藏

Treasury, thesaurus, store, to hide; the Canon. An intp. of (sa) piṭaka, a basket, box, granary, collection of writings. The 二藏 twofold canon may be the sutras and the (sa) vinaya; or the Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna scriptures. The 三藏 or (sa) tripiṭaka consists of the sutras, (sa) vinaya, and (sa) śāstras ((sa) abhidharma). The 四藏 fourfold canon adds a miscellaneous collection. The 五藏 fivefold collection is sutras, (sa) vinaya, (sa) abhidharma, miscellaneous, and spells, or, instead of the spells, a bodhisattva collection. There is also an esoteric fivefold canon, the first three being the above, the last two being the (sa) prājñāpāramitā and the (sa) dhāraṇīs.