Key Texts

Question 1

Abhidharma

Answer 1

The Abhidharma are ancient Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist sutras.

Question 2

Dhammapada

Answer 2

The Dhammapada is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures. The original version of the Dhammapada is in the Khuddaka Nikaya, a division of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism

Question 3

Heart sutra

Answer 3

A highly influential short text belonging to the perfection of wisdom category, which emphasizes teachings on emptiness

Question 4

Kanjur and tanjur

Answer 4

The Tibetan Buddhist canon. The kanjur consists of 92 volumes and the tanjur fills 226 volumes of commentary on the kanjur

Question 5

Lotus sutra

Answer 5

A Mahayana text important in Tiantai and Nichiren Buddhism. It teaches the value of faith and the possibility for all beings to attain liberation

Question 6

Perfection of wisdom sutras

Answer 6

The ‘Perfection of Wisdom’ sūtras (Sanskrit: Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) are among the oldest sutras of the Mahāyāna Buddhist canon. They highlight the insight into the empty nature of all phenomena. The sutras exist in a number of versions of different sizes, occupying twenty-one volumes in the Tibetan Buddhist canon.

Question 7

Platform sutra of the sixth patriarch

Answer 7

The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch is a Chan Buddhist scripture that was composed in China during the 8th to 13th century. The “platform” refers to the podium on which a Buddhist teacher speaks. Its key themes are the direct perception of one’s true nature, and the unity in essence of śīla, dhyāna and prajñā

Question 8

Sutra

Answer 8

Sutra in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a condensed manual or text. Sutras are a genre of ancient and medieval Indian texts found in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism

Question 9

Tripitaka

Answer 9

Three baskets. Early Buddhist writings, written in Pali, forming the Theravada Buddhist canon. The sutra section holds teachings of the Buddha, the Vinaya contains monastic rules, and the Abhidharma consists of philosophical arguments against rival groups

Question 10

Vinaya

Answer 10

The Vinaya is the division of the Buddhist canon containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha. Three parallel Vinaya traditions remain in use by modern sanghas: the Theravada, Mulasarvastivada and Dharmaguptaka