Editing Prajnaparamita

{{Short description|Principle in Buddhism and the texts associated with it}}
{{About|the Buddhist concept and texts|the Female Buddha|Prajñāpāramitā Devi}}
[[file:Medicine Buddha painted mandala with goddess Prajnaparamita in center, 19th century, Rubin.jpg|thumb|A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala]]
[[File:Prajnaparamita with Devotees, Folio from a Shatasahasrika Prajnaparamita (The Perfection of Wisdom in 100,000 Verses) LACMA M.81.90.6 (3 of 6).jpg|thumb|Prajñāpāramitā Devi, a personification of Transcendent Wisdom, Folio from a Tibetan 100,000 line Prajñāpāramitā manuscript]]
[[File:Situ_Panchen._Manjushri._From_Painting_Set_of_Eight_Great_Bodhisattvas_%28Palpung%29_18th_century_Rubin_Museum_of_Art.jpg|thumb|Tibetan Painting of [[Mañjuśrī]] bodhisattva with the sword of wisdom and a sūtra manuscript, which are common symbols of Prajñāpāramitā in [[Buddhist art]]]]
{{Buddhist term
|title=Prajñāpāramitā
|en=Perfection of<br />Transcendent Wisdom
|sa=प्रज्ञापारमिता<br>([[IAST]]: Prajñāpāramitā)
|vi=Bát-nhã-ba-la-mật-đa
|zh=般若波羅蜜多
|zh-Latn=bōrě bōluómìduō
|mn=Төгөлдөр билгүүн
|my=ပညာပါရမီတ
|my-Latn=pjɪ̀ɰ̃ɲà pàɹəmìta̰
|ja=般若波羅蜜多
|ja-Latn=hannya-haramitta
|km=ប្រាជ្ញាបារមី
|km-Latn=prachnhéabarômi
|ko=반야바라밀다
|ko-Latn=Banyabaramilda
|th=ปรัชญาปารมิตา
|bo=་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་<br />(shes rab kyi pha rol tu chin pa)
|si=ප්‍රඥා පාරමිතා}}
{{MahayanaBuddhism}}
'''Prajñāpāramitā''' means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in [[Mahayana|Mahāyāna]]. Prajñāpāramitā refers to a perfected way of seeing the [[Ontology|nature of reality]], as well as to a particular body of [[Mahayana sutras|Mahāyāna scriptures]] ([[sūtra]]s), known as the Prajñāpāramitā sutras, which includes such texts as the [[Heart Sutra]] and [[Diamond Sutra]]. 

The word ''Prajñāpāramitā'' combines the [[Sanskrit]] words ''[[Prajñā (Buddhism)|prajñā]]'' "wisdom" (or "knowledge") with ''[[pāramitā]]'', "excellence," "perfection," "noble character quality," or "that which has gone beyond," "gone to the other side," "[[Transcendence (philosophy)|transcending]]."{{sfn|Lopez|1988|p=21}} Prajñāpāramitā is a central concept in Mahāyāna Buddhism and is generally associated with ideas such as emptiness (''[[śūnyatā]]''), 'lack of [[svabhāva]]' ([[essence]]), the [[Illusion|illusory]] (''[[Maya (religion)#Buddhism|māyā]]'') nature of things, how all phenomena are characterized by "non-arising" ([[anutpada|''anutpāda'']], i.e. unborn) and the [[Madhyamaka]] thought of [[Nāgārjuna]].<ref>Buswell, Robert; Lopez, Donald S. Jr., eds. (2014), ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', Princeton University Press, p. 945, "In the PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ literature and the MADHYAMAKA school, the notion of production comes under specific criticism (see: VAJRAKAṆĀ), with NĀGĀRJUNA famously asking, e.g., how an effect can be produced from a cause that is either the same as or different from itself. The prajñāpāramitā sūtras thus famously declare that all dharmas are actually ANUTPĀDA, or 'unproduced'."</ref><ref>King, Richard (1995), ''Early Advaita Vedānta and Buddhism: The Mahāyāna Context of the Gauḍapādīya-kārikā'', SUNY Press, p. 113, "It is equally apparent that one of the important features of the prajnaparamita position is that of the nonarising (anutpada) of dharmas."</ref> Its practice and understanding are taken to be indispensable elements of the [[Bodhisattva]] path.

According to [[Edward Conze]], the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras are "a collection of about forty texts ... composed somewhere on the [[Indian subcontinent]] between approximately 100 BC and AD 600."<ref>Conze, E. Perfect Wisdom: The Short Prajnaparamita Texts, Buddhist Publishing Group, 1993.</ref> Some Prajnāpāramitā sūtras are thought to be among the earliest [[Mahāyāna sūtras]].<ref>Williams, Paul. ''Buddhist Thought.'' Routledge, 2000, p. 131.</ref><ref>Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations 2nd edition.'' Routledge, 2009, p. 47.</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Enshrined Manjushri with Monks and Deities, Cover of a Prajnaparamita (The Perfection of Wisdom) LACMA M.82.42.5.jpg|thumb|Prajñāpāramitā illustrated manuscript cover, circa 15th century]]
[[File:Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Image of Prajnaparamita.jpeg|thumb|Prajñāpāramitā personified. From the ''{{IAST|Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra}}'', a Sanskrit Manuscript of the 8,000 line PP sutra, Nalanda, Bihar, India. Circa 700–1100 CE.]]

=== The earliest texts ===
Western scholars have traditionally considered the earliest sūtra in the Prajñāpāramitā class to be the ''[[Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra]]'' or "Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines", which was probably put in writing in the 1st century BCE.<ref>Mäll, Linnart. ''Studies in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā and other essays.'' 2005. p. 96</ref> This chronology is based on the views of [[Edward Conze]], who largely considered dates of translation into other languages. This text also has a corresponding version in verse format, called the ''{{IAST|Ratnaguṇasaṃcaya Gāthā}}'', which some believe to be slightly older because it is not written in standard literary Sanskrit. However, these findings rely on late-dating Indian texts, in which verses and mantras are often kept in more archaic forms.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Nattier, Jan.|title=A few good men : the Bodhisattva path according to The Inquiry of Ugra (Ugraparip̣rcchā)|date=2003|publisher=University of Hawai'i Press|isbn=0-8248-3003-2|pages=62 n19|oclc=62933513}}</ref>

According to Edward Conze, the PP literature developed in nine stages: (1) An [[Urtext (biblical studies)|urtext]] similar to the first two chapters of the Sanskrit ''Ratnagunasaṃcaya Gāthā;'' (2) Chapters 3 to 28 of the ''Ratnagunasaṃcaya'' are composed, along with the prose of the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā''. This base text was further expanded with (3) material from the ''[[Abhidharma]]'', and (4) concessions to the "Buddhism of Faith" (referring to [[Pure land|Pure Land]] references in the sūtra). This process led to (5) further expansion into larger PP sūtras as well as (6) contraction into the shorter sūtras (i.e. [[Diamond Sutra|Diamond Sūtra]], [[Heart Sutra|Heart Sūtra]], down to the ''Prajñāpāramitā in One Letter''). This expanded corpus formed the basis for the (7) Indian PP Commentaries, (8) Tantric PP works and (9) Chinese [[Chan Buddhism|Chan]] texts.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Conze, Edward, 1904-1979.|title=Thirty years of Buddhist studies : selected essays|date=2000|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd|isbn=81-215-0960-2|pages=123–147|oclc=46913071}}</ref> Jan Nattier also defends the view that the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā'' developed as various layers were added over time.<ref name=":1" /> However, Matthew Orsborn has recently argued, based on the [[chiastic structure]]s of the text that the entire ''sūtra'' may have been composed as a single whole (with a few additions added on the core chapters).{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|pp=364–365}}

A number of scholars have proposed that the Mahāyāna Prajñāpāramitā teachings were first developed by the [[Caitika]] subsect of the [[Mahāsāṃghika]]s. They believe that the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' originated amongst the southern Mahāsāṃghika schools of the [[Coastal Andhra|Āndhra]] region, along the [[Krishna River|Kṛṣṇa River]].<ref>Guang Xing. ''The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory.'' 2004. pp. 65-66 "Several scholars have suggested that the Prajnaparamita probably developed among the Mahasamghikas in Southern India, in the Andhra country, on the Krsna River."</ref> These Mahāsāṃghikas had two famous monasteries near [[Amarāvati Stupa]] and [[Dharanikota|Dhānyakataka]], which gave their names to the Pūrvaśaila and Aparaśaila schools.<ref name="Guang Xing 2004. p. 66">Guang Xing. ''The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory.'' 2004. p. 66</ref> Each of these schools had a copy of the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' in [[Prakrit]].<ref name="Guang Xing 2004. p. 66" /> Guang Xing also assesses the view of the Buddha given in the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' as being that of the Mahāsāṃghikas.<ref name="Guang Xing 2004. p. 66" /> [[Edward Conze]] estimates that this sūtra originated around 100 BCE.<ref name="Guang Xing 2004. p. 66" />

In 2012, Harry Falk and Seishi Karashima published a damaged and partial [[Kharosthi|Kharoṣṭhī]] manuscript of the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā''.<ref>Harry Falk and Seishi Karashima, [https://web.archive.org/web/20131004225647/http://iriab.soka.ac.jp/orc/Publications/ARIRIAB/pdf/ARIRIAB-15.pdf A first‐century Prajñāpāramitā manuscript from Gandhāra&nbsp;— parivarta 1 (Texts from the Split Collection 1)]. Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University XV (2012), 19-61.</ref> It is very similar to the first Chinese translation of the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā'' by [[Lokaksema (Buddhist monk)|Lokakṣema]] (ca. 179 CE) whose source text is assumed to be in the [[Gāndhārī language]]; Lokakṣema's translation is also the first extant translation of the Prajñāpāramitā genre into a non-Indic language. Comparison with the standard Sanskrit text shows that it is also likely to be a translation from Gāndhāri as it expands on many phrases and provides glosses for words that are not present in the Gāndhārī. This points to the text being composed in Gāndhārī, the language of [[Gandhara]] (the region now called the Northwest Frontier of Pakistan, including [[Peshawar]], [[Taxila]] and [[Swat Valley]]). The "Split" manuscript is evidently a copy of an earlier text, though Falk and Karashima do not give an estimate on how old the original may be.

In contrast to western scholarship, Japanese scholars have traditionally considered the ''[[Diamond Sutra|Diamond Sūtra]]'' (''Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'') to be from a very early date in the development of Prajñāpāramitā literature.<ref name="Williams, Paul 1989 p.42">Williams, Paul. ''Mahāyāna Buddhism: the Doctrinal Foundations''. London, UK: Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-02537-0}}. p.42</ref> The usual reason for this relative chronology which places the ''Vajracchedikā'' earlier is not its date of translation, but rather a comparison of the contents and themes.<ref>Schopen, Gregory. ''Figments and Fragments of Mahāyāna Buddhism in India.'' 2005. p. 55</ref> Some western scholars also believe that the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' was adapted from the earlier ''Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra''.<ref name="Williams, Paul 1989 p.42" />

Examining the language and phrases used in both the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā'' and the ''Vajracchedikā'', [[Gregory Schopen]] also sees the ''Vajracchedikā'' as being earlier than the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā''.<ref name="Schopen, Gregory 2005. pp. 31-32">Schopen, Gregory. ''Figments and Fragments of Mahāyāna Buddhism in India.'' 2005. pp. 31-32</ref> This view is taken in part by examining parallels between the two works, in which the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā'' seems to represent the later or more developed position.<ref name="Schopen, Gregory 2005. pp. 31-32" /> According to Schopen, these works also show a shift in emphasis from an oral tradition (''Vajracchedikā'') to a written tradition (''Aṣṭasāhasrikā'').<ref name="Schopen, Gregory 2005. pp. 31-32" />

=== Larger PP sutras ===
[[File:Perfection of Insight, Folio from a Shatasahasrika Prajnaparamita (The Perfection of Wisdom in 100,000 Verses) LACMA M.81.90.8 (2 of 2).jpg|thumb|Illustration from a 100,000 line PP sutra manuscript]]
The ''Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā'' ''Sūtra'' (T. ''Shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa''; C. ''Mohe bore boluomi jing'', 摩訶般若波羅蜜經) is one of the largest PP sutras, comprising three volumes of the Tibetan [[Kangyur]] (26-28). It was also one of the most important and popular PP sutras in India, seeing as how there are numerous Indian commentaries on this text, including commentaries by Vimuktisena, Haribhadra, Smṛtijñānakīrti, and Ratnakarashanti. The sutra also survives in the original Sanskrit, which was found in [[Gilgit]]. It also exists in four Chinese translations.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Perfection of Wisdom {{!}} 84000 Reading Room|url=https://read.84000.co/section/O1JC114941JC14665.html|access-date=2021-12-14|website=84000 Translating The Words of The Buddha|language=en}}</ref>

According to Nattier, the ''Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā'' is basically the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā'' base text which has been "sliced" up and filled with other material, increasing the length of the text considerably.<ref name=":1"/> This process of expansion continued, culminating in the massive ''Śatasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' (100,000 lines), the largest of the PP sutras.

According to Joseph Walser, there is evidence that the ''Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' (25,000 lines) and the ''Śatasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' (100,000 lines) have a connection with the [[Dharmaguptaka]] sect, while the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' (8,000 lines) does not.<ref>Williams, Paul. ''Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations.'' 2008. p. 6</ref>

Other PP texts were also composed which were much shorter and had a more independent structure from the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā.'' Regarding the shorter PP texts, Conze writes, "two of these, the ''Diamond Sūtra'' and the ''Heart Sūtra'' are in a class by themselves and deservedly renowned throughout the world of Northern Buddhism. Both have been translated into many languages and have often been commented upon.".<ref>Conze, Edward. ''The Short Prajñāpāramitā Texts.'' 1973. p. 9</ref> Jan Nattier argues the Heart Sutra to be an apocryphal text composed in China from extracts of the ''Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā'' and other texts c. 7th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nattier |first1=Jan |title=The Heart Sūtra |journal=Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies |date=1992 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=153–223 |doi=10.2143/JIABS.15.2.3286001 }}</ref> Red Pine, however, does not support Nattiers argument and believes the Heart Sutra to be of Indian origin.<ref>"The Heart Sutra Translation and Commentary", 2004. p.22-24</ref>

=== Esoteric Prajñāpāramitā texts ===
During the later phase of Indian Buddhism, [[Tantra|Tāntric]] Prajñāpāramitā texts were produced from the 8th century up to the 11th century CE. These later esoteric Prajñāpāramitā sutras are generally short texts which contain [[Mantra|mantras]] and/or [[Dharani|dhāraṇīs]] and also reference esoteric Buddhist ([[Vajrayana|Mantrayana]]) ideas.<ref name=":4" /> They often promote simple practices based on recitation which lead to the accumulation of merit and help one reach awakening.<ref name=":4">Bianchini, Francesco (2020). [https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:477bdfa2-016a-4d0d-a274-39cd35f3c137 ''Tradition and Innovation in late South Asian Buddhism: The Impact of Spell Practices on the Recasting of Prajnaparamita Scriptures''.] St John’s College, The University of Oxford.</ref>  

Esoteric Prajñāpāramitā sutras include texts such as the ''[[Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā|Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra]]'' (150 lines), the famous ''[[Heart Sutra]]'' (''Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya''), the ''Ekaślokikā prajñāpāramitā, Svalpākṣarā Prajñāpāramitā, Kauśikā'' ''Prajñāpāramitā, Saptaślokikā Prajñāpāramitā'', the ''*Prajñāpāramitānāmāṣṭaśataka'' and the ''Candragarbha Prajñāpāramitā.''<ref>Bianchini, Francesco (2020). [https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:477bdfa2-016a-4d0d-a274-39cd35f3c137 ''Tradition and Innovation in late South Asian Buddhism: The Impact of Spell Practices on the Recasting of Prajnaparamita Scriptures''], pp. 65-75. St John’s College, The University of Oxford.</ref> Some of these sources, like the ''Svalpākṣarā,'' claim that simply reciting the [[Dharani|dharanis]] found in the sutras are as beneficial as advanced esoteric Buddhist practices (with the full ritual panoply of [[Mandala|mandalas]] and [[Esoteric transmission|abhiseka]]).<ref>Bianchini, Francesco (2020). [https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:477bdfa2-016a-4d0d-a274-39cd35f3c137 ''Tradition and Innovation in late South Asian Buddhism: The Impact of Spell Practices on the Recasting of Prajnaparamita Scriptures''], p. 282. St John’s College, The University of Oxford.</ref> These scriptures may have been recited in esoteric rituals and two of them remain in widespread use today'': Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya'' (commonly recited throughout Asia by Buddhists) and the ''Adhyardhaśatikā'' (an widely recited text in [[Shingon Buddhism|Shingon]] Buddhism)''.''<ref>Bianchini, Francesco (2020). [https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:477bdfa2-016a-4d0d-a274-39cd35f3c137 ''Tradition and Innovation in late South Asian Buddhism: The Impact of Spell Practices on the Recasting of Prajnaparamita Scriptures''], p. 285. St John’s College, The University of Oxford.</ref>

=== Prajñāpāramitā in Central Asia ===
{{see also|Buddhism in Central Asia}}
By the middle of the 3rd century CE, it appears that some Prajñāpāramitā texts were known in [[Central Asia]], as reported by the Chinese monk [[Zhu Zixing]], who brought back a manuscript of the ''Prajñāpāramitā'' of 25,000 lines:<ref>Heirman, Ann. Bumbacher, Stephan Peter. ''The Spread of Buddhism.'' 2007. p. 100</ref>
{{blockquote|When in 260 AD, the Chinese monk Zhu Zixing chose to go to [[Kingdom of Khotan|Khotan]] in an attempt to find original Sanskrit ''sūtras'', he succeeded in locating the Sanskrit ''Prajñāpāramitā'' in 25,000 verses, and tried to send it to China. In Khotan, however, there were numerous [[Hinayana|Hīnayānists]] who attempted to prevent it because they regarded the text as [[heterodox]]. Eventually, Zhu Zixing stayed in Khotan, but sent the manuscript to [[Luoyang]] where it was translated by a Khotanese monk named Mokṣala. In 296, the Khotanese monk Gītamitra came to [[Chang'an]] with another copy of the same text.}}

=== China ===
{{Chinese Buddhist Canon}}
In China, there was extensive translation of many Prajñāpāramitā texts beginning in the second century CE. The main translators include: [[Lokaksema (Buddhist monk)|Lokakṣema]] (支婁迦讖), [[Zhi Qian|Zhī Qīan]] (支謙), [[Dharmarakṣa]] (竺法護), Mokṣala (無叉羅), [[Kumārajīva]] (鳩摩羅什, 408 CE), [[Xuánzàng]] (玄奘), Făxián (法賢) and [[Dānapāla]] (施護).{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|p=41}} These translations were very influential in the development of [[East Asian Mādhyamaka]] and on [[Chinese Buddhism]].

[[Xuanzang]] (fl. c. 602–664) was a Chinese scholar who traveled to India and returned to China with three copies of the ''[[Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra]]'' which he had secured from his extensive travels.<ref name="Wriggins, Sally Hovey 2004 p.206">Wriggins, Sally Hovey (2004). ''The Silk Road Journey with Xuanzang''. Boulder, Colorado: WestviewPress. {{ISBN|0-8133-6599-6}}. p.206</ref> Xuanzang, with a team of disciple translators, commenced translating the voluminous work in 660 CE using the three versions to ensure the integrity of the source documentation.<ref name="Wriggins, Sally Hovey 2004 p.206" /> Xuanzang was being encouraged by a number of the disciple translators to render an abridged version. After a suite of dreams quickened his decision, Xuanzang determined to render an unabridged, complete volume, faithful to the original of 600 fascicles.<ref>Wriggins, Sally Hovey (2004). ''The Silk Road Journey with Xuanzang''. Boulder, Colorado: WestviewPress. {{ISBN|0-8133-6599-6}}. p.207</ref>

An important PP text in East Asian Buddhism is the ''[[Da zhidu lun|Dazhidulun]]'' (大智度論, T no. 1509), a massive commentary on the ''Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā'' translated by [[Kumārajīva]] (344–413 CE).<ref name=":2" /> There are also later commentaries from Zen Buddhists on the Heart and Diamond sutra and [[Kūkai]]'s commentary (9th century) is the first-known Tantric commentary.

=== Tibet ===
The PP sutras were first brought to [[Tibet]] in the reign of [[Trisong Detsen]] (742-796) by scholars [[Jinamitra]] and [[Silendrabodhi]] and the translator Ye shes De.<ref name="Brunnholzl, Karl 2011, page 42">Brunnholzl, Karl; Gone Beyond: The Prajnaparamita Sutras The Ornament Of Clear Realization And Its Commentaries In The Tibetan Kagyu Tradition (Tsadra) 2011, page 42.</ref> Tibetan Buddhist scholasticism generally studies the PP sutras through the ''[[Abhisamayalankara|Abhisamayālaṅkāra]]'' and its numerous commentaries. The focus on the ''[[Abhisamayalankara|Abhisamayālaṅkāra]]'' is particularly pronounced in the [[Gelug]] school, who according to [[Georges Dreyfus]] "take the ''Ornament'' as the central text for the study of the path" and "treat it as a kind of Buddhist encyclopedia, read in the light of commentaries by [[Je Tsongkhapa|Je Dzong-ka-ba]], [[Gyaltsab Je|Gyel-tsap Je]], and the authors of manuals [monastic textbooks]."<ref>Dreyfus, Georges B.J. (2003) ''The Sound of Two Hands Clapping: The Education of a Tibetan Buddhist Monk,'' pp. 175-176. University of California Press.</ref>

== Texts ==
[[file:Perfection of Wisdom in 8000 Wellcome L0021449.jpg|thumb|Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 lines]]

=== The Main Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras ===
[[File:Diamond Sutra of 868 AD - The Diamond Sutra (868), frontispiece and text - BL Or. 8210-P.2.jpg|thumb|The world's earliest printed book is a Chinese translation of the ''Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' ([[Diamond Sutra|Vajra Cutter Sutra]]) from [[Dunhuang]] (circa 868 CE).]]

An Indian commentary on the ''[[Mahāyāna-samgraha|Mahāyānasaṃgraha]]'', entitled ''Vivṛtaguhyārthapiṇḍavyākhyā'' (''A Condensed Explanation of the Revealed Secret Meaning,'' Derge No. 4052), lists eight Prajñāpāramitā sūtras which were "taught to bodhisattvas" and are seen as superior (from the [[Śrāvakayāna|Sravakayana]] sutras) because they are superior "in eliminating conceptually imaged forms".<ref name="Hamar, Imre 2007. p. 94">Hamar, Imre. ''Reflecting Mirrors: Perspectives on Huayan Buddhism.'' 2007. p. 94</ref> 

The eight texts are listed according to length and are the following:<ref name="Hamar, Imre 2007. p. 94" />
# ''Triśatikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'': 300 lines, alternatively known as the ''[[Diamond Sutra|Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra]]'' (''Diamond Sūtra'')
# ''Pañcaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'': 500 lines
# ''Saptaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'': 700 lines, the bodhisattva [[Manjusri|Mañjuśrī]]'s exposition of Prajñāpāramitā
# ''Sārdhadvisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'': 2,500 lines, from the questions of Suvikrāntavikrāmin Bodhisattva
# ''[[Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra]]'': 8,000 lines
# ''[[Large Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras|Aṣṭadaśasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra]]'': 18,000 lines
# ''[[Large Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras#Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra|Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra]]'': 25,000 lines.
# ''[[Large Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras#Śatasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra|Śatasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra]]'': 100,000 lines.

=== Xuánzàng's Prajñāpāramitā Library ===
[[File:Illustrated_frontispiece_to_the_Mahaprajnaparamita_Sutra,_12th_century,_Honolulu_Museum_of_Art6.JPG|thumb|Illustrated frontispiece to the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, Japan, [[Heian period]], late 12th century, handscroll, gold on blue paper, [[Honolulu Museum of Art]]]]
The Chinese scholar and translator [[Xuanzang|Xuánzàng]] (玄奘, 602-664) is known for his translation of a massive Sanskrit collection of Prajñāpāramitā sutras called "the Xuánzàng Prajñāpāramitā Library" or "The Great Prajñāpāramitāsūtra" (般若 波羅蜜 多 經, pinyin: ''bōrě bōluómì duō jīng'').<ref>Muller, Charles A. (1995). 大 般若 波羅蜜 多 經 Basic Meaning: Mahāprajñāpāramitā-sūtra. Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (電子 佛教 辭典), July 1995.</ref> 

Xuánzàng returned to China with three copies of this Sanskrit work which he obtained in South India and his translation is said to have been based on these three sources.<ref>Wriggins, Sally Hovey (1997). ''Xuanzang: A Buddhist Pilgrim on the Silk Road'', p. 206. Westview Press, October 9, 1997. {{ISBN|978-0-8133-3407-3}}.</ref> In total it includes 600 scrolls, with 5 million Chinese characters.

This collection consists of 16 Prajñāpāramitā texts:<ref>Lancaster, Lewis, R .; Park, Sung-bae (2004). K 1 (T. 220) (H. 219). ''The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalog,'' 2004.</ref>
* ''Prajñāpāramitā sūtra in 100,000 verses'' (scrolls 1-400)
* ''Prajñāpāramitā sūtra in 25,000 verses'' (scrolls 401-478)
* ''Prajñāpāramitā sūtra in 18,000 verses'' (scrolls 479-537)
* ''Prajñāpāramitā sutra in 8,000 verses'' (scrolls 538-555)
* An abridged version of the ''Prajñāpāramitā sūtra in 8,000 verses'' (scrolls 556-565)
* ''Devarājapravara prajñāpāramitā sūtra'' - a part of the ''Questions of Suvikrānta'' (scrolls 566-573)
* ''Prajñāpāramitā sūtra in 700 verses'' (scrolls 574-575)
* ''Nāgaśripa-priccha Prajñāpāramitā'' (scroll 576)
* ''[[Diamond Sutra|The Diamond Sutra]]'' (scroll 577)
* ''Prajñāpāramitā sūtra in 150 verses'' (scroll  578)
* ''Ārya pañcapāramitānirdeśa nāma mahāyāna sūtra'' (bokrull 579-592)
* ''The Questions of Suvikrānta'' (scroll 593-600)
A modern English translation: ''The Great Prajna Paramita Sutra'' (vols. 1 to 6) translated by Naichen Chen (Tucson: Wheatmark).

=== In the Tibetan Kangyur ===
[[file:Tibetan - Buddha Shakyamuni and Prajnaparamita - Walters W8561 (2).jpg|thumb|Tibetan prajñāpāramitā manuscript depicting Sakyamuni Buddha and Prajñāpāramitā devi, 13th century]]
{{Tibetan Buddhist Canon}}
In the [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhist]] tradition, the ''[[Abhisamayālaṅkāra]]'' is traditionally said to be a commentary to seventeen Prajñāpāramitā (PP) source texts. These are seen as the most important PP sutras and they collectively known as the "Seventeen Mothers and Sons" (Wyl. ''yum sras bcu bdun'').<ref name=":022">Karma Phuntsho (2005). ''Mipham's Dialectics and the Debates on Emptiness: To Be, Not to Be or Neither'', p. 232. Routledge.</ref>

The Six Mothers are:<ref name=":022" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Perfection of Wisdom {{!}} 84000 Reading Room |url=https://read.84000.co/section/O1JC114941JC14665.html |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=84000 Translating The Words of The Buddha |language=en}}</ref>

# ''The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines'' ([[Sanskrit]]: ''śatasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā,'' [[Wylie transliteration|Wylie]]: ''sher phyin stong phrag brgya pa/ \('bum/\)''), Tohoku (Toh) Catalogue # 8.
# ''The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-five Thousand Lines'' (''Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā'', ''sher phyin stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa/ \(nyi khri/\)''), Toh 9.
# ''The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines'' (''Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā'', ''sher phyin khri brgyad stong pa''), Toh 10.
# ''The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines'' (''Daśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā'', ''shes phyin khri pa''), Toh 11.
# ''The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines'' (''Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā'', ''sher phyin brgyad stong pa/''), Toh 12.
# ''The Verses that Summarize the Perfection of Wisdom'' (''Prajñāpāramitāsaṃcayagāthā, shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa sdud pa tshigs su''), Toh 13.

The Eleven Sons are:<ref name=":022" /><ref name=":0" />
# ''The Perfection of Wisdom in Seven Hundred Lines'' (''saptaśatikāprajñāpāramitā''), Toh 24.
# ''The Perfection of Wisdom in Five Hundred Lines'' (''pañcaśatikāprajñāpāramitā''), Toh 15.
# ''The Illustrious Perfection of Wisdom in Fifty Lines'' (''bhagavatīprajñāpāramitāpañcāśatikā''), Toh 18.
# ''The Principles of the Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred and Fifty Lines'' (''prajñāpāramitānayaśatapañcaśatikā''), Toh 17.
# ''The Twenty-five Entrances to the Perfection of Wisdom'' (''pañcaviṃśatikāprajñāpāramitāmukha''), Toh 20.
# ''The Perfection of Wisdom in a Few Syllables'' (''svalpākṣaraprajñāpāramitā''), Toh 22.
# ''The Perfection of Wisdom Mother in One Syllable'' (''ekākṣarīmātāprajñāpāramitā''), Toh 23.
# ''The Perfection of Wisdom for Kauśika'' (''kauśikaprajñāpāramitā''), Toh 19
# ''The Perfection of Wisdom Teachings “The Questions of Suvikrāntavikrāmin”'' (''suvikrāntavikrāmiparipṛcchāprajñāpāramitānirdeśa''), Toh 14.
# ''The Sūtra on the Perfection of Wisdom "The Diamond Cutter"'' (''vajracchedikā''), Toh 16.
# ''The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom, the Blessed Mother'' (''Bhagavatīprajñāpāramitāhṛdaya''), Toh 21.

In the Prajñāpāramitā section of the [[Kangyur]], there are also other Prajñāpāramitā sutras besides the seventeen Mothers and Sons:<ref name=":0" />
* ''The Hundred and Eight Names of the Perfection of Wisdom (prajñāpāramitānāmāṣṭaśataka),'' Toh 25.
* ''The Perfection of Wisdom for Sūryagarbha (sūryagarbhaprajñāpāramitā),'' Toh 26.
* ''The Perfection of Wisdom for Candragarbha (candragarbhaprajñāpāramitā),'' Toh 27.
* ''The Perfection of Wisdom for Samantabhadra (samantabhadraprajñāpāramitā),'' Toh 28.
* ''The Perfection of Wisdom for Vajrapāṇi (vajrapāṇiprajñāpāramitā),'' Toh 29.
* ''The Perfection of Wisdom for Vajraketu (vajraketuprajñāpāramitā),'' Toh 30.

=== Commentaries ===
There are various Indian and later Chinese commentaries on the Prajñāpāramitā sutras, some of the most influential commentaries include:
* ''[[Mahāprajñāpāramitāupadeśa|Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa]]'' (大智度論, T no. 1509) a massive and encyclopedic text translated into Chinese by the Buddhist scholar [[Kumārajīva]] (344–413 CE). It is a commentary on the ''Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā''. This text claims to be from the Buddhist philosopher [[Nagarjuna]] (c. 2nd century) in the [[Colophon (publishing)|colophon]], but various scholars such as [[Étienne Lamotte]] have questioned this attribution. This work was translated by Lamotte as ''Le Traité de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse'' and into English from the French by Gelongma Karma Migme Chodron.<ref name=":2">Lamotte, Etienne; Gelongma Karma Migme Chodron. THE TREATISE ON THE GREAT VIRTUE OF WISDOM OF NĀGĀRJUNA (MAHĀPRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀŚĀSTRA) VOL. I CHAPTERS I – XV COMPOSED BY THE BODHISATTVE NĀGĀRJUNA AND TRANSLATED BY THE TRIPIṬAKADHARMĀCĀRYA KUMĀRAJIVA OF THE LAND OF KOUTCHA UNDER THE LATER TS’IN</ref> 
* ''[[Abhisamayālaṅkāra]]'' (''Ornament of clear realization''), the central ''Prajñāpāramitā'' shastra in the Tibetan tradition. It is traditionally attributed as a revelation from the Bodhisattva [[Maitreya]] to the scholar [[Asanga]] ([[Floruit|fl.]] 4th century CE), known as a master of the [[Yogachara]] school. The Indian commentary on this text by [[Haribhadra (Buddhist philosopher)|Haribadra]], the ''[[Abhisamayalankaraloka]]'', has also been influential on later Tibetan texts. There is also another Indian commentary to the AA by Vimuktisena.
* ''Śatasāhasrikā-pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāṣṭādaśasāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-bṛhaṭṭīkā'', often attributed to [[Vasubandhu]] (4th century).<ref>Karl Brunnhölzl "Prajñāpāramitā, Indian "gzhan ston pas", And the Beginning of Tibetan gzhan stong" (2011) 197p. https://www.istb.univie.ac.at/cgi-bin/wstb/wstb.cgi?ID=78&show_description=1</ref>
* ''Satasahasrika-paramita-brhattika'', attributed to [[Daṃṣṭrāsena]].
* [[Dignāga]]'s ''Prajnaparamitarthasamgraha-karika''.
* [[Ratnākaraśānti]]'s ''Prajñāpāramitopadeśa''.

==Themes in Prajñāpāramitā sutras==

===Core themes===
[[Image:"Rabjor or (Subhuti)" 1882 art detail, from- Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (IA journalofasiatic5111asia) (page 95 crop).jpg|thumb|250px|A Tibetan illustration of [[Subhuti]] (Tib. ''Rabjor''), a major character in the Prajñāpāramitā literature, who is proclaimed as the foremost "dweller in non-conflict" (''araṇavihārīnaṃ'') and "of those worthy of offering" (''dakkhiṇeyyānaṃ'')]]

====The Bodhisattva and Prajñāpāramitā====
A key theme of the Prajñāpāramitā sutras is the figure of the [[Bodhisattva]] (literally: awakening-being) which is defined in the 8,000-line Prajñāpāramitā sutra as:

:"One who trains in all dharmas [phenomena] without obstruction [''asakti, asaktatā''], and also knows all dharmas as they really are."{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|p=159}}

A Bodhisattva is then a being that experiences everything "without attachment" (''asakti'') and sees reality or suchness (''Tathātā'') as it is. The Bodhisattva is the main ideal in [[Mahayana]] (Great Vehicle), which sees the goal of the Buddhist path as becoming a [[Buddha]] for the sake of all sentient beings, not just yourself:

:They make up their minds that 'one single self we shall tame ... one single self we shall lead to final Nirvana.'
:A Bodhisattva should certainly not in such a way train himself.
:On the contrary, he should train himself thus: "My own self I will place in Suchness [the true way of things], and, so that all the world might be helped, 
:I will place all beings into Suchness, and I will lead to Nirvana the whole immeasurable world of beings."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Conze |first1=Edward |title=The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines & Its Verse Summary |date=1973 |publisher=Four Seasons Foundation |isbn=978-0-87704-048-4 |page=163 }}</ref>

A central quality of the Bodhisattva is their practice of Prajñāpāramitā, a most deep (''gambhīra'') state of knowledge which is an understanding of reality arising from analysis as well as [[meditative]] insight. It is non-conceptual and [[non-dual]] (''advaya'') as well as [[Transcendence (religion)|transcendental]].<ref>Williams, Paul; Mahayana Buddhism, the doctrinal foundations, pages 49-50.</ref> Literally, the term could be translated as "knowledge gone to the other (shore)",{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|p=176}} or transcendental knowledge. The Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says:

:This is known as the Prajñāpāramitā of the bodhisattvas; not grasping at form, not grasping at sensation, perception, volitions and cognition.{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|p=201}}

A further passage in the 8,000-line Prajñāpāramitā sutra states that Prajñāpāramitā means that a Bodhisattva stands in emptiness ([[shunyata]]) by not standing (''√sthā'') or supporting themselves on any dharma (phenomena), whether conditioned or unconditioned. The dharmas that a Bodhisattva does "not stand" on include standard listings such as: the [[five aggregates]], the sense fields ([[ayatana]]), [[nirvana]], [[Buddhahood]], etc.{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|p=149}} This is explained by stating that Bodhisattvas "wander without a home" (''aniketacārī''); "home" or "abode" meaning signs (''nimitta'', meaning a subjective mental impression) of sensory objects and the afflictions that arise dependent on them. This includes the absence, the "not taking up" (''aparigṛhīta'') of even "correct" mental signs and perceptions such as "form is not self", "I practice Prajñāpāramitā", etc. To be freed of all constructions and signs, to be signless (''animitta'') is to be empty of them and this is to stand in Prajñāpāramitā.{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|pp=180–181}} The Prajñāpāramitā sutras state that all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the past have practiced Prajñāpāramitā. Prajñāpāramitā is also associated with ''Sarvajñata'' (all-knowledge) in the Prajñāpāramitā sutras, a quality of the mind of a Buddha which knows the nature of all dharmas.

[[Image:Gandhara, rilievo col buddha shakyamuni che medita nella grotta indrashala e il buddha dipankara, II-III secolo.jpg|thumb|280x280px|Gandharan depiction of the Bodhisattva (the future Buddha [[Shakyamuni]]) prostrating at the feet of the past Buddha [[Dipankara]]]]

According to Karl Brunnholzl, Prajñāpāramitā means that "all phenomena from form up through omniscience being utterly devoid of any intrinsic characteristics or nature of their own."<ref>Brunnholzl, Karl; Gone Beyond: The Prajnaparamita Sutras The Ornament Of Clear Realization And Its Commentaries In The Tibetan Kagyu Tradition (Tsadra) 2011, page 28.</ref> Furthermore, "such omniscient wisdom is always nonconceptual and free from reference points since it is the constant and panoramic awareness of the nature of all phenomena and does not involve any shift between meditative equipoise and subsequent attainment."<ref>Brunnholzl, Karl; Gone Beyond: The Prajnaparamita Sutras The Ornament Of Clear Realization And Its Commentaries In The Tibetan Kagyu Tradition (Tsadra) 2011, page 30.</ref>

[[Edward Conze]] outlined several psychological qualities of a Bodhisattva's practice of Prajñāpāramitā:<ref name="Conze, Edward 1953 PP.117-129">Conze, Edward; The Ontology of the Prajnaparamita, Philosophy East and West Vol.3 (1953) PP.117-129, University of Hawaii Press</ref>

*Non-apprehension (''anupalabdhi'')
*No settling down or "non-attachment" (''anabhinivesa'')
*No attainment (''aprapti''). No person can "have," or "possess," or "acquire," or "gain" any dharma.
*Non-reliance on any dharma, being unsupported, not leaning on any dharma.
*"Finally, one may say that the attitude of the perfected sage is one of non-assertion."

====Other Bodhisattva qualities====
[[File:Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Nalanda.jpeg|thumb|[[Avalokiteśvara]]. ''{{IAST|Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra}}'' manuscript. [[Nalanda|Nālandā]], [[Bihar]], [[India]].]]
The Prajñāpāramitā sutras also teach of the importance of the other [[pāramitā]]s (perfections) for the Bodhisattva such as [[Ksanti]] (patience): "Without resort to this patience (kṣānti) they [bodhisattvas] cannot reach their respective goals".{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|p=124}}

Another quality of the Bodhisattva is their freedom from fear (''na vtras'') in the face of the seemingly shocking doctrine of the emptiness of all dharmas which includes their own existence. A good friend (''kalyanamitra'') is useful in the path to fearlessness. Bodhisattvas also have no pride or self-conception (''na manyeta'') of their own stature as Bodhisattvas.{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|pp=139–140}} These are important features of the mind of a bodhisattva, called [[bodhicitta]]. The Prajñāpāramitā sutras also mention that bodhicitta is a middle way, it is neither apprehended as existent (''astitā'') or non-existent (''nāstitā'') and it is "immutable" (''avikāra'') and "free from conceptualization" (''avikalpa'').{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|p=141}}

The Bodhisattva is said to generate "great compassion" (''maha-[[karuṇā]]'') for all beings on their path to liberation and yet also maintain a sense of equanimity ([[upekṣā]]) and distance from them through their understanding of emptiness, due to which, the Bodhisattva knows that even after bringing countless beings to nirvana, "no living being whatsoever has been brought to nirvana."<ref name="ReferenceA"/> [[Bodhisattvas]] and [[Mahāsattva]]s are also willing to give up all of their meritorious deeds for sentient beings and develop skillful means ([[upaya]]) in order to help abandon false views and teach them the Dharma. The practice of Prajñāpāramitā allows a Bodhisattva to become:

<blockquote>"a saviour of the helpless, a defender of the defenceless, a refuge to those without refuge, a place to rest to those without resting place, the final relief of those who are without it, an island to those without one, a light to the blind, a guide to the guideless, a resort to those without one and....guide to the path those who have lost it, and you shall become a support to those who are without support."{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|p=271}}</blockquote>

====Tathātā====
[[Image:The Buddha's Descent from Heaven at Samkashya (top; a), The Story of the Bodhisattva Sadaprarudita (middle; b), The Buddha Preaching to the Assembled Gods (bottom; c), Three Folios from LACMA M.86.345.11a-c (4 of 4).jpg|thumb|280x280px|Illustration of Bodhisattva ''Sadāprarudita'' (Ever weeping), a character in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra [[Avadana]] section, which is used by the Buddha as an exemplar of those who seek Prajñāpāramitā]]

''Tathātā'' (Suchness or Thusness) and the related term ''Dharmatā'' (the nature of Dharma), and [[Tathāgata]] are also important terms of the Prajñāpāramitā texts. To practice Prajñāpāramitā means to practice in accord with 'the nature of Dharma' and to see the Tathāgata (i.e. the Buddha). As the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra states, these terms are generally used equivalently: "As the suchness (''tathatā'') of dharmas is immovable (''acalitā''), and the suchness (''tathatā'') of dharmas is the ''Tathāgata''."{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|p=233}} The Tathāgata is said in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra to "neither come nor go". Furthermore, the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra includes a list of synonyms associated with Tathāgata as also being "beyond coming and going", these include: 1. Suchness (''tathatā''); 2. Unarisen (''anutpāda''); 3. Reality limit (''bhūtakoṭi''); 4. Emptiness ("Śūnyatā"); 5. Division (''yathāvatta''); 6. Detachment (''virāga''); 7. Cessation (''nirodha''); 8. Space element (''ākāśadhātu''). The sutra then states:

<blockquote>Apart from these dharmas, there is no Tathāgata. The suchness of these dharmas, and the suchness of the Tathāgatas, is all one single suchness (''ekaivaiṣā tathatā''), not two, not divided (''dvaidhīkāraḥ''). ... beyond all classification (''gaṇanāvyativṛttā''), due to non-existence (''asattvāt'').{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|p=233}}</blockquote>

Suchness then does not come or go because like the other terms, it is not a real entity (''bhūta'', ''svabhāva''), but merely appears conceptually through [[dependent origination]], like a dream or an illusion.

[[Edward Conze]] lists six ways in which the ontological status of dharmas is considered by the Prajñāpāramitā:<ref name="Conze, Edward 1953 PP.117-129"/>

#Dharmas are non-existent because they have no own-being ([[svabhava]]).
#Dharmas have a purely nominal existence. They are mere words, a matter of conventional expression.
#Dharmas are "without marks, with one mark only, ie., with no mark." A mark (''laksana'') being a distinctive property which separates it from other dharmas.
#Dharmas are isolated (''vivikta''), absolutely isolated (''atyantavivikta'').
#Dharmas have never been produced, never come into existence; they are not really ever brought forth, they are unborn (''ajata'').
#Non-production is illustrated by a number of similes, i.e., dreams, magical illusions, echoes, reflected images, mirages, and space.

It is through seeing this Tathātā that one is said to have a vision of the Buddha (the Tathāgata), seeing this is called seeing the Buddha's [[Dharmakaya]] (Dharma body) which is a not his physical body, but none other than the true nature of dharmas.{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|p=240}}

====Negation and emptiness====
Most modern Buddhist scholars such as [[Etienne Lamotte|Lamotte]], Conze and [[Yin Shun]] have seen [[Śūnyatā]] (emptiness, voidness, hollowness) as ''the'' central theme of the Prajñāpāramitā sutras.{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|pp=107–108}} [[Edward Conze]] writes:

<blockquote>It is now the principal teaching of Prajñāpāramitā with regard to own-being that it is "empty." The Sanskrit term is ''svabhāva-śūnya''. This is a ''[[tatpuruṣa]]'' compound (one in which the last member is qualified by the first without losing its grammatical independence), in which [[svabhava]] may have the sense of any oblique case. The [[Mahayana]] understands it to mean that dharmas are empty of any own-being, i.e.,that they are not ultimate facts in their own right, but merely imagined and falsely discriminated, for each and every one of them is dependent on something other than itself. From a slightly different angle this means that dharmas, when viewed with perfected [[gnosis]], reveal an own-being which is identical with emptiness, i.e in their own-being they are empty.<ref name="Conze, Edward 1953 PP.117-129"/></blockquote>

The Prajñāpāramitā sutras commonly use [[apophasis|apophatic]] statements to express the nature of reality as seen by Prajñāpāramitā. A common trope in the Prajñāpāramitā sutras is the negation of a previous statement in the form 'A is not A, therefore it is A', or more often negating only a part of the statement as in, "XY is a Y-less XY".{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|p=171}} Japanese Buddhologist, Hajime Nakamura, calls this negation the 'logic of not' (''na prthak'').<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nagatomo |first1=Shigenori |title=The Logic of the ''Diamond Sutra'': A is not A, therefore it is A |journal=Asian Philosophy |date=November 2000 |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=213–244 |doi=10.1080/09552360020011277 |s2cid=13926265 }}</ref> An example from the [[Diamond Sutra]] of this use of negation is:

:As far as 'all dharmas' are concerned, Subhuti, all of them are dharma-less. That is why they are called 'all dharmas.'<ref name="ReferenceA">Harrison, Paul. Vajracchedika Prajñaparamita Diamond Cutting Transcendent Wisdom</ref>

The rationale behind this form is the juxtaposition of conventional truth with ultimate truth as taught in the Buddhist [[two truths doctrine]]. The negation of conventional truth is supposed to expound the ultimate truth of the emptiness ([[Śūnyatā]]) of all reality - the idea that nothing has an ontological essence and all things are merely conceptual, without substance.

The Prajñāpāramitā sutras state that dharmas should not be conceptualized either as existent, nor as non existent, and use negation to highlight this: "in the way in which dharmas exist (''saṃvidyante''), just so do they not exist (''asaṃvidyante'')".{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|p=192}}

====Māyā====
{{Main|Maya (religion)#Buddhism}}
The Prajñāpāramitā sutras commonly state that all dharmas (phenomena), are in some way like an [[illusion]] (''[[Maya (religion)#Buddhism|māyā]]''), like a [[dream]] (''svapna'') and like a [[mirage]].<ref>Williams, Paul; Mahayana Buddhism, the doctrinal foundations, pages 52.</ref> The ''[[Diamond Sutra]]'' states:

:"A shooting star, a clouding of the sight, a lamp, An illusion, a drop of dew, a bubble, a dream, a lightning's flash, a thunder cloud—this is the way one should see the conditioned."<ref>Harrison, Paul (trans.) Vajracchedika Prajñaparamita Diamond Cutting Transcendent Wisdom, https://hyanniszendo.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/diamondsutra_lettersize1.pdf</ref>

Even the highest Buddhist goals like [[Buddhahood]] and [[Nirvana]] are to be seen in this way, thus the highest wisdom or prajña is a type of spiritual knowledge which sees all things as illusory. As Subhuti in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra states:

:"Even if perchance there could be anything more distinguished, of that also I would say that it is like an illusion, like a dream. For not two different things are illusions and Nirvāṇa, are dreams and Nirvāṇa."<ref>Shi Huifeng. ''Is "Illusion" a Prajñāpāramitā Creation? The Birth and Death of a Buddhist Cognitive Metaphor.'' Fo Guang University. Journal of Buddhist Philosophy, Vol. 2, 2016</ref>

This is connected to the impermanence and insubstantial nature of dharmas. The Prajñāpāramitā sutras give the simile of a magician (''māyākāra'': 'illusion-maker') who, when seemingly killing his illusory persons by cutting off their heads, really kills nobody and compare it to the bringing of beings to awakening (by 'cutting off' the conceptualization of self view; Skt: ''ātmadṛṣṭi chindati'') and the fact that this is also ultimately like an illusion, because their aggregates "are neither bound nor released".{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|p=193}} The illusion then, is the conceptualization and mental fabrication of dharmas as existing or not existing, as arising or not arising. Prajñāpāramitā sees through this illusion, being empty of concepts and fabrications.

Perceiving dharmas and beings like an illusion (''māyādharmatā'') is termed the "great armor" (''mahāsaṃnaha'') of the Bodhisattva, who is also termed the 'illusory man' (''māyāpuruṣa'').{{sfn|Orsborn|2012|pp=165–166}}

=== Sutra worship ===
According to Paul Williams, another major theme of the Prajñāpāramitā sutras is "the phenomenon of laudatory self reference—the lengthy praise of the sutra itself, the immense merits to be obtained from treating even a verse of it with reverence, and the nasty penalties which will accrue in accordance with [[karma]] to those who denigrate the scripture."<ref>Williams, Paul; Mahayana Buddhism, the doctrinal foundations, page 46.</ref> 

===Later developments===
According to [[Edward Conze]], later Prajñāpāramitā sutras added much new doctrinal material. Conze lists the later accretions as:<ref name="huntingtonarchive.org">Conze, Edward, THE PERFECTION OF WISDOM IN EIGHT THOUSAND LINES & ITS VERSE SUMMARY, http://huntingtonarchive.org/resources/downloads/sutras/02Prajnaparamita/Astasahasrika.pdf</ref>

#Increasing sectarianism, with all the rancor, invective and polemics that that implies
#Increasing scholasticism and the insertion of longer and longer Abhidharma lists
#Growing stress on skill in means, and on its subsidiaries such as the Bodhisattva's Vow and the four means of conversion, and its logical sequences, such as the distinction between provisional and ultimate truth
#A growing concern with the Buddhist of faith, with its celestial Buddhas and Bodhisattva and their Buddha-fields;
#A tendency towards verbosity, repetitiveness and overelaboration
#Lamentations over the decline of the Dharma
#Expositions of the hidden meaning which become the more frequent the more the original meaning becomes obscured
#Any reference to the Dharma body of the Buddha as anything different from a term for the collection of his teachings
#A more and more detailed doctrine of the graded stages ([[Bhūmi (Buddhism)|bhūmi]]) of a Bodhisattva's career.

==Selected English translations==

;Larger and smaller Prajnaparamita Sutras<br>
''Scholarly''
* [[Edward Conze]] (1978), ''Selected Sayings from the Perfection of Wisdom''', Buddhist Society, London, {{ISBN|978-0-87773-709-4}}. Portions of various Perfection of Wisdom sutras
* [[Edward Conze]] (1985), ''The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom'', University of California, {{ISBN|0-520-05321-4}}. Mostly the version in 25,000 lines, with some parts from the versions in 100,000 and 18,000 lines
* [[Edward Conze]] (1994), ''The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines and its Verse Summary'', Four Seasons Foundation, {{ISBN|81-7030-405-9}}. The earliest text in a combination of strict translation and summary
* [[Lex Hixon]] (1993), ''Mother of the Buddhas: Meditation on the Prajnaparamita Sutra'', Quest, {{ISBN|0-8356-0689-9}}. Selected verses from the Prajnaparamita in 8,000 lines
* [[R.C. Jamieson]] (2000), ''The Perfection of Wisdom, Extracts from the Aṣṭasahāsrikāprajñāpāramitā'', Penguin Viking, {{ISBN|978-0-670-88934-1}}. Foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama; illustrated with Cambridge University Library Manuscript Add.1464 & Manuscript Add.1643
* Naichen Chen (2017), ''The Great Prajna Paramita Sutra, Volume 1'', Wheatmark, {{ISBN|978-1-62787-456-4}}. Unabridged English translation of Xuanzang's Chinese rendition (fascicles 1-20)
* Naichen Chen (2018), ''The Great Prajna Paramita Sutra, Volume 2'', Wheatmark, {{ISBN|978-1-62787-582-0}}. Unabridged English translation of Xuanzang's Chinese rendition (fascicles 21-40)
* Naichen Chen (2019), ''The Great Prajna Paramita Sutra, Volume 3'', Wheatmark, {{ISBN|978-1-62787-747-3}}. Unabridged English translation of Xuanzang's Chinese rendition (fascicles 41-60)
* Huifeng Shi (Matthew Osborn) (2018), ''[https://www.academia.edu/74776026/Annotated_English_Translation_of_Kum%C4%81raj%C4%ABvas_Xia%C7%92p%C7%90n_Prajn%C4%81p%C4%81ramit%C4%81_S%C5%ABtra Annotated English Translation of Kumārajīva's Xiaǒpǐn Prajnāpāramitā Sūtra]'', Asian Literature and Translation. Critically annotated translation of the first two chapters of [[Kumārajīva|Kumarajiva's]] 5th century translation of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines.
* Stefano Zacchetti (2005), ''In Praise of the Light: a critical synoptic edition with an annotated translation of chapters 1-3 of Dharmarakṣa's ''Guang zan jing'' 光讚經, being the earliest Chinese translation of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā'', The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, [[Sōka University|Soka University]], Bibliotheca philologica et philosophica buddhica, v. 8.

''Buddhist translators/commentators''<br>
* [http://www.songtsen.org/padmakara/ Dr. Gyurme Dorje, for the Padmakara Translation Group] (2018, updated 2020), [https://read.84000.co/translation/toh11.html The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines], [https://read.84000.co/translation/toh11.html (Daśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā)], 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. The complete Prajnaparamita in 10,000 lines, translated from the Tibetan. With hyper-linked glossary and Tibetan text.
* [[Gareth Sparham]] (2022), ''[https://read.84000.co/translation/toh10.html The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines]'', |84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Full translation from the Tibetan version: Tohoku Catalogue No. 10.

;Heart Sutra and Diamond Sutra<br>
''Scholarly''
* [[Edward Conze]] (1988), '' Buddhist Wisdom Books'', Unwin, {{ISBN|0-04-440259-7}}. The Heart Sutra and the Diamond Sutra with commentaries
* [[Edward Conze]] (2003, ''Perfect Wisdom; The Short Prajnaparamita Texts'', Buddhist Publishing Group, Totnes. (Luzac reprint), {{ISBN|0-946672-28-8}}. Most of the short sutras: Perfection of Wisdom in 500 Lines, 700 lines, The Heart Sutra and The Diamond Sutra, one word, plus some Tantric sutras, all without commentaries.
* Richard H. Jones (2012), ''The Heart of Buddhist Wisdom: Plain English Translations of the Heart Sutra, the Diamond-Cutter Sutra, and other Perfection of Wisdom Texts'', Jackson Square Books, {{ISBN|978-1-4783-8957-6}}. Clear translations and summaries of the most important texts with essays
* Lopez, Donald S. (1998), ''Elaborations on Emptiness'', Princeton, {{ISBN|0-691-00188-X}}. The Heart Sutra with eight complete Indian and Tibetan commentaries
* Lopez, Donald S. (1987), ''The Heart Sutra Explained'', SUNY, {{ISBN|0-88706-590-2}}. The Heart Sutra with a summary of [[History of Buddhism in India|Indian]] commentaries
* [[Red Pine (author)|Red Pine]] (2001), ''The Diamond Sutra: The Perfection of Wisdom; Text and Commentaries Translated from Sanskrit and Chinese'', Counterpoint, {{ISBN|1-58243-256-2}}. The Diamond Sutra with [[Chinese Chán|Chán]]/[[Zen]] commentary
* [[Red Pine (author)|Red Pine]] (2004), ''The Heart Sutra: the Womb of Buddhas'', Counterpoint, {{ISBN|978-1-59376-009-0}}. Heart Sutra with commentary
* Paul Harrison (2006), ''[https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c03ced75ffd204418037b7a/t/5c5306ce575d1f9230da8a6a/1548945103490/Diamond+Sutra-Paul+Harrison+tr.pdf Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā: A New English Translation of the Sanskrit Text Based on Two Manuscripts from Greater Gandhāra]'', Hermes Publishing, Oslo. Translation of the ''Diamond Sūtra'' from the [[Sanskrit]] based on the two oldest manuscripts (the Gilgit and the Schøyen collection manuscripts)
* [[Gregory Schopen]] (2004), ''The Perfection of Wisdom'', in D. S. Lopez Jr., ed., ''Buddhist Scriptures'' (London, 2004), pp. 450–463. Translation of the Diamond Sutra
* [[Kazuaki Tanahashi]] (2015), ''The Heart Sutra: A Comprehensive Guide to the Classic of Mahayana Buddhism'', [[Shambhala Publications]], {{ISBN|978-1-61180-096-8}}. English translation of the Heart Sutra with history and commentary

''Buddhist translators/commentators''
* Rabten, Geshe (1983), ''Echoes of Voidness'', Wisdom, {{ISBN|0-86171-010-X}}. Includes the Heart Sutra with [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan]] commentary
* Geshe [[Kelsang Gyatso]] (2001), ''[[The New Heart of Wisdom|Heart of Wisdom]]'', Tharpa, {{ISBN|0-948006-77-3}}. The Heart Sutra with a Tibetan commentary
* [[Tashi Tsering (Jamyang Buddhist Centre)|Geshe Tashi Tsering]] (2009), ''Emptiness: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought'', Wisdom Publications, {{ISBN|978-0-86171-511-4}}. A guide to the topic of emptiness from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective, with English translation of the Heart Sutra
* [[14th Dalai Lama]] (2005), ''Essence of the Heart Sutra'', Wisdom Publications, {{ISBN|978-0-86171-284-7}}. Heart Sutra with commentary by the 14th Dalai Lama
* [[Thich Nhat Hanh]] (1988), ''The Heart of Understanding'', Parallax Press, {{ISBN|0-938077-11-2}}. The Heart Sutra with a [[Chinese Chán#Thiền in Vietnam|Vietnamese Thiền]] commentary
* [[Thich Nhat Hanh]] (1992), ''The Diamond that Cuts Through Illusion'', Parallax Press, {{ISBN|0-938077-51-1}}. The Diamond Sutra with a Vietnamese Thiền commentary
* Doosun Yoo (2013), ''Thunderous Silence: A Formula For Ending Suffering: A Practical Guide to the Heart Sutra'', Wisdom Publications, {{ISBN|978-1-61429-053-7}}. English translation of the Heart Sutra with [[Korean Seon]] commentary

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last =Karashima |first = Seishi |year = 2010 |url   = http://iriab.soka.ac.jp/orc/Publications/BPPB/pdf/BPPB-11.pdf |title =A Glossary of Lokakṣema's translation of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpr̄amitā |series      = Bibliotheca philologica et philosophica Buddhica |volume =XI |publisher = The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka Univ |isbn=978-4-904234-03-7 |url-status =dead |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140108134404/http://iriab.soka.ac.jp/orc/Publications/BPPB/pdf/BPPB-11.pdf |archive-date = 2014-01-08}}
* {{cite book|last=Lopez|first=Donald S. Jr.|author-link=Donald S. Lopez, Jr.|title=The Heart Sutra Explained: Indian and Tibetan Commentaries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v5-0LLlNNTEC|year=1988|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-88706-589-7}}
* Müller, F. Max, trans (1894). [https://archive.org/details/buddhistmahy02cowe Buddhist Mahâyâna texts Vol.2], Oxford, Clarendon Press (the Vagrakkedikâ, the larger Pragñâ-pâramitâ-hridaya-sûtra, the smaller Pragñâ-pâramitâ-hridaya-sûtra).
* {{cite thesis |last1=Orsborn |first1=Matthew Bryan |title=Chiasmus in the early Prajñāpāramitā: literary parallelism connecting criticism & hermeneutics in an early Mahāyāna sūtra |date=2012 |doi=10.5353/th_b4775259 }}
* {{cite thesis| author = Qing, Fa| year = 2001| title = The development of Prajna in Buddhism from early Buddhism to the Prajnaparamita system: With special reference to the Sarvastivada tradition| type  = PhD Dissertation| publisher  = University of Calgary| others     = Advisor: Kawamura, Leslie S.|isbn=0-612-64836-2| hdl = 1880/40730}}
* {{cite book| editor-last = Vaidya| editor-first = P.L | year = 1960| title     = Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā with Haribhadra's Commentary Called āloka| series = Buddhist Sanskrit Texts | volume    = 4| place = Darbhanga| publisher = The Mithila Institute}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{wikisource|Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra}}
{{wikisource|Shorter Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra}}
{{wikisource|Longer Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra}}
{{Commons category inline|Prajnaparamita}}
*[http://lapislazulitexts.com/T08_0232.html Mahāprajñāpāramitā Mañjuśrīparivarta Sūtra: English Translation], Lapis Lazuli Texts
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120129205655/http://users.rcn.com/dante.interport/prajna.html The Prajnaparamita Literature] Bibliography of the Prajnaparamita Literature
*[http://www.lotsawahouse.org/topics/prajnaparamita Lotsawa House] Translations of several Tibetan texts on the Prajnaparamita

{{Buddhism topics}}

[[Category:Mahayana sutras]]
[[Category:Female buddhas and supernatural beings]]
[[Category:Wisdom]]
[[Category:Buddhist philosophical concepts]]