Oirat Translations of Prajnaparamita Sutras

Abstract

Prajnaparamita sutras are considered to be the fundamental texts of Mahayana Buddhism, the most honored of them are the nine makhavajpurjya sutras (long in content). At the final stage of Prajnaparamita texts formation there appear Sutras, representing the summary of the doctrine of Prajnaparamita. These sutras were translated into Tibetan and known as the seventeen «maternal» and «filial» scriptures. Prajnaparamita translations of sutras from Tibetan into the Oirat language were made by Zaya Pandita in the middle of the XVIIth century. The most important in its functional significance and prevalence are the three texts: «the Suvarnaprabhasa Sutra» («the Sutra of Golden light»), «the Vajracchedika Sutra» («the Diamond Sutra») and «the Hridaya Sutra» (« the Heart Sutra»).