Buddha's Sutra Essentials - Part 1

Author: Li Miao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-02-01
Features: This book, Essentials of Buddhist Scriptures, is a reader that promotes excellent Buddhist culture. The fifteen Buddhist scriptures selected are all renowned classics. They have had a significant impact on the history of Chinese Buddhism, serving as foundational texts for various Buddhist schools in China, either collectively or individually. They have profoundly influenced the development of Chinese philosophical thought and the minds of the Chinese people. Overall, most of them are Mahayana scriptures. The Forty-Two Chapters Scripture is an early Theravada scripture but also incorporates Mahayana ideas. It is a Han-translated scripture, widely circulated and highly influential, hence chosen as the first chapter of this book. The other ten scriptures are representative classics from various Mahayana categories, such as Prajnaparamita, Ratnakuta, Avatamsaka, Pure Land, Yogacara, etc. The selection aims to be comprehensive and concise, allowing readers to gain a glimpse of the general outline of Buddhist studies through this book.
Each scripture in this book is preceded by an introduction that outlines its main ideas and general content, striving for precision. The translations and annotations are intended to be accurate. However, the profound and esoteric meanings of Buddhist scriptures are difficult to convey, and the quality of the annotators varies. Therefore, there are undoubtedly shortcomings in the preparation of this book. We hope readers will kindly point out any errors or offer corrections.