Scripture of Buddhism
The Mahayana sutras.
The Great Vehicle's library: emptiness, compassion, and skillful means at cosmic scale.
LanguageSanskrit, then Chinese and Tibetan
Composedc. 100 BCE – 500 CE
What it holdsThe Heart, Lotus, and Diamond sutras — and hundreds more
How it is usedChanted, copied for merit, and taken as the seed of whole schools
Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this passage is held
The Mahayana sutras present a genuine historical puzzle the tradition answers on its own terms: they appear centuries after the Buddha's death yet are presented as his words. The traditional explanations — that they were taught to advanced disciples, hidden with the nagas until the world was ready, or that awakened teaching keeps arising — amount to an open canon, and Mahayana Buddhism is comfortable with that in a way few scriptural religions are. The Lotus, the Heart, the Diamond, the Pure Land sutras: each founded a school.
The same ground, other faiths
claims that share this one's ideas
Ahimsa — do no harm.
Hinduism · precept
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Micchami dukkadam.
Jainism · rite
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Guard the tongue.
Judaism · precept
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Love of God and neighbor is the whole law.
Christianity · core tenet
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Your parents have a claim on you.
Islam · precept
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Bhai Kanhaiya's water.
Sikhism · story
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