Prajnaparamita
The literature prajñā pāramitā (term Sanskrit; Devanagari: प्रज्ञापारमिता) or perfection of wisdom is a whole of texts of the Bouddhisme Mahayana developing the topic of the perfection (Paramita) of transcendent wisdom (Prajna, of jña “to know” preceded by the prefix of insistence will pra ), acute perception making it possible to recognize the real nature of all things and concepts like vacuum (sunya), and to reach with the awakening of the bouddheity.
It is about one of the oldest corpora mahayana and most important, as well by its size as by its influence. The most known elements are the Sutra of the Heart and the Sutra of Diamond ; the second occupies a particular place in the current chan/Zen. A Traité mahaprajnaparamita is allotted to Nagarjuna. The tradition Hindou E received its influence via Gaudapada and of Adi Shankarâchârya.
Sometimes compared with the “mother of the Buddha S”, the prajnaparamita was the object in the boudhism tantric of representations in the form of Bodhisattva or goddess with which are associated the ritual ones and Sadhana S.
Prajnaparamita in the other languages of the mahayana: Chinese: 般若波羅蜜多/般若波罗蜜多 bōrě-bōluómìduō ; Japanese: hannya-haramita or haramitsu ; Vietnamese: Bát Nhã Ba Mật Đa ; Tibetan: Shes-rab-pha-rol-phyin ; Mongolian: Bilig-un Chinadu Kichaghar-a Kürük-SEN .
Development of the corpus
The literature prajnaparamita comprises thirty-five texts, to which comments are added and will sastras (treated).The first will sutra prajnaparamita, which is also one of the first known texts mahayana, is the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra or Perfection of wisdom in 8000 lines (~ 100). Its summary, the Ratnaguṇasaṁcaya Gāthā , Towards on the Accumulation of Invaluable Qualities , could be older, in particular the first two chapters, because he N `is not written in literary Sanskrit but in hybrid Buddhist Sanskrit. Between the beginning of the 2nd century and that of the 4th century appeared versions in 10.000,18 000,25 000 and 100.000 lines. These texts, called Great perfection of wisdom ( Mahaprajnaparamita ), were then reduced during the two following centuries, giving inter alia the Sutra of the Heart ( Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra ), short proclamation of the essential importance of the prajnaparamita recited daily by many Buddhists mahayana, in particular before and after the meetings of meditation, and the Sutra of diamond ( Prajñāpāramitā Vajracchedikā Sūtra ). Appeared even versions dharanis or Mantra S, of which shortest is the Sûtra of the Perfection of Wisdom in a letter , tiny room to the letter has , prefix negative Sanskrit, meaning that the reality which the prajnaparamita makes it possible to perceive is nothing of what one usually conceives.
The tradition claims that the Bouddha - to which this corpus is allotted as all will sutras them - judging too difficult, entrusted it to the Naga S which in good time gave it to Nagarjuna, considered like the first able one to include/understand it. The first will sutras prajnaparamita prédatent in fact Nagarjuna and, although a Traité large prajnaparamita is allotted to him and that he abundantly discussed vacuity, one of the central themes of these will sutras, its degree of familiarity with this corpus is not certain.
6th century at the beginning of the 13th century, tantric versions appeared, and at the same time the representation of the prajnaparamita in the form of bodhisattva or goddess.
Contents
The corpus owes its name with the fact that it treats directly and almost exclusively perfection of wisdom, topic discussed incidentally in many others will sutras. The thought prajnaparamita was developed by the current mahayana, but of the lesson approaching some are already in one of the oldest texts of the gun faded, the Sutta Nipata. In addition, Edward Conze established a parallel between the concept Gnostique of sophia and the Buddhist concept of prajña, “mother of all the Buddhas”, but this last does not have in the literature prajnaparamita the cosmological value of the sophia.
Spiritual prospect
The texts prajnaparamita rather abtruse and are in general filled with paradoxical and irrational proposals. Little went so far as to translate them, except will sutras Cœur and Diamant . E Conze, one of the translators, recognized like a Western reference on the matter, recall that it is not a question of philosophical treaties (will sastras); they undoubtedly aim less at exposing the question clearly that to help contemplating them to reach the state of consciousness waked up, and they must be apprehended partly by intuition.
Redefinition of vacuity
The essence of the contents is the exposure of all the Dharma S like shunya (empty), such as they appear with which is equipped with perfect wisdom. According to the tradition Hinayana, wisdom pañña (Pali for prajna ) makes it possible to interpret the phenomenal world in terms of impersonal psychophysical processes, the dharmas, that different schools gathered in lists for the convenience of teaching, and who are examined in detail in the Abhidharma. Vacuity (Sunyata), main theme of two will sutras faded gun ( Grand and Petit Speech on Vacuity ), refers to the absence of oneself of the various objects, beings and phenomena, corollary of the conditioned Coproduction.The mahayana is further extending this déconstruction of the phenomenal world (relative vacuity) to the dharmas themselves (absolute vacuity), first of all basing the sunyata on the clean absence of svabhava “natural” and not only of “oneself” âtman . Thus, the dharmas are described like non-existent or having a purely nominal existence; without distinctive mark, they do not interact and never are really produced. Illusion, echo, reflection, mirage, space are recurring images to represent the phenomenal world and the dharmas which underlie it. This reveals that one should create concept, neither of conviction, neither to aim at a realization, nor to make assertion, and to practice the perfections paramita in a completely not involved way.
However, although the texts prajnaparamita prefer the negative expressions ( not-this or not-that ) with the assertions, they contain warnings against a purely nihilist design of vacuity; it is rather a question of promoting a nondiscriminating, not-dualistic conscience. The refusal of the existence of particular characteristics implies the fundamental identity of the dharmas, and thus, according to E. Conze, a Monisme whose dharma dhatu (element of dharma) would be the absolute unit. The integral déconstruction of the phenomena opens also the way with the idealism which will be asserted by certain currents mahayana like the Yogacara.
The bodhisattva according to the thought prajnaparamita
According to this prospect, after having acquired the prajnaparamita, the most important last and of the six perfections, the bodhisattva perceives the universe as an waked up being for which the phenomena is empty of clean nature and the opposition Samsara/Nirvāna is not relevant any more. To reach the illumination does not want to say any more to leave will samsara it with its death like the Arhat, but to make use of the capacities which the awakening gets to help by compassion all the beings to wake up.
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