Skip to main content
University of California Press

About the Book

Some 2000 years ago Buddhism experienced a major reformation through a movement called the Mahayana, or "Great Vehicle," which dominated religious through in much of Asia for many centuries and still exerts considerable influence. The basic Mahayana texts, sermons ascribed to the Buddha and called "sutras" in Sanskrit, discussed the "perfect wisdom." The "Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom" took shape between 50 and 2000 A.D. in southern India during one of the most momentous outbursts of religious creativity in human history.


Some 2000 years ago Buddhism experienced a major reformation through a movement called the Mahayana, or "Great Vehicle," which dominated religious through in much of Asia for many centuries and still exerts considerable influence. The basic Mahayana texts

About the Author

Edward Conze (1904 – September 24, 1979) was an Anglo-German scholar best known for his pioneering translations of Buddhist texts.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations
Preface
Chapter Headings of the Perfection of Wisdom in 18,000 Lines
Divisions of the Abhisamayiilankiira
Introduction to Chapters
Outline of Chapters 1-21
Translation of the Sutra
Appendix I
Appendix II
Numerical Lists
Index

Reviews

"This is a translation of one of the most important expressions of Mahayana Buddhism by the foremost Western authority on the 'perfect wisdom literature.'. . . . It warrants careful study by anyone wishing to 'get into' the thought-world and the experiential frame of reference of Mahayana Buddhism."
--Religious Studies Review
 
"This work, the product of so many years of devotion. . . will be a welcome addition to the library of those interested in Buddhist and comparative philosophy and religion."
--Journal of Indian Philosophy