Mahayana sutras - Definition and Overview

Mahayana sutras are a very broad genre of Buddhist scriptures that were originally put in writing starting in the first century BCE. They form the basis of the various Mahayana schools. Mahayana Buddhists believe that these texts, with the exception of those with an explicitly Chinese provenance, are an authentic account of teachings given during the Buddha's lifetime. However, Theravada Buddhists believe them to be apocryphal.

• Texts of Indian origin
  • Diamond Sutra
  • Heart Sutra
  • Lankavatara Sutra
  • Lotus Sutra
  • Perfection of Wisdom sutras (Prajnaparamita sutras)
  • Ten Stages Sutra
  • Vimalakirti-nirdesa Sutra
• Texts of Chinese origin
  • Platform Sutra (Liuzu Danjing)
  • Perfect Enlightenment Sutra (Yuanjue Jing)

See also

• Buddhist texts