大乘经

Mahāyāna sutras, the sūtra-piṭaka. Discourses ascribed to the Buddha, presumed to be written in India and translated into Chinese. These are divided into five classes corresponding to the Mahāyāna theory of the Buddha's life:

(1) Avataṃsaka, 華嚴 the sermons first preached by Śākyamuni after enlightenment;

(2) Vaipulya, 方等;

(3) Prajñā Pāramitā, 般若;

(4) Saddharma Puṇḍarīka, 法華; and last

(5) Mahāparinirvāṇa, 涅槃. Another list of Mahāyāna sutras is 般若; 寳積; 大集; 華嚴 and 涅槃. The sutras of Hīnayāna are given as the Agamas 阿含, etc.