A Study of the Sanskrit text of the Mahayanasutralankara and its Indian commentaries preserved in Tibetan translation.
Department of Indian Studies
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The Mahayanasutralankara ("Ornament of the Mahayana Scriptures") is a foundational text of the Yogacara school of Buddhist philosophy and is also one of the key texts explaining the Bodhisattva Path of Mahayana Buddhism. As an "ornament" (alankara) it claims to give an elegant summary of the key teachings of the Mahayana Buddhist scriptures (sutras).
Given the proliferation of texts in the first centuries of the Christian Era accorded the status of "sutra" and the apparent contradictions between them, works which gave a clear and unambiguous statement of Buddhist teachings became increasingly important. Amongst the most significant of these texts is the Mahayanasutralankara. To date, no systematic study or adequate translation into a European language of Asanga's MSA has been made which draws on the subcommentaries and which makes use of recent research on the Yogacara school. It is now recognised that the Yogacara tradition as well as being instrumental in the articulation and elaboration of Buddhist philosophical ideas also played a significant role in the development of Buddhist tantric traditions in India. This study will situate the MSA both within Buddhist philosophical traditions and within practice traditions of the graduated path (kramamarga, lam rim) and Buddhist tantra.