Questions on Selflessness

Questions on Selflessness (Skt. Nairātmyaparipṛcchā; Tib. བདག་མེད་པ་དྲིས་པ་, Wyl. bdag med pa dris pa) is a Mahayana sutra in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Dergé Kangyur. It consists of a dialogue between a group of followers of the Mahayana tradition and a group of tirthika philosophers, who call upon the Buddhists to explain and defend their doctrine of selflessness.

The structure of the text deviates notably from the standard sutra format, in which a description of the setting and the audience of the discourse is presented, followed by the delivery of the discourse itself and a conclusion extolling the benefits of the teaching. Rather, the text has neither a description of the setting nor the conclusion extolling its benefits, and its content consists not of the words of the Buddha himself but of those of the anonymous followers of the Mahayana.

Text

The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Kangyur, Toh 173

• English translation: Questions on Selflessness