DESCRIPTION

The next ‘strata’ of Buddhist sutras consists of the vast corpus of ‘mainstream’ Mahayana Buddhist sutras that began to appear in northern India, central Asia, and China in the early centuries of the Common Era. These sutras are often found gathered together into large collections, such as the sutras found in the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra collection and the Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra collection. The sutras found in these collections and other like them may also be referred to as vaipulya sutras,

PART ONE: AMITĀBHA’S PURE LAND

In the early suttas of the Āgamas / Nikāyas, the Buddha often recalls ancient past life events to Ānanda. These are sometimes called itivṛttaka, literally “thus it has happened, ” also translated as "fables," "parables," or "ancient narratives." In the early ‘strata’ of Mahāyāna Buddhist sutras this tradition is then expanded to include the lives and locations of other buddhas, such as the Amitābha and his Western ‘pure land’ Sukhāvāti.

PART TWO: THE MAHĀRATNAKŪTA SŪTRA

The Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra (The Great Pinnacle of Jewels) is a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtras containing 49 texts, termed 會 ("assemblies") in Chinese. Many, if not all, of the sutras in the Mahāratnakūṭa collection have a history of being circulated independently. Part of the collection was brought to China by Bodhiruci in the 8th century, where he translated some of the texts, and included others which had been previously translated into Chinese.

The sutras in this collection range greatly in style, content, and length. Some of the more notable sutras in this collection to be translated into English include the Amitābha Sūtra along with the Akṣobhya Sūtra, and the Śrīmālādevī Sūtra. There is also an often referenced sutra on dreams and dream interpretation, the Svapnanirdeśa Sūtra, and several sutras that describe, in medical terms, human gestation and the rebirth process.

PART THREE: AMITĀBHA’S IMMEASURABLE LIFESPAN

A common feature among many Mahayana sutras is the manipulation of time, not only by presenting situations in the ancient past that take place so long ago that it’s measured in kalpas (’eons’), but they also have figures, such as Amitābha, who have lifespans that are measured on entirely different scales. According to one sutra, “A kalpa in this world Sahā (’Endurance’), the buddha land of Śākyamuni, is a day and a night in the world Sukhāvatī, the buddha land of Amitābha. A kalpa in Sukhāvatī is a day and night in the world Kaṣāya Banner, the buddha land of Vajra Solidity Buddha...,” and this pattern continues for many, many buddhas and their lands.

SUGGESTED READING

3️⃣ K. Priscilla Pedersen, “Notes on the Ratnakūṭa Collection” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Vol. 3, No. 2, 1980, pp. 60-66