DESCRIPTION
This course is a close reading of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, the ‘Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 lines.’ It is nicknamed the ‘Mother of all Buddhas’ because throughout the text Prajñāpāramitā is approached as a ‘divine feminine force,’ given the pre-eminent position of ‘mother’ of enlightened beings. This sutra also appears to be the source text for shorter Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, such as the Heart Sutra and Vajra Sutra, and this course will be identifying those precursors.
Suggested Reading
The definitive English edition of the entire Aṣṭasāhasrikā Sūtra has been Edward Conze’s 1973 translation from the Sanskrit, with partial translations appearing before and since. Conze’s translation includes both the Prajñāpāramitā-Ratnagunasamcayagāthā, which is the sutra in verse form, followed by the prose version of the sutra.
This course will also be referencing Lex Hixon’s partial translation from Sanskirt: 📖 Mother of the Buddhas: Meditation on the Prajnaparamita Sutra (Wheaton: Quest Books, 1993)
As well as Shi Huifeng’s translation of Ch 1 & 2 from the Chinese:
Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (Chinese version w/ translation)