should uphold the pure precepts and

not allow them to be broken. If a person is able to uphold the pure

precepts, he will, as a result, be able to have good dharmas. If one

is without the pure precepts no good merit and virtue can arise.

Therefore you should know that the precepts are the dwelling place

for the foremost and secure merit and virtue.

RESTRAINING THE MIND

All of you Bhikshus, if you are already able to abide by the

precepts, you should restrain the five sense organs, not allowing

them to enter the five desires as they please. It is like a person

tending cattle who carries a staff while watching them, not allowing

them to run loose and trample others sprouting grains. If you let

your five sense organs run loose, not only will the five desires

become boundless, they will be uncontrollable. They are like a

violent horse unrestrained by reins who drags a person along so that

he falls into a pit. If you are robbed or injured you will suffer

for a single life, but the injury from the plundering done by the

five sense organs brings misfortunes which extend for many lives.

Because their harm is extremely heavy, it is impermissable to be

careless.

For this reason wise people restrain the five sense organs and do

not go along with them. They restrain them like thieves who are not

allowed to run loose. If you let them run loose for a while, before

long you will observe their destruction. Since the five sense organs

have the mind as their ruler, you should restrain the mind well.

Your mind is as dangerous as an extreme- ly poisonous snake, a

savage beast or a hateful robber. A great fire rushing upon you is

still not a satisfactory analogy for it. It is like a person

carrying a container of honey who, as he moves along in haste, only

pays attention to the honey, and does not notice a deep pit. It is

like a mad elephant without a barb, or a monkey in a tree jumping

about, which are both difficult to restrain. You should hasten to

control it and not allow it to run loose. Those who allow their

minds to wander freely loose the good situation of being a human

being. By restraining it in one place there is no affair which

cannot be completed. For this reason, Bhikshus, you should

vigorously subdue your mind.

MODERATION IN EATING

All of you Bhikshus, you should receive various kinds of food and

drink as if you were taking medicine. Whether they be good or bad,

do not take more or less of them, but use them to cure hunger and

thirst and to maintain the body. Bhikshus should be the same way as

bees gathering from flowers, only taking the pollen without harming

their form or scent; receive peoples' offerings to put an end to

distress, but do not seek to obtain too much and spoil their good

hearts. Be like a wise man, who having estimated the load that suits

the strength of his ox, does not exceed that amount and exhaust its

strength.

AVOIDING SLEEP

All of you Bhikshus, during the day, with a vigorous mind, cultivate

the Dharma and don't allow the opportunity to be lost. In the first

and last periods of the night also do not be lax, and during the

middle period of the night, chant Sutras to make yourself well

informed. Do not let the causes and conditions of sleep cause your

single life to pass in vain, so that you don't obtain anything at

all. You should be mindful of the fire of impermanence which burns

up all the world. Seek to cross yourself over and do not sleep.

The robber afflictions are always about to kill you even more than

your enemies. How can you sleep? How can you not rouse yourself to

awaken? With the hook of the precepts you should quickly remove the

poisonous snake afflictions that are sleeping in your heart. When

the sleeping snake is gone, then you can sleep at ease. Those who

sleep even though it hasn't yet gone, are without shame. The

clothing of shame, among all adornments, is the very best. Shame can

be compared to an iron barb which can restrain people from doing

evil. Therefore you should always have a sense of shame, and not be

without it even for a moment, for if you have no sense of shame you

will lose all of your merit and virtue. Those who have shame have

good dharmas; one without it is no different from the birds and

beasts.

AVOIDING ANGER

All of you Bhikshus, if a person dismembered you piece by piece your

mind should be self-contained. Do not allow yourself to become

angry. Moreover, you should guard your mouth and not give rise to

evil speech. If you allow yourself to have thoughts of anger, you

will hinder your own Way, and lose the merit and virtue you have

gained. Patience is a virtue which neither upholding the precepts

nor the ascetic practises are able to compare with. One who is able

to practise patience can be called a great person who has strength;

if you are unable to happily and patiently undergo the poison of

malicious abuse, as if drinking sweet dew, you cannot be called a

wise person who has entered the Way. Why is this? The harm from

anger ruins all good dharmas and destroys one's good reputation.

People of the present and of the future will not even wish to see

this person. You should know that a heart of anger is worse than a

fierce fire. You should always guard against it, and not allow it to

enter you, for of the thieves which rob one's merit and virtue, none

surpasses anger. Anger may be excusable in lay people who indulge in

desires, and in people who do not cultivate the Way, who are without

the means to restrain themselves, but for people who have left the

home-life, who cultivate the Way and are without desires, harboring

anger is impermissable. Within a clear, cool cloud, there should not

be a sudden blazing clash of thunder.

AVOIDING ARROGANCE

All of you Bhikshus, you should rub your heads for you have

relinguished fine adornments, you wear the garments of a Buddhist

monk, and you carry the alms bowl to use in begging for your

livelihood; look at yourself in this way. If thoughts of arrogance

arise you should quickly destroy them, because the increase of

arrogance is not appropriate even among the customs of lay people,

how much the less for a person who has left the home-life and

entered the Way. For the sake of liberation, you should humble

yourself and practice begging for food.

AVOIDING FLATTERY

All of you Bhikshus, a mind of flattery is contradictory to the Way.

Therefore you should have a straightforward disposition of mind. You

should know that flattery is only deceit, so for people who have

entered the Way, it has no use. For this reason, all of you should

have an upright mind, and take a straightforward disposition as

your basis.

REDUCING DESIRES

All of you Bhikshus, you should know that people with many desires,

because they have much seeking for advantage, have much suffering.

People who reduce their desires, who are without seeking or longing

are without this trouble. Straight-away reduce your desires and in

addition cultivate appropriately. One who reduces his desires is

more able to produce all merit and virtue. People who reduce their

desires, do not flatter in order to get what they want from others.

Moreover they are not dragged along by their sense organs. People

who reduce their desires have, as a consequence, a mind which is

peaceful, without worry or fear. In meeting with situations they are

always satisfied and never discontent. One who reduces his desires

has Nirvana. This is known as reducing desires.

CONTENTMENT

All of you Bhikshus, if you wish to be free from all suffering and

difficulty, you should be content. The dharma of contentment is the

dwelling of blessings, happiness, and peace. People who are content,

although they might sleep on the ground are peaceful and happy.

Those who are not content, although they might abide in the heavens,

are still dissatisfied. Those who are not content, even if they are

rich, they are poor. Those who are content, although they might be

poor, they are rich. Those who are discontent are always dragged

along by their five sense organs, and are pitied by those who are

content. This is known as contentment.

SECLUSION

All of you Bhikshus, seek quietude, the Unconditioned peace, and

happiness. You should be apart from confusion and disturbances, and

dwell alone in seclusion. People who dwell in quietude are

reverenced by the heavenly ruler Shakra and all the gods. For this

reason you should renounce your own group and other groups, and

dwell alone in seclusion in order to contemplate the basis for the

cessation of suffering. If you delight in crowds, you will undergo a

lot of affliction. It is like when a flock of birds gathers in a

great tree, it is in danger of withering and collapsing. One who is

bound and attached to the world drowns in a multitude of suffering,

like an old elephant sunk in mud, who is unable to get himself out.

This is known as seclusion.

VIGOR

All of you Bhikshus, if you are vigorous no affair will be difficult

for you; for this reason all of you should be vigorous. It is like

a small stream flowing for a long time which is able to bore through

stone. If, on the other hand, the mind of one who cultivates

frequently becomes lax, it is like trying to make a fire by friction

but resting before there is any heat; though one wants to make a

fire, the fire is difficult to obtain. This is known as vigor.

MINDFULNESS

All of you Bhikshus, seeking for a Good and Wise Advisor, or for a

wholesome benefactor, does not compare with mindfulness. If you do

not neglect mindfulness, none of the thieves of the afflictions can

enter you. For this reason all of you should constantly collect the

thoughts in your mind. If you lose mindfulness you will lose all

merit and virtue. If your power of mindfulness is firm and strong,

though you enter among the thieves of the five desires, they cannot

harm you. It is like entering a battle wearing armour, thus there is

nothing to fear. This is known as mindfulness.

DHYANA CONCENTRATION

All of you Bhikshus, if you collect your mind, it will be

concentrated. Because the mind is concentrated, the production and

destruction of the appearances of dharmas in the world can be known.

For this reason, all of you should constantly and vigorously

cultivate concentration. If you attain concentration your mind will

not be scattered. It is like a household that uses its water

sparingly and is able to regulate its irrigation ditches. One who

cultivates concentration is also the same way; for the sake of the

water of wisdom he well cultivates dhyana concentration so it

doesn't leak away. This is known as concentration.

WISDOM

All of you Bhikshus, if you have wisdom, you will be without greed

or attachment. Always examine yourselves, and do not allow

yourselves to have faults, for it is in this way that you will be

able to obtain liberation within my Dharma. If one is not like this,

since he is neither a person of the Way, nor a layperson, there is

no name for him. One with wisdom has a secure boat for crossing over

the ocean of birth, old age, sickness, and death. Wisdom is also

like a great bright lamp in the darkness of ignorance, a good

medicine for those who are sick, and a sharp axe for cutting down

the tree of afflictions. For this reason all of you should

increasingly benefit yourselves by learning, considering, and

cultivating wisdom. Even though a person only has flesh eyes, if he

has illuminating wisdom, he has clear understanding. This is known

as wisdom.

NOT HAVING IDLE DISCUSSIONS

All of you Bhikshus, if you have all sorts of idle discussions,

your mind will be scattered, and even though you have left the

home-life, you will not attain liberation. For this reason,

Bhikshus, you should quickly renounce a scattered mind and idle

discussions. If you wish to be one who attains the happiness of

still tranquillity, you only need to be good and eliminate the evil

of idle discussions. This is known as not having idle discussions.

SELF-EXERTION

All of you Bhikshus, with respect to all merit and virtue, you

should always have a single purpose. Relinguish all laziness as you

would leave a hateful thief. That which the greatly compassionate

World Honored One has explained for your benefit is already

finished; all of you need only to practice it diligently. Whether

you are in the mountains, in a desolate marsh, beneath a tree, or in

an empty and quiet dwelling, be mindful of the Dharma you have

received and do not allow it to be forgotten. You should always

exert yourselves and practise it vigorously. You don't want to reach

the time of death and be filled with remorse because of a life spent

in vain. I am like a good doctor who understands illnesses and

prescribes medicine. Whether it is taken or not is not the

responsibility of the doctor. Moreover I am like a virtuous guide

who points out a good path. If those who hear of it do not walk down

it, it is not the guide's fault.

CLEARING UP ALL DOUBTS

All of you Bhikshus, if you have doubts about suffering and the

other Four Truths, you may quickly ask about them now. Do not

harbour doubts and fail to clear them up.

At that time the World Honored One repeated this three times, yet no

one asked him a question. And why was this? Because the assembly did

not harbour any doubts.

At that time Venerable Aniruddha contemplated the minds of the

assembly and said to the Buddha, "World Honored One, the moon can

become hot and the sun can become cold, but the Four Truths

proclaimed by the Buddha cannot be otherwise. The Truth of Suffering

taught by the Buddha is actually suffering, and cannot become

happiness. Accumulation is truly the cause of it, besides which

there is no other cause. If one is to destroy suffering, the cause

of suffering must be destroyed, because if the cause is destroyed

then the result is destroyed. The path leading to the destruction of

suffering is truly the real path, besides which there is no other

path. World Honored One, all of these Bhikshus are certain and have

no doubts about the Four Truths."

LIVING BEINGS WHO WILL CROSS OVER

"When those in this assembly who have not yet done what should be

done see the Buddha cross over to Nirvana they will certainly feel

sorrow. Those who have newly entered the Dharma and heard what the

Buddha taught, will all cross over. They have seen the Way, like a

flash of lightning in the night. But those who have already done

what was to be done who have already crossed over the ocean of

suffering, will only have this thought: 'Why has the World Honored

One crossed over to Nirvana so soon?'

Aniruddha spoke these words. Everyone in the assembly had penetrated

the meaning of the Four Holy Truths. The World Honored One wished

all in that great assembly to be firm, so with a mind of great

compassion he spoke again for their sake.

"All of you Bhikshus do not be grieved or distressed. If I were to

live in the world for a kalpa, my association with you would still

come to an end. A meeting without a seperation can never be. The

Dharma for benefitting oneself and others is complete. If I were to

live longer it would be of no further benefit. All of those who

could be crossed over, whether in the heavens above or among humans,

have already crossed over, and all of those who have not yet crossed

over have already created the causes and conditions for crossing

over.

THE DHARMA BODY IS ALWAYS PRESENT

From now on all of my disciples must continuously practise. Then the

Thus Come One's Dharma body will always be present and

indestructible. You should know therefore, that everything in the

world is impermanent. Meetings necessarily have seperations, so do

not harbour grief. Every appearance in the world is like this, so

you should be vigorous and seek for an early liberation. Destroy the

darkness of delusion with the brightness of wisdom. The world is

truly dangerous and unstable, without any durability.

My present attainment of Nirvana is like being rid of a malignant

sickness. The body is a false name, drowning in the great ocean of

birth, sickness, old age and death. How can one who is wise not be

happy when he gets rid of it, like killing a hateful thief?

All of you Bhikshus, you should always singlemindedly and diligently

seek the way out of all the moving and unmoving dharmas of the

world, for they are all destructible, unfixed appearances. All of

you, stop; there is nothing more to say. Time is passing away, and

I wish to cross over to Nirvana. These are my very last instructions.

Buddhist Texts

The Sutras are mostly discourses attributed to the Buddha or one of his close disciples. They are all, even those not actually spoken by him, considered to be 'Buddhavacana' or the word of the Buddha, just as in the case of all canonical literature. The Buddha's discourses were perhaps originally organised according to the style in which they were delivered. There were originally nine, but later twelve, of these. The Sanskrit forms are:

• Sūtra: prose discourses, especially short declarative discourses.
• Geya: mixed prose and verse discourse. Identified with the Sagāthāvagga of the Saṁyutta Nikāya
• Vyākarana: explanation, analysis. Discourses in question and answer format.
• Gāthā: verse
• Udāna: inspired speech
• Ityukta: beginning with 'thus has the Bhagavan said'
• Jātaka: story of previous life
• Abhutadharma: concerning wonders and miraculous events
• Vaipulya either 'extended discourses' or 'those giving joy' (cf Mahayana Texts)
• Nidāna: in which the teachings are set within their circumstances of origin
• Avadāna: tales of exploits
• Upadesha: defined and considered instructions

The first nine are listed in all surviving agamas, with the other three added in some later sources. In Theravada, at least, they are regarded as a classification of the whole of the scriptures, not just suttas. The scheme is also found in Mahayana texts. However, some time later a new organizational scheme was imposed on the canon, which is now the most familiar. The scheme organises the suttas into:

Long discourses

These range in length up to 95 pages. The Pali Digha Nikaya contains 34 texts, including the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta and the Brahmajāla Sutta. The Dīrghāgama of the Dharmagupta also survives, in Chinese translation, and contains 30 sutras.

Medium-length discourses

These are the rest of the sutras of any length, and the Pali Majjhima Nikaya has 152 suttas. The Madhyamāgama of the Sarvāstivada containing 222 sutras survives in Chinese translation.

Connected discourses

This grouping consists of many short texts connected by theme, setting, or interlocutor. The Pali Samyutta Nikaya contains more than 2,800 suttas. The Samyuktāgama of the Sarvāstivada containing only 1,300 sutras survives in Chinese translation.

Numbered discourses

Sutras with the same number of doctrinal items, comprise over 2,300 suttas in the Pali Anguttara Nikaya. The Chinese canon contains an Ekottarāgama that some scholars think belongs to the Mahāsanghika school.

Miscellaneous texts

Not all schools had this category, but the Pali Khuddaka Nikaya has several well-known and loved texts, including:

• The Dhammapada: a collection of sayings and aphorisms.
• The Udana : a collection of inspired sayings in verse usually with a prose introduction that sets a context of sorts for the saying.
• The Sutta Nipata: parts of the Sutta Nipata, such as the Aṭṭhakavagga and the Pārāyanavagga, are thought by some scholars^{[citation needed]} to represent the earliest strata of the written canon. Many of the features of later texts, such as numbered lists of teachings, or complex doctrinal categories, are not present.
• Theragāthā and Therīgāthā two collections of biographical verse related to the disciples of the Buddha (male and female respectively.)
• Jataka: poems related to the so-called 'birth stories,' which recount former lives of the Buddha. These remain popular in many forms of Buddhism.

Many of these texts are available in translation as well as in the original language. The Dhammapada, for instance, has a Pali version, three Chinese versions, a Tibetan version, and a Khotanese version.

Abhidharma

Abhidharma means 'further Dharma' and is concerned with the analysis of phenomena. It grew initially out of various lists of teachings such as the 37 Bodhipaksika-dharmas or the 37 Factors leading to Awakening. The Abhidharma literature is chiefly concerned with the analysis of phenomena and the relationships between them.

The Theravāda Abhidhamma survives in the Pali Canon. Outside of the Theravada monasteries the Pali Abhidharma texts are not well-known.

A Sarvastivada Abhidharma, composed in Sanskrit, survives in Chinese and Tibetan traditions. Though the Theravādin Abhidhamma is well preserved and best known, it should be noted that a number of the early Eighteen Schools each had their own distinct Abhidharma collection with not very much common textual material, though sharing methodology.

Not all schools accepted the Abhidharma as canonical. The Sautrāntika, for instance, held that the canon stopped with the vinaya and sutras. The rejection by some schools that dharmas (i.e. phenomena) are ultimately real, which the Theravada Abhidhamma, for instance, insists, is thought to be an important factor in the origin of the Mahayana.

Other texts

One early text not usually regarded as Buddhavacana is probably the Milinda pañha (literally The Questions of Milinda). This text is in the form of a dialogue between Nagasena, and the Indo-Greek King Menander (Pali: Milinda). It is a compendium of doctrine, and covers a range of subjects. It is included in some editions of the Pali Canon.

The Pali texts have an extensive commentarial literature much of which is still untranslated. These are largely attributed to Buddhaghosa. There are also sub-commentaries or commentaries on the commentaries.

Buddhaghosa was also the author of the Visuddhimagga, or Path of Purification, which is a manual of doctrine and practice according to the Theravada school.

Mahayana texts

Perfection of Wisdom Texts

These deal with prajñā (wisdom or insight). Wisdom in this context means the ability to see reality as it truly is. They do not contain an elaborate philosophical argument, but simply try to point to the true nature of reality, especially through the use of paradox. The basic premise is a radical non-dualism, in which every and any dichotomist way of seeing things is denied: so phenomena are neither existent, nor non-existent, but are marked by sunyata, emptiness, an absence of any essential unchanging nature. The Perfection of Wisdom in One Letter illustrates this approach by choosing to represent the perfection of prajñā with the Sanskrit/Pali short a vowel ("अ", pronounced [ə])—which, as a prefix, negates a word's meaning (e.g., changing svabhava to asvabhava, "with essence" to "without essence"; cf. mu), which is the first letter of Indic alphabets; and that, as a sound on its own, is the most neutral/basic of speech sounds (cf Aum and bija).

Many sutras are known by the number of lines, or slokas, that they contained.

Edward Conze, who translated nearly all of the Perfection of Wisdom sutras into English, identified four periods of development in this literature:

1. 100BCE-100CE: Ratnagunasamcayagatha and the Astasaharika (8,000 lines)
2. 100-300CE: a period of elaboration in which versions in 18,000, 25,000, and 100,000 lines are produced. Possibly also the Diamond Sutra
3. 300-500CE : a period of condensation, producing the well known Heart Sutra, and the Perfection of Wisdom in one letter
4. 500-1000CE : texts from this period begin to show a tantric influence

The Perfection of Wisdom texts have influenced every Mahayana school of Buddhism.

Saddharma-pundarika

Also called the Lotus Sutra, White Lotus Sutra, Sutra of the White Lotus, or Sutra on the White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma. Probably composed in its earliest form in the period 100 bce–100 ce, the White Lotus proposes that the three yanas (Shravakayana, Pratyekabuddhayana, and Bodhisattvayana) are not in fact three different paths leading to three goals, but one path, with one goal. The earlier teachings are said to be of 'skillful means' in order to help beings of limited capacities. Notable for the (re)appearance of the Buddha Prabhutaratna, who had died several aeons earlier, because it suggests that a Buddha is not inaccessible after his parinirvana, and also that his life-span is said to be inconceivably long because of the accumulation of merit in past lives. This idea, though not necessarily from this source, forms the basis of the later Trikayadoctrine. Later associated particularly with the Tien Tai in China (Tendai in Japan) school and the Nichiren schools in Japan.

Pure Land Sutras

There are three major sutras that fall into this category: the Infinite Life Sutra, also known as the Larger Pure Land Sutra; the Amitabha Sutra, also known as the Smaller Pure Land Sutra; and the Contemplation Sutra, or Visualization, Sutra. These texts describe the origins and nature of the Western Pure Land in which the Buddha Amitabha resides. They list the forty-eight vows made by Amitabha as a bodhisattva by which he undertook to build a Pure Land where beings are able to practise the Dharma without difficulty or distraction. The sutras state that beings can be reborn there by pure conduct and by practices such as thinking continuously of Amitabha, praising him, recounting his virtues, and chanting his name. These Pure Land sutras and the practices they recommend became the foundations of Pure Land Buddhism, which focus on the salvific power of faith in the vows of Amitabha.

The Vimalakirti Nirdesha Sutra

Composed in its earliest form some time before 150 CE, the Bodhisattva Vimalakirti appears in the guise of a layman in order to teach the Dharma. Seen by some as a strong assertion of the value of lay practice. Doctrinally similar to the Perfection of Wisdom texts, another major theme is the Buddhafield (Buddha-kshetra), which was influential on Pure Land schools. Very popular in China, Korea and Japan where it was seen as being compatible with Confucian values.

Samadhi Sutras

Amongst the very earliest Mahayana texts, the Samadhi Sutras are a collection of sutras focused on the attainment of profound states of consciousness reached in meditation, perhaps suggesting that meditation played an important role in early Mahayana. Includes thePratyutpanna Sutra and the Shurangama Samadhi Sutra.

Confession Sutras

The Triskandha Sutra, and the Suvarnaprabhasa Sutra (or Golden Light Sutra), which focus on the practice of confession of faults. The Golden Light Sutra became especially influential in Japan, where one of its chapters on the 'Universal Sovereign' (Sanskrit: Chakravartin) was used by the Japanese emperors to legitimise their rule, and it provided a model for a well-run state.

The Avatamsaka Sutra

A large composite text consisting of several parts, most notably the Dasabhumika Sutra and the Gandavyuha Sutra. It exists in three successive versions, two in Chinese and one in Tibetan. New sutras were added to the collection in both the intervals between these. The Gandavyuha sutra is thought to be the source of a sect that was dedicated specifically to Vairocana, and that later gave rise to the Mahavairocana-abhisambodhi tantra. The Mahavairocana-abhisambodhi tantra became one of the two central texts in Shingon Buddhism and was included in the Tibetan canon as a tantra of the carya class. The Avatamsaka Sutra became the central text for the Hua-yen (Jp. Kegon) school of Buddhism, the most important doctrine of which is the interpenetration of all phenomena.

Third Turning Sutras

These sutras primarily teach the doctrine of vijnapti-matra or 'representation-only', associated with the Yogacara school. TheSandhinirmocana Sutra (c 2nd Century CE) is the earliest surviving sutra in this class (and according to some Gelugpa authorities the only one). This sutra divides the teachings of the Buddha into three classes, which it calls the "Three Turnings of the Wheel of the Dharma." To the first turning, it ascribes the Agamas of the Shravakas, to the second turning the lower Mahayana sutras including the Prajna-paramita Sutras, and finally sutras like itself are deemed to comprise the third turning. Moreover, the first two turnings are considered, in this system of classification, to be provisional while the third group is said to present the final truth without a need for further explication (nitartha).

Tathagatagarbha Class Sutras

Especially the Tathagatagarbha Sutra, the Shrīmālādevi-simhanāda Sūtra (Srimala Sutra), the Angulimaliya Sutra, the Anunatva-Apurnatva-Nirdesa Sutra, and the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra (which differs in character from the Pali Mahaparinibbana Sutta). These texts teach that every being has a Tathagatagarbha: variously translated as Buddha nature, Buddha seed, Buddha matrix. It is this Buddha nature, Buddha Essence or Buddha Principle, this aspect of every being that is itself already enlightened, that enables beings to be liberated. One of the most important responses of Buddhism to the problem of immanence and transcendence. The Tathagatagarbha doctrine was very influential in East Asian Buddhism, and the idea in one form or another can be found in most of its schools. The well-known Lankavatara Sutra, composed sometime around the 4th century CE, is sometimes included in thevijnapti-matra group associated with the Yogacara teachings, however D.T. Suzuki sees the Lankavatara as clearly pre-dating and distinguished from Yogacara. The Lankavatara teachescittamatra (mind only) not that of vijnaptimatra of the Yogacara. Also, central to the Lankavatara is the identity of the alayavjnana with thetathagata-garbha and the Lankavatara's central message that the tathagata-garbha is what makes possible the turning inward (paravritti orparavrtti) of awareness to realize the Buddha's psychological transformation in practical life, while the tathagata-garbha" system was unknown or ignored by the progenitors of the Yogacara system. The Lankavatara Sutra was influential in the Chan or Zen schools.

Collected Sutras

These are two large sutras, which are actually collections of other sutras. The Mahāratnakūta Sūtra contains 49 individual works, and the Mahāsamnipāta Sūtra is a collection of 17 shorter works. Both seem to have been finalised by about the 5th century, although some parts of them are considerably older.

Transmigration Sutras

These include a number of sutras that focus on actions that lead to existence in the various spheres of existence, or that expound the doctrine of the twelve links of pratitya-samutpada or dependent-origination.

Discipline Sutras

These focus on the principles that guide the behaviour of Bodhisattvas. They include the Kāshyapa-parivarta, the Bodhisattva-prātimoksa Sūtra, and the Brahmajala Sutra.

Sutras devoted to individual figures

This is a large number of sutras that describe the nature and virtues of a particular Buddha or Bodhisattva and/or their Pure Land, includingMañjusri, Ksitigarbha, the Buddha Akshobhya, and Bhaishajyaguru also known as the Medicine Buddha.

Proto-Mahayana Sutras

Early in the 20th Century, a cache of texts was found in a mound near Gilgit, Afghanistan. Among them was the Ajitasena Sutra. The Ajitasena Sutra appears to be a mixture of Mahayana and pre-Mahayana ideas. It occurs in a world where monasticism is the norm, which is typical of the Pali Suttas; there is none of the usual antagonism towards the Shravakas (also called the Hinayana) or the notion of Arahantship, which is typical of Mahayana Sutras such as the White Lotus, or Vimalakirti Nirdesha. However, the sutra also has an Arahant seeing all the Buddha fields, it is said that reciting the name of the sutra will save beings from suffering and the hell realms, and a meditative practice is described that allows the practitioner to see with the eyes of a Buddha, and to receive teachings from them that are very much typical of Mahayana Sutras.

Non-Buddhavacana texts

The Mahayana commentarial and exegetical literature is vast, and in many cases the texts are more important than Buddhavacana. Many commentarial texts are called Shastras, a by-word used when referring to a scripture. Extending this meaning, the shastra is commonly used to mean a treatise or text written in explanation of some idea, especially in matters involving religion. In Buddhism, a shastra is often a commentary written at a later date to explain an earlier scripture or sutra

The Mūlamadhyamika-karikā, or Root Verses on the Middle Way, by Nagarjuna is a seminal text on the Madhyamika philosophy, shares much of the same subject matter as the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, although it is not strict a commentary on them.

The 9th Century Indian Buddhist Shantideva produced two texts: the Bodhicaryāvatāra has been a strong influence in many schools of the Mahayana. It is notably a favourite text of the fourteenth Dalai Lama. The text begins with an elaborate ritual worship section, but goes on to expound the six perfections. The 9th chapter is a critique of various views on perfect wisdom from the madhyamika point of view. Shantideva also produced the Shikshasamuccaya, which is a compendium of doctrines from a huge range of Mahayana Sutras—some of which no longer extist and therefore are known only through Shantideva's quotes.

Asanga, associated with the Yogacara school of Mahayana thought, is said to have received many texts directly from the Bodhisattva Maitreya in the Tushita god realm, including Madhyāntavibhāga, the Mahāyāna-sūtrālamāra, and the Abhisamayālamkara. He is also said to have personally written the Mahāyāna-samgraha, the Abhidharma-samuccaya (a compendium of Abhidharma thought that became the standard text for many Mahayana schools especially in Tibet), and the Yogācāra-bhūmi (although the latter text appears to have had several authors.)

Asanga's brother Vasubandhu wrote a large number of texts associated with the Yogacara including: Trivabhāva-nirdesha, Vimshatika,Trimshika, and the Abhidharmakośa-bhāsya although this work predates his conversion to the Mahayana and a minority^{[citation needed]} of scholars speculate that there may have been two different Vasubandhus who composed these works. Most influential in the East Asian Buddhist tradition was probably his Thirty Verses on Consciousness-only.

Dignāga is associated with a school of Buddhist logic that tried to establish which texts were valid sources of knowledge (see alsoEpistemology). He produced the Pramāna-samuccaya, and later Dharmakirti wrote the Pramāna-vārttikā, which was a commentary and reworking of the Dignaga text.

The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana attributed to Ashvaghosha was influential in East Asian Buddhism, especially the Hua-yen school ofChina, and its Japanese equivalent, Kegon. Ashvaghosha is also celebrated for his plays.

Buddhist texts can be categorized in a number of ways. The Western terms "scripture" and "canonical" are applied to Buddhism in inconsistent ways by Western scholars: for example, one authority refers to "scriptures and other canonical texts", while another says that scriptures can be categorized into canonical, commentarial and pseudo-canonical. A rather more definite division is that between Buddhavacana (the Word of the Buddha) and other texts.

According to Donald Lopez, criteria for determining what should be considered buddhavacana was developed at an early stage, and that the early formulations do not suggest that the Dharma is limited to what was spoken by the historical Buddha. The Mahāsāṃghika and the Mūlasarvāstivāda considered both the Buddha's discourses, as well those of the Buddha's disciples, to be buddhavacana. A number of different beings such as buddhas, disciples of the buddha, ṛṣis, and devas were considered capable to transmitting buddhavacana. The content of such a discourse was then to be collated with the sūtras, compared with the Vinaya, and evaluated against the nature of the Dharma. These texts may then be certified as true buddhavacana by a buddha, a saṃgha, a small group of elders, or one knowledgeable elder.

In Theravada Buddhism

In Theravada Buddhism, the standard collection of buddhavacana is the Pali Canon.

Some scholars believe that some portions of the Pali Canon and Agamas could contain the actual substance of the historical teachings (and possibly even the words) of the Buddha.

In East Asian Buddhism

In East Asian Buddhism, what is considered buddhavacana is collected in the Chinese Buddhist canon. The most common edition of this is the Taishō Tripiṭaka.

According to Venerable Hsuan Hua from the tradition of Chinese Buddhism, there are five types of beings who may speak the sutras of Buddhism: a buddha, a disciple of a buddha, a deva, a ṛṣi, or an emanation of one of these beings; however, they must first receive certification from a buddha that its contents are true Dharma. Then these sutras may be properly regarded as buddhavacana.

Sometimes texts that are considered commentaries by some are regarded by others as Buddhavacana.

Shingon Buddhism developed a system that assigned authorship of the early sutras to Gautama Buddha in his physical manifestation, of theEkayana sutras to the Buddhas as Sambhoghakaya, and the Vajrayana texts to the Buddha as Dharmakaya.

In Tibetan Buddhism

In Tibetan Buddhism, what is considered buddhavacana is collected in the Kangyur. The East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist canons always combined Buddhavacana with other literature in their standard collected editions. However, the general view of what is and is not buddhavacana is broadly similar between East Asian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. The Tibetan Kangyur, which belongs to the various schools of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, in addition to containing sutras and vinaya, also contains tantras.

Textual traditions

Mahayana sutras are traditionally considered by Mahayanists to be the word of the Buddha, but transmitted either in secret, via lineages of supernatural beings (such as the nagas), or revealed directly from other Buddhas or bodhisattvas. Some 600 Mahayana Sutras have survived in Sanskrit, or in Chinese and/or Tibetan translation.

The division of texts into the traditional three yanas may obscure the process of development that went on, and there is some overlap in the traditional classifications. For instance, there are so-called proto-Mahayana texts, such as the Ajitasena Sutra, which are missing key features that are associated with Mahayana texts. Some Pali texts also contain ideas that later became synonymous with the Mahayana. The Garbhāvakrānti Sūtra is included in both the Vinaya Pitaka of the Mulasarvastivada, one of the early schools, and the Ratnakuta, a standard collection of Mahayana sutras. Some Mahayana texts are also thought to display a distinctly tantric character, particularly some of the shorter Perfection of Wisdom Sutras. An early tantra, the Mahavairocana Abhisambodhi Tantra, is also known as the Mahavairocana Sutra. At least some editions of the Kangyur include the Heart Sutra in the tantra division. Such overlap is not confined to "neighbouring" yanas: at least nine "Sravakayana" ("Hinayana") texts can be found in the tantra divisions of some editions of the Kangyur. One of them, the Atanatiya Sutra, is also included in the Mikkyo (esoteric) division of the standard modern collected edition of Sino-Japanese Buddhist literature. (A variant of it is also found in the Digha Nikaya of the Pali Canon.)

Some Buddhist texts evolved to become a virtual canon in themselves, and are referred to as vaipulya or extensive sutras. Scholars think, for instance, that the Golden Light Sutra constellated around the celebrated third chapter. The Avatamsaka Sutra is another example of a single Sutra made up of many other sutras, many of which, particularly the Gandavyuha Sutra still circulate as separate texts. The Avatamsaka Sutra and the White Lotus Sutra are associated with the idea of the Ekayana or One Vehicle. The texts claim to unify all the teachings that have come before into a greater whole.

Recently an important archaeological discovery was made, consisting of the earliest known Buddhist manuscripts, recovered from the ancient civilization of Gandhara in north central Pakistan (near Taxila just south west of the capital Islamabad). These fragments, written on birch bark, are dated to the 1st century and have been compared to the Dead Sea scrolls in importance. Donated to the British Library in 1994, they are now being studied in a joint project at the University of Washington.

Other texts have been important from very early in Buddhism. Extensive commentaries exist in Pali for the Pali Canon and in Tibetan,Chinese, Korean and other East Asian languages.

Important examples of non-canonical texts are the Visuddhimagga, or Path of Purification, by Buddhaghosa, which is a compendium of Theravada teachings that include quotes from the Pali Canon. The Milinda Pañha or Questions of Milinda, sometimes included in the Pali Canon and perhaps regarded by some as Buddhavacana, is a popular condensation of the Dharma in the form of a dialogue between the Buddhist sage Nāgasena and the Indo-Greek King Menander.

The Platform Sutra attributed to Huineng is on the borders of Buddhavacana; it is one of a very few texts not thought to be spoken by the Buddha that has the label "sutra." One should note, however, that this distinction may be an artifact of translation; in the original Chinese, the Platform Sutra is a jīng, a term that may be translated as "sutra", but is also applied to a variety of other classic texts, such as the Daodejing and the Shi Jing. In the Platform Sutra, Hui Neng gives an autobiographical account of his succession as Zen Patriarch, as well as teachings about Zen theory and practice. The Zen and Ch'an school in particular rely on non-canonical accounts of Zen masters lives and teachings, for example the Blue Cliff Record.

The treatise Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana (attributed by the faithful to Aśvaghoşa) strongly influenced east Asian Mahayana doctrine and inspired numerous commentaries authored by early Korean and Chinese Buddhist teachers. Shantideva's Bodhicaryavatara has been influential in both Mahayana and Vajrayana, and his Shikshasamucaya contains references to texts that no longer exist in other forms.

Tibetan Buddhism has a unique and special class of texts called terma (Tibetan gTer-ma). These are texts (or ritual objects, etc.) believed either composed or hidden by tantric masters and/or elementally secreted or encoded in the elements and retrieved, accessed or rediscovered by other tantric masters when appropriate. Termas are discovered by a tertön (Tibetan gTer-stons), whose special function is to discover these texts. Some termas are hidden in caves or similar places, but a few are said to be 'mind termas,' which are 'discovered' in the mind of the tertön. The Nyingmaschool (and Bön tradition) has a large terma literature. Many of the terma texts are said to have been written by Padmasambhava, who is particularly important to the Nyingmas. Probably the best known terma text is the so-called "Tibetan book of the dead", the Bardo thodol.

Other types of texts that have been important are the histories of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa.

Texts of the Early schools

Although many versions of the texts of the early Buddhist schools exist, the most complete canon to survive is the Pali Canon of the Theravadin school, which preserved the texts in the Pali language. Also large parts of the Sarvastivada and Dharmaguptaka texts are extant.

The Pali literature has been divided by one scholar into roughly three periods. The early, or classical, period begins with the Pali Canon itself and ends with the Milindha-pañha about the turn of the Christian era. After a period of being in comparative disuse or decline, Pali underwent a renaissance in the 4th or 5th century with the help of Buddhaghosa, and this period lasted until the 12th Century. The third period coincides with major political changes in Burma and lasted for some time in Sri Lanka, and much longer in Burma. See also Pali literature.

The other (parts of) extant versions of the Tipitakas of early schools include the agamas, which includes texts of the Sarvastivada and the Dharmaguptaka. Parts of the what is likely to be the canon of the Dharmaguptaka can be found amongst the Gandharan Buddhist Texts. Several early Vinaya Pitakas (from various schools) are also kept in the Chinese (Mahayana) Canon.

Vinaya

The vinaya literature is primarily concerned with aspects of the monastic discipline. However, vinaya as a term is also contrasted with Dharma, where the pair (Dhamma-Vinaya) mean something like 'doctrine and discipline'. The vinaya literature in fact contains a considerable range of texts. There are, of course, those that discuss the monastic rules, how they came about, how they developed, and how they were applied. But the vinaya also contains some doctrinal expositions, ritual and liturgical texts, biographical stories, and some elements of the "Jatakas", or birth stories.

Paradoxically, the text most closely associated with the vinaya, and the most frequently used portion of it, the Pratimoksha, is in itself not a canonical text in Theravada, even though almost all of it can be found in the canon.

Six complete vinayas survive:

• Theravada, written in Pali
• Mula-Sarvāstivāda, written in Sanskrit, but surviving complete only in Tibetan translation
• Mahāsānghika, Sarvāstivāda, Mahīshāsika, and Dharmagupta, originally in Indian languages, but only surviving in Chinese translation.

In addition, portions survive of a number of vinayas in various languages.

The Mahāvastu compiled by the Lokottaravadin sub-school of the Mahāsānghika was perhaps originally the preamble to their vinaya that became detached; hence, rather than dealing with the rules themselves, it takes the form of an extended biography of the Buddha, which it describes in terms of his progression through ten bhumis, or stages. This doctrine was later taken up by the Mahayana in a modified form asVasubandhu's Ten Stages Sutra.