Knowra Prajnaparamita Prajnaparamita Prajnaparamita is a body of Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of wisdom and the emptiness of phenomena. Its texts explore how insight into emptiness transforms the bodhisattva path.
Śūnyatā : The Buddhist teaching that phenomena lack independent, permanent existence. Prajnaparamita texts make emptiness their central insight.
Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra : An early Prajnaparamita scripture known as the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines. It is a foundational extended presentation of the bodhisattva’s wisdom practice.
Mahayana : A major Buddhist tradition emphasizing the bodhisattva path and universal liberation. Prajnaparamita scriptures became foundational texts within this tradition.
Six Perfections : The six qualities cultivated on the Mahayana bodhisattva path: generosity, ethics, patience, effort, meditation, and wisdom. Prajnaparamita frames wisdom as one perfection practiced alongside five others.
Nihilism : The view that existence, meaning, or value is baseless or unreal. Prajnaparamita denies inherent existence without claiming that conventional experience is nonexistent.
Prajñā : In Buddhist thought, wisdom that sees reality without delusion. Prajnaparamita names wisdom perfected through insight into emptiness.
Diamond Sutra : A short Mahayana sutra teaching nonattachment through the emptiness of fixed identities and concepts. It condenses Prajnaparamita teachings into a concise dialogue on nonattachment.
Gandhāra : An ancient region spanning parts of present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, known for Buddhist culture. Early manuscript finds from this region include Prajnaparamita material.
Bodhisattva vow : A commitment to attain awakening for the liberation of all beings. The vow gives the wisdom teachings their compassionate purpose.
Eternalism : The view that a permanent, independent self or reality exists. Prajnaparamita rejects fixed essence as firmly as it rejects nihilistic nonexistence.
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