SŪTRA Skt., lit. “thread.”
[Hinduism] The sūtras reduce the content of the Brāhmanas, from which they derive, and summarize their text for the purpose of practical application in short, pithy statements that usually cannot be understood without a commentary.
Three types of sūtras are distinguished: (1) the Shrauta-Sūtras, which are based on shruti texts (divine revelation) and concern the performance of major sacrifices; (2) the Grihya-Sūtras, which govern household customs in the event of birth, marriage, and death; (3) the Dharma-Sūtras, which indicate the duties of the various castes and life stations. From these are derived the later law books (e.g., that of Manu). All darshanas (Hindu systems of philosophy) were also originally composed in sūtra form. The best known of these are the Vedānta or Brahma-Sūtras and Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtra.
[Buddhism] [Zen] (Pali, sutta; Jap., kyō); discourses of the Buddha. The sūtras are collected in the second part of the Buddhist canon (Tripítaka), the Sūtra-pítaka, or “Basket of the Teachings.”
The sūtras have been preserved in Pali and Sanskrit, as well as in Chinese and Tibetan translations. According to tradition they derive directly from the Buddha. The sūtras are prose texts, each introduced by the words, “Thus have I heard”. These words are ascribed to Ānanda, a student of the Buddha. He is supposed to have retained the discourses of the Buddha in memory and to have recited them at the first Buddhist council, immediately after the death of the Buddha. After these introductory words, the circumstances that occasioned the Buddha to give the discourse are described, as well as the place, the time of year, etc. Then the actual instruction follows, sometimes in the form of a dialog. The style of the sūtras is simple, popular, and didactically oriented. They are rich in parables and allegories. In many sūtras songs (gāthā) are interpolated. Each sūtra constitutes a self-sufficient unit.
The Hīnayāna sūtras are divided into “collections,” which in the Pali canon are called Nikāyas and in the Sanskrit version, Āgamas. The Nikāyas are the Dīgha-nikāya, Majjhima-nikāya, Samyutta-nikāya, Anguttara-nikāya, and Khuddaka-nikāya.
Along with these Hīnayāna sūtras, a great number of Mahāyāna sūtras have also been preserved. They were originally composed in Sanskrit but are for the most part extant only in Chinese or Tibetan translations. They are thought to have been composed between the 1st century B.C.E. and the 6th century C.E. They adopted the external form of the Hīnayāna sūtras— they also begin with the words “Thus have I heard” and a description of the place, occasion, and the persons present. Three types of Mahāyāna sūtras are differentiated: Vaipulya-sūtras, dhāranīs, and independent sūtras.
As to content, two currents of tradition can be recognized:
1. Sūtras based on faith (shraddhā), which treat buddhology and the bodhisattva teaching and stress devotion. Their area of origin is probably north India. In these sūtras, no bounds are set to the imagination —buddhas and bodhisattvas perform countless miracles in limitless space and endless time. They are elevated to the level of divine beings— a tendency in the Mahāyāna that accommodates the religious needs of the layfolk but also arises from the nature of the Mahāyāna , with its doctrines of non substantiality and emptiness (shūnyatā) that come to expression in a view that sees the world as illusory (māyā). In such a view, all miracles, like the world of appearance itself, are no more than a product of illusion.
2. Philosophically oriented sūtras that have as their theme emptiness, the central notion of the Mahāyāna. These sūtras originated in the eastern part of central India. They were differently interpreted by Mahāyāna thinkers and this provided the impetus for the formation of various schools. The most important independent sūtras are: Saddharmapundarīka-sūtra (Lotus Sūtra), Lankāvatāra-sūtra, Lalitavistara, Samādhirāja-sūtra, Sukhāvatī-Vyūha-sūtra, Dashabhūmika, Badrakalpika-sutra, Brahmajāla-sūtra, Gandavyūha-sūtra, Shrīmālā-devī-sūtra, Amitābha-sūtra, Amitāyurdhyāna-sūtra, Vimalkīrtinirdesha-sūtra, Shūrangama-sūtra.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Documents on the Sūtras
Books about the Sūtras
External links: Sūtra / Kalpa Sūtras / Shrauta-Sūtras > Shulba-Sūtras / Grihya-Sūtras / Dharma-Sūtras