The Nirvana Sutra: Volume 1 (Bdk English Tripitaka: Taisho, 374)

One of the most influential Buddhist texts in East Asia, the Mah y na Mah parinirv a-s tra takes the occasion of kyamuni Buddha s last sermon to present a thoroughly Mah y na message in which buddhas are mythically eternal yet a constant presence in our world, all living beings possess buddha-nature and attain liberation when they realize this, vegetarianism is asserted as the new standard for monastics, and icchantikas are problematic individuals whose liberation is usually hopeless. More commonly called by its abbreviated title, Nirvana Sutra, there are three Chinese translations of this text, the most influential being the forty-fascicle effort by Dharmak ema produced between 420-431 C.E. There is no complete Sanskrit text for this sutra, but a number of Sanskrit fragments are extant, and the material in these fragments and the parallel Chinese translation by Faxian have been taken into consideration in preparing the present translation. This book translates the first ten fascicles of the Dharmak ema translation into English, and is the first of four volumes.