Words of the Buddha

The One Hundred and Eight Names of the Perfection of Wisdom is a short Prajñāpāramitā work that is comprised of three main sections: two opening stanzas, a litany of one hundred and eight names, and a dhāraṇī formula. The opening stanzas pay homage to the mother of all buddhas, the embodiment of the perfection of wisdom , and invite the audience to listen to the primary teaching, which consists of...

The Perfection of Wisdom in a Few Syllables presents a dialogue on Vulture Peak Mountain between the Buddha and Avalokiteśvara , who requests that the Buddha teach the perfection of wisdom in a concise form. The Buddha enters a special meditative state called liberating all beings , emanating light that touches all beings and ensures their eventual awakening. He then shares teachings, a heart mant...

In this brief sūtra, the Buddha reminds his followers of one of the principal characteristics of saṃsāric existence: the reality of impermanence . The four things cherished most in this world, the Buddha says‍—namely, good health, youth, prosperity, and life‍—are all impermanent . He closes his teaching with a verse, asking how beings, afflicted as they are by impermanence , can take delight in an...

In response to a series of queries from Mañjuśrī , Buddha Śākyamuni first exposes the error that prevents sentient beings in general from transcending saṃsāra, and then focuses more particularly on errors that result from understanding the four truths of the noble ones based on conceptual notions of phenomena. He then goes on to explain how someone wishing to attain liberation should skillfully vi...

The Vajraketu Perfection of Wisdom is the fifth in a group of five Prajñāpāramitā scriptures named for their bodhisattva interlocutors. In Rājagṛha, the bodhisattva Vajraketu asks the Buddha which qualities one should possess to arrive at the perfection of wisdom . The Buddha provides an explanation of these four qualities before presenting an additional four qualities that also serve as the cause...

The Vajrapāṇi Perfection of Wisdom is the fourth in a group of five Prajñāpāramitā scriptures named for their bodhisattva interlocutors. In Rājagṛha , Vajrapāṇi asks the Buddha how bodhisattvas should train in the perfection of wisdom . The Buddha describes three ways in which bodhisattvas should train in the perfection of wisdom and then pronounces a mantra . The sūtra concludes with the Buddha d...

In a retreat place in Magadha , the Buddha Śākyamuni and the bodhisattva Samantabhadra , surrounded by many bodhisattvas, perform miracles in a meditative absorption. The bodhisattva Samantabhadra asks the Buddha to distinguish between two levels of the perfection of wisdom. In response, the Buddha gives definitions of these two levels. This sūtra is one of the short prajñāpāramitā sūtras, and it...

The One Hundred and Eight Names of the Perfection of Wisdom is a short Prajñāpāramitā work that is comprised of three main sections: two opening stanzas, a litany of one hundred and eight names, and a dhāraṇī formula. The opening stanzas pay homage to the mother of all buddhas, the embodiment of the perfection of wisdom , and invite the audience to listen to the primary teaching, which consists of...

The Perfection of Wisdom in a Few Syllables presents a dialogue on Vulture Peak Mountain between the Buddha and Avalokiteśvara , who requests that the Buddha teach the perfection of wisdom in a concise form. The Buddha enters a special meditative state called liberating all beings , emanating light that touches all beings and ensures their eventual awakening. He then shares teachings, a heart mant...

Wisdom Secret is one of the thirty-two Rali tantras. It begins with the bodhisattva Vajragarbha requesting an explanation of the true nature ( tattva ) of the four initiations . In response, the Blessed One briefly explains the true nature of the generation stage before delving into a more extensive teaching on the completion stage . This discourse covers the true natures of the channels , winds ,...

Xenophon's Anabasis, Book 1, Chapter 2, read in the original Ancient Greek (Attic pronunciation approximated via phonetic substitutions) paired passage-by-passage with Carleton L. Brownson's English translation.

Xenophon's Anabasis, Book 1, Chapter 1, read in the original Ancient Greek (Attic pronunciation approximated via phonetic substitutions) paired passage-by-passage with Carleton L. Brownson's English translation.

Xenophon's Anabasis, Book 1, Chapter 3, read in the original Ancient Greek (Attic pronunciation approximated via phonetic substitutions) paired passage-by-passage with Carleton L. Brownson's English translation.

The Candragarbha Perfection of Wisdom is a condensed prajñāpāramitā sūtra that takes the form of a dialogue between the Buddha and the bodhisattva Candragarbha . In response to Candragarbha ’s question about how bodhisattvas should train themselves in the perfection of wisdom , the Buddha declares that the perfection of wisdom lies in the understanding that all phenomena are devoid of entities, us...

The Sūryagarbha Perfection of Wisdom is a condensed prajñāpāramitā sūtra in the form of a dialogue between the Buddha and the bodhisattva Sūryaprabhāsa , who asks the Buddha how bodhisattvas skilled in means should train themselves in the perfection of wisdom. In response, the Buddha explains that a bodhisattva should train in a meditative stability called the sun or the sun skilled in means , ela...

In this famous scripture, known popularly as The Heart Sūtra , the Buddha Śākyamuni inspires his senior monk Śāriputra to request instructions from the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara on the way to practice the perfection of wisdom. Avalokiteśvara then describes how an aspiring practitioner of the perfection of wisdom must first understand how all phenomena lack an intrinsic nature, which amounts to th...