Prajnaparamita, aka: Prajna-paramita, Prajñāpāramitā; 7 Definition(s)

Introduction

Prajnaparamita means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

In Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

1) Prajñāpāramitā (प्रज्ञापारमिता) is said to give birth to the Buddhas according to appendix 9 of the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter VII).—“All the Tathāgatas depend on the profound Prajñāpāramitā to realize (sākṣātkāra) the true nature (tathatā), the summit (niṣṭhā) of all dharmas and attain anuttara-samyaksaṃbodhi. That is why it is said that the profound Prajñāpāramitā gives birth to the Buddhas, is ‘the Mother of the Buddhas’”.

2) Prajñāpāramitā (प्रज्ञापारमिता) refers to the “virtue of wisdom” and represents one of the six perfections (pāramitā) according to appendix 6 of the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter VIII). How does the Bodhisattva fulfill the virtue of wisdom (prajñāpāramitā)? Answer: When his great mind reflects (manasikaroti) and analyses (vibhanakti). Thus the Brahmin Govinda, the great minister (mahāmātya), divided the great earth (mahāpṛthivī) of Jambudvīpa into seven parts; he also divided into seven parts a determined number of large and small cities (nagara), of villages (nigama) and hamlets (antarāpaṇa). Such is the virtue of wisdom.

According to Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter XXIX), “what is prajñāpāramitā? Answer.—From the first production of the mind of Bodhi, the Bodhisattvas seek the knowledge of all the aspects (sarvākārajñāna), in the course of which they understand the true nature of dharmas: this wisdom is the prajñāpāramitā”.

context information

Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.

General definition (in Buddhism)

Prajñāpāramitā (प्रज्ञापारमिता) or simply prajñā refers to the “perfection of wisdom” and represents the last of the “six perferctions” (ṣaṭpāramitā) as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 17). The Dharma-samgraha (Dharmasangraha) is an extensive glossary of Buddhist technical terms in Sanskrit (eg., ṣaṣ-pāramitā and prajñā-pāramitā). The work is attributed to Nagarjuna who lived around the 2nd century A.D.

Prajñāpāramitā forms, besides a part of the “six perferctions” (ṣaṭpāramitā), also a part of the “ten perfections” (daśa-pāramitā).

The word Prajñāpāramitā combines the Sanskrit words prajñā (wisdom) with pāramitā (perfection). Prajñāpāramitā is a central concept in Mahāyāna Buddhism and its practice and understanding are taken to be indispensable elements of the Bodhisattva Path. The practice of Prajñāpāramitā is elucidated and described in the genre of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, which vary widely in length and exhaustiveness. The Perfection of Wisdom Sutras suggest that all things, including oneself, appear as thoughtforms (conceptual constructs). The earliest Mahayana Sutras were of the Prajñāpāramitā type.

Prajñāpāramitā (Sanskrit: प्रज्ञापारमिता) in Buddhism, means "the Perfection of (Transcendent) Wisdom.")

Prajñāpāramitā is a Sanskrit term used in Buddhism that translates roughly into English as the "Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom." Prajñāpāramitā is a central concept in Mahāyāna Buddhism and its practice and understanding are taken to be indispensable elements of the Bodhisattva Path. The practice of Prajñāpāramitā is elucidated and described in the genre of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, which vary widely in length and exhaustiveness.

Prajñāpāramitā is a generic term for a series of Mahāyāna texts known as the "Perfection of Wisdom" discourses. These texts, the earliest of which date around the 1st century BCE, are among the first known Mahāyāna literature, and are aptly named, due to their special interest in the understanding of the nature of wisdom or prajñā.

Western scholars often consider the earliest sūtra in the Prajñāpāramitā class to be the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra or "Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines", which was probably put in writing in the 1st century BCE.

Prajñāpāramitā (प्रज्ञापारमिता) or Parṇaśavarī refers to the fifth of “seven days” (saptavāra) classified as a dhāraṇī according to a 17th-century Sanskrit manuscript from Nepal .—This collection associates each dhāraṇī with a specific day of the week, a tradition going back to at least the sixteenth century in Nepal.

Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit-English dictionary

Prajñāpāramitā (प्रज्ञापारमिता).—one of the transcendent virtues; Buddh.

Prajñāpāramitā is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms prajñā and pāramitā (पारमिता).

Prajñāpāramitā (प्रज्ञापारमिता).—(see pāramitā 2), as n. of a work or class of works, extant in several versions, of which I have excerpted for this study two, Aṣṭasāhasrikāp° (AsP) and Śatasāhasrikā-p° (ŚsP), qq.v.; there are other references under the name of Prajñāp° alone: so Mvy 505 refers to, and 506-623 cites, a list of samādhis as Prajñāpāramitodbhavita-(the list occurs ŚsP 1412.8 ff.); so, (Ārya-) Prajñāp° Śikṣ 49.5; 120.11; 313.18, 349.6; 351.9; called Mahatī Praj° Śikṣ 275.14; °tā-parivarta Gv 124.26; °tā-mukha-parivarta 125.1 ff.; see also 149.1 ff. et alibi; °tā-pustaka Sādh 127.5, et alibi; personified and depicted in Mmk, Ārya-pra° 109.27; 318.9; Bhagavatī Pra° 38.11; 40.11; 312.7, 17, 24-25.

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