Mahayana sutras

The Mahayana sutras are Buddhist texts that are accepted as canonical and authentic buddhavacana in Mahayana Buddhist sanghas. These include three types of sutras: Those spoken by the Buddha; those spoken through the Buddha's blessings; and those spoken through mandate.^[1] They are largely preserved in Sanskrit manuscripts, and in translations such as the Tibetan Buddhist canon, and Chinese Buddhist canon. Several hundred Mahāyāna sutras survive in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese translations.^[2] The Buddhist scholar Asanga classified the Mahāyāna sūtras as part of the Bodhisattva Tripiṭaka, a collection of texts meant for bodhisattvas.^[3]

Buddhists consider the most important Mahayana sutras to be the spoken teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. These were quickly recorded one year following his Mahaparinirvana, when the Buddha's main attendant Ananda recited these Sutras in their entirety at the First Buddhist Council, where they were recorded. At that Council, two other attendants recited two other classifications of the Buddha's teachings.^{[1] [4]} Other Mahāyāna sūtras are presented as being taught by masters such as bodhisattvas like Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara. There are various reasons that Indian Mahāyāna Buddhists give to explain why some Sutras appeared at later times. One such reason is that they had been hidden away in the land of the Nāgas (snake deities, dragons) until the proper time for their dissemination arrived. They are also sometimes called Vaipulya ("extensive") sūtras by earlier sources.^[5]

Modern scholars of Buddhist studies generally agree these sūtras began to be more widely disseminated between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE.^[6][7] They continued being composed, compiled, and edited until the decline of Buddhism in ancient India. Some of them may have also been composed outside of India, such as in Central Asia and in East Asia.^[8] Some of the most influential Mahāyāna sūtras include the Lotus Sutra, the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Lankavatara Sutra, the Pure Land Sutras, and the Nirvana Sutra.

The Mahāyāna sūtras were not accepted by all Buddhists in ancient India, and the various Indian Buddhist schools disagreed on their status as "word of the Buddha".^[9] They are generally not accepted as the Buddha's word by the school of Theravāda Buddhism.^[10]