Translated Texts of Buddhism

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The Buddhist texts presented below are English translations from the Taishō Tripiṭaka, the most widely used edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon. Tripiṭaka texts generally consist of doctrinal teachings in the Sūtra Piṭaka, rules of discipline in the Vinaya Piṭaka, and philosophical treatises in the Abhidharma Piṭaka. If these are instead classified by whether they relate to the Śrāvakayāna or the Mahāyāna, then there are only two divisions, the Śrāvaka Piṭaka and the Bodhisattva Piṭaka.

T 99 (雜阿含經 Zá Āhán Jīng). Translated by Trepiṭaka Guṇabhadra circa 435-443 CE. The Saṃyuktāgama is an early collection of short Buddhist texts organized by topic. This edition of the Saṃyuktāgama comes from the Sarvāstivāda monastic sect in India, and contains some of the foundational texts of Buddhism such as the Dharmacakrapravartana Sūtra (SA 379), in which Śākyamuni Buddha turns the Dharma Wheel by teaching the Four Noble Truths at Deer Park.

SA 34: Five Bhikṣus
SA 301: Kātyāyana
SA 379: Turning the Dharma Wheel

T 125 (增壹阿含經 Zēngyī Āhán Jīng). Translated by Trepiṭaka Dharmanandi in 384-385 CE. The Ekottarikāgama is another large collection of early Buddhist texts, which follows a numeric organizational principle from which the collection derives its name. This translation is often thought to come from the Dharmaguptaka monastic sect in India, and contains a version of the Ānāpānasmṛti Sūtra (EA 17.1), which teaches methods of cultivating mindfulness of the vital breath for the attainment of dhyāna and samādhi. These methods were widely proliferated throughout all Buddhist schools.

EA 17.1: Ānāpāna

T 235 (金剛般若波羅蜜經 Jīn’gāng Bōrě Bōluómì Jīng). Translated by Trepiṭaka Kumārajīva in 401 CE. Also known as the Diamond Sūtra and the Vajra Sūtra, this early Prajñāpāramitā sūtra presents a teaching given by the Buddha to Elder Subhūti on the subject of how to attain Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi. The classical 32 chapters designated by Crown Prince Zhaoming of the Liang Dynasty have been adapted into 36 paragraphs for this version. At the end of the Kumārajīva edition is a mantra for the sūtra, which has been included in this translation.

T 251 (般若波羅蜜多心經 Bōrě Bōluómìduō Xīnjīng). Translated by Trepiṭaka Dharma Master Xuanzang in 649 CE. Also known as the Heart Sūtra, this is a very short sūtra of Prajñāpāramitā teachings, along with a meditation method in the form of a mantra as skillful means. This original short version has been popularly recited and studied across many traditions, and continues to be in modern times. Xuanzang also recited it on his travels to and from the various kingdoms of India.

T 253 (般若波羅蜜多心經 Bōrě Bōluómìduō Xīnjīng). Translated by Trepiṭaka Prajñā in 790 CE. The Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra exists principally in a short version and in two differing longer versions. The translation presented here is of the standard long version. This longer sūtra provides context for the main teaching of the text, including statements clearly indicating that Prajñāpāramitā is the practice of bodhisattvas, rather than mere philosophy.

T 366 (佛說阿彌陀經 Fó Shuō Āmítuó Jīng). Translated by Trepiṭaka Kumārajīva in 402 CE. Also known as the Amitābha Sūtra, this text describes the pure land of Sukhāvatī and how to enter into this realm, through various skillful means and explanations of truth. The sūtra advocates the practice of reciting the name of Amitābha as a mantra. At the end of the Kumārajīva edition is a mantra for rebirth in Sukhāvatī, along with instructions for it passed down from another Indian master. This section of the text has also been included in the English translation.

T 1077 (七倶胝佛母所說准提陀羅尼經 Qījùzhī Fómǔ Suǒshuō Zhǔntí Tuóluóní Jīng). Translated by Trepiṭaka Divākara in 685 CE. In this sūtra, the Buddha teaches the Cundī Dhāraṇī to help people in later times. The dhāraṇī is introduced for the first time in the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra, in which a bodhisattva endeavors in attaining samādhi using the mantra “oṃ maṇipadme hūṃ.” After attaining this samādhi, innumerable perfectly enlightened buddhas reply in one voice with the Great Cundī Dhāraṇī.

T 1586 (唯識三十論頌 Wéishí Sānshí Lùn Sòng). Translated by Trepiṭaka Dharma Master Xuanzang in 648 CE. This work is commonly called Thirty Verses on Consciousness Only, and is a core text of the Consciousness Only school of Buddhism, also called Yogācāra or Vijñānavāda. The thirty verses in this work were composed by Vasubandhu Bodhisattva in order to teach the subtle truth that all perceived phenomena are manifestations of consciousness. For this work, the original verses by Vasubandhu were translated, without commentary.

Translated Texts of Ancient China

For more file formats: Ancient China Text Archive

Long before and after Buddhism had arrived in China, parallel cultivation teachings and practices flourished in native Chinese forms, such as those taught in Daoism and Confucianism. Several cultivation texts from ancient China are available below.

Daoist work from the Tang Dynasty. The Classic of Purity and Stillness (清靜經 Qīngjìng Jīng) is an important and central text in the Daoist religion. It builds upon the Laozi and uses the literary style of the Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra to explain the method of attaining the Dào in systematic, cascading logic with few adornments. The text has been commented upon extensively, is universally praised, and is commonly recited to this day.

Daoist work from the Tang Dynasty. The Hundred Character Tablet (百字碑 Bǎizì Bēi) is a short work attributed to the Daoist immortal Lü Dongbin. It consists of twenty lines of verse, teaching the essential methods of becoming a celestial immortal. The general approach includes tempering the vital breath with silence, and practicing non-action to tame the mind. It is then explained that the various transformations develop naturally from this basis.

Unaffiliated work from the Zhou Dynasty. The Great Learning (大學 Dàxué) is an important work derived from the Classic of Rites (禮記 Lǐjì). The basic teaching of the Great Learning expounds the ideals of self-cultivation, explaining how it establishes the proper basis for every endeavor, and that it naturally leads to a peaceful society. This general view of self-cultivation, as well as the relationship between man and Heaven, belongs to an early stratum of Chinese culture in which the leader of a state was not an ordinary ruler, but a cultivated sage-king.