The Sutra on the Limits of Life
In The Sutra on the Limits of Life (Skt. Āyuḥparyantasutra; Tib. ཚེའི་མཐའི་མདོ།, Wyl. tshe’i mtha’i mdo) the Buddha, who is staying in Prince Jeta’s grove in Shravasti, addresses the monks directly and teaches in detail about the lifespans of the beings inhabiting the different realms of existence of the Buddhist cosmos.
It contains content and themes that predate the advent of Mahayana Buddhism, and it has therefore been regarded by Tibetan tradition as a sutra of the Hinayana. This can also be gleaned from the opening verses of its Tibetan translation, which pay homage to the Three Jewels instead of all Buddhas and bodhisattvas, as well as from the introductory scene of the sutra, in which the Buddha is not, as is usual in the sutras of the Mahayana, surrounded by a large number of bodhisattvas. [1]
Text
The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Dergé Kangyur, Toh 307.
- English translation:
The Sutra on the Limits of Life
References
- ↑ 84000 Translating the Words of the Buddha.