Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā
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The Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā (T. nam mkha'i mdzod kyis zhus pa'i mdo) is a Mahayana sutra that is included in the Chinese and Tibetan canons.
The 84000 Reading Room editors state:
- The Sūtra of the Questions of Gaganagañja (Gaganagañjaparipṛcchāsūtra, Toh 148) is an important canonical work centering on the bodhisattva Gaganagañja’s inquiries to the Buddha, his display of seven miracles, and dialogue between various figures about core Mahāyāna principles. The sūtra covers topics such as the bodhisattva path, bodhicitta, concentration, buddha activity, wisdom (jñāna), as well as predictions about the future enlightenment of disciples. Throughout the discourse, the sky (gagana) is used as the central metaphor for emptiness (śūnyatā) and nonduality (advaya) to describe the nature of reality.[1]
Jaehee Han states:
- The Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā is the eighth chapter of one of the great canonical collections of Mahāyāna Buddhism, the Mahāsaṃnipāta, but it also acts as an individual text, or sūtra. As such, it is a dharmaparyāya, which dates back to the first or second century CE. The original Sanskrit has been lost, but there are three full-length translations in Tibetan and Chinese.
- This text is regarded as an important canonical scripture throughout the history of Buddhism, playing an important role in the development of the Mahāyāna Buddhist ideas. This is clearly documented by the fact that the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā was translated into Tibetan (about 800 CE), and at least twice into Chinese (421 and 757 CE), and the sūtra was quoted by many of the great ācāryas of in India, Tibet, China, Korea and Japan. However, the text has received little scientific attention in modern times, and one of the reasons for this is that there is no full Sanskrit text available, only fragments from various later commentaries.[2]
This text is sometimes counted among texts associated with the tathagatagarbha; see tathagatagarbha sutras.[3]
English translation
- Jaehee Han (2020), The Sky as a Mahāyāna Symbol of Emptiness and Generous Fullness, A Study and Translation of the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā Volumes 1 and 2, Phd dissertation, University of Oslo; available at: https://dongguk.academia.edu/JaeheeHan
Notes
- ↑
Sūtra of the Questions of Gaganagañja, "Summary"
- ↑ Jaehee Han (2020), The Sky as a Mahāyāna Symbol of Emptiness and Generous Fullness, A Study and Translation of the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā Volume 1, Phd dissertation, University of Oslo, p. 3
- ↑ Brunnholzl, Karl (2014). When the Clouds Part, The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sutra and Tantra, p. 11. Boston & London: Snow Lion.