prajnaparamita

Prajnaparamita, meaning "perfection of wisdom" in Sanskrit, is a central idea and a large body of Mahayana Buddhist scriptures. It designates both the ultimate attainment of wisdom and the collection of sutras that teach it. In Mahayana thought, Prajnaparamita refers to the realization of emptiness (shunyata) and dependent origination, which frees beings from ignorance and supports the path of the bodhisattva toward Buddhahood.

The Prajnaparamita literature encompasses numerous sutras, ranging from concise discourses to expansive treatises. Among the best known are the Heart Sutra (Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra), which emphasizes form’s emptiness and the wisdom beyond distinction, and the Diamond Sutra (Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra), renowned for its analysis of non-attachment and illusory nature of phenomena. Longer works, such as the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutras, elaborate on bodhisattva practices and the cultivation of wisdom. These texts were composed and circulated over several centuries, and they were influential across the Indian subcontinent and into East Asia.

In many traditions, Prajnaparamita is personified as a bodhisattva or goddess who embodies perfect wisdom. Iconography and devotional practices vary by region, with Prajnaparamita appearing in Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan, and other Buddhist art and ritual. The sutras have shaped philosophical currents in Madhyamaka and Yogacara schools by foregrounding emptiness and the non-dual nature of reality, while also shaping meditative and ethical practices centered on wisdom and compassion. The Heart and Diamond Sutras remain particularly influential and widely studied and chanted in contemporary Buddhist communities.