Reference List
Reference List of Titles of Buddhist and Hindu Scriptures Cited in the Text
All books are written in Sanskrit unless otherwise indicated.
Ashtāsāhāsrikā,
Prajnāpāramitā
Perfection of Wisdom
in Eight Thousand Sections. See
Prajnaparamita.
Avadana
A class of stories
similar to jatakas but composed in
Sanskrit; includes moral precepts
regarding the results of actions of
mundane existence.
Avatamsaka
Sutra
The Flower Ornament
Scriptures. A compilation of Mahayana
treatises including the Gandvyuha.
Bodhicharyavatara
A philosophical
treatise on the duties appropriate for
monks.
Bodhicharyavataratika
A commentary on the
Bodhicharyavatara.
Buddhabhashita
Buddhanama Sutra
Sutra of Buddha’s
Names Recited by the Buddha. Written by
the monk-scholar Bodhruchi.
Devimahatmya
Glorification of the
Goddess. A Hindu text exalting the Great
Goddess as the Supreme Being.
Devipurana
Legends of the
Goddess. A sectarian Hindu religious
text exalting the Great Goddess as the
Supreme Being.
Dharanisamgraha
Collection of Charms.
A dharani (support) is a charm
containing mystical formulae that are
chanted by practitioners of Mahayana and
Vajrayana Budhhism.
Gandvyuha
Part of the Avatamsaka
Sutra, the Gandavyuha is one of the nine
principal Mahayana Buddhist scriptures.
It recounts the story of a young man’s
search for enlightenment.
Hevajratantra
Tantra of Hevajra. A
tantric Buddhist text devoted to Hevajra
as the presiding deity.
Jataka
Didactic stories of
the previous lives of Buddha Sakyamuni.
which have remained extremely popular
with Buddhists of all sects. The stories
were originally written in the Pali
language.
Kalachakratantra
Tantra of the Wheel of
Time. An important philosophical text of
tantric or Vajrayana Buddhism.
Kammavacha
A Pali ritual text
extracted from the Vinayapitaka and
popular with Burmese Buddhists; it is
frequently used at meetings of the Order
for the Correct Performance of Monastic
Ceremonies.
Karandavyuha
Text glorifying
Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
Krishnayamaritantra
Tantra of the Dark
Enemy of Death. A ritual text of
Vajrayana Buddhism in which the god
Krishnayamari is the presiding deity.
Lalitavistara
One of the biographies
of Buddha Sakyamuni.
Pancharaksha
Five Protections. A
collection of five protective charms and
incantations associated with five
goddesses.
Paramartha
Namasangiti
Verses eulogizing the
names of Bodhisattva Marijusri.
Phra Chao Sip
Chat
A Thai collection of
ten of the Buddha’s previous birth
stories known as jatakas. See Wray,
Rosenfield, and Bailey 1972.
Phra Malai
A book popular in
Thailand, it recounts the experiences of
Phra Malai, a monk who through his
supernatural powers visited both heaven
and hell.
Prajnaparamita
Perfection of Wisdom.
One of the most important philosophical
texts of Mahayana Buddhism.
Saddharmapundarika
Lotus of the True Law.
A Mahayana text, known commonly as the
Lotus Sutra.
Saratthadipani
Light on the True
Meaning. A Pali commentary, by the monk
Sariputta who lived during the twelfth
century in Sri Lanka, on the
Samantapasadika by the monk-scholar
Buddhaghosha (active fifth century).
Suvarnaprabhasot-
tamaraja Sutra
Radiant Victorious
Kings Sutra. Didactic tales explaining
the merits of mystic formulae and
expounding Mahayana Philosophy.
Traibhumi
Three Worlds. A Thai
Buddhist text authored by King Lu Thai
(r. 1347-74?); a work on Buddhist
cosmology describing the three worlds.
Tripitaka
Three Baskets. A
collection of the three kinds of
Buddhist sacred writings, consisting of
the Buddha’s sermons, monastic rules,
and philosphical treatises.
Vajrachchhedika
Prajnaparamita
The Diamond Cutter
Perfection of Wisdom. A Mahayana text,
known commonly as the Diamond Sutra.
Vimalakirtinirdesa
The Sutra Spoken by
Vimalakirti. A text expounding Mahayana
philosophy through a discourse between
Vimalakirti, a layman, and Bodhisattva
Marijusri.
Vinayapitaka
That portion of the
Tripitaka that deals with the rules nd
regulations governing the lives of
monks.