Dictionary:
su·tra (sū'trə)  |
[Sanskrit sūtram, thread, sutra.]
| Artist: Sutra |
Influenced By:
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: sutra |
For more information on sutra, visit Britannica.com.
| Buddhism Dictionary: sūtra |
(Skt; Pāli, sutta, a thread). A discourse of the Buddha. In the Pāli Canon these texts are grouped together in the second of the three ‘baskets’ (piṭaka) or divisions of the teachings, namely the Sūtra Piṭaka. This in turn is divided into five collections known as Nikāyas (Āgamas in Sanskrit), in which the suttas are grouped in order of length. These early discourses are all attributed to the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. The Mahāyāna canonical collection of sūtras is more extensive and includes many lengthy independent works. While the historical Buddha is plainly not the author of these works, they are regarded by followers of the Mahāyānas as of no less, and perhaps greater importance, than the earlier texts. Many, such as the Lotus Sūtra and the Laṇkāvatāra Sūtra, became the foundational scriptures of new schools of Buddhism. The tradition of composing sūtras continued for many centuries during the medieval period. Most of these were composed in Sanskrit but many now survive only in Tibetan or Chinese translation. Sometimes independent works were amalgamated into more extensive ones known as vaipūlya sūtras.
| Wikipedia: Sūtra |
|
Part of a series on |
 |
|
Rigveda · Yajurveda · Samaveda · Atharvaveda |
|
Aitareya · Brihadaranyaka · Isha · Taittiriya · Chandogya · Kena · Maitri · Mundaka · Mandukya · Katha · Kaushitaki · Prashna · Shvetashvatara |
|
Smriti · Śruti · Bhagavad Gita · Purana · Manu Smriti · Agama · Pancharatra · Tantra · Akilathirattu · Sūtra · Stotra · Dharmashastra · Divya Prabandha · Tevaram · Ramacharitamanas · Bhagavata Purana |
|
|
Sūtra (Sanskrit: sū́tra, Devanagari: सूत्र, Pāli: sutta), literally means a rope or thread that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism (or line, rule, formula), or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. It is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew (these words, including Latin suere and English to sew, all ultimately deriving from PIE *siH-/syuH- 'to sew').
In Hinduism the 'sutra' is a distinct type of literary composition, based on short aphoristic statements, generally using various technical terms. The literary form of the sutra was designed for concision, as the texts were intended to be memorized by students in some of the formal methods of scriptural and scientific study (Sanskrit: svādhyāya). Since each line is highly condensed, another literary form arose in which commentaries (Sanskrit: bhāṣya) on the sutras were added, to clarify and explain them.[1].
In Brahmin lineage, each family is supposed to have one Gotra, and one Sutra, meaning that a certain Veda (Śruti) is treasured by this family in way of learning by heart.
One of the most famous definitions of a sutra in Indian literature is itself a sutra and comes from the Vayu Purana:
"alpākṣaraṃ asandigdhaṃ sāravad viśvato mukham / astobhyaṃ anavadyaṃ ca sūtram sūtra vido viduḥ"
"Of minimal syllabary, unambiguous, pithy, comprehensive, / non-redundant, and without flaw: who knows the sūtra knows it to be thus."
In Buddhism, the term "sutra" refers mostly to canonical scriptures, many of which are regarded as records of the oral teachings of Gautama Buddha. In Chinese, these are known as 經 (pinyin: jīng). These teachings are assembled in part of the Tripitaka which is called Sutra Pitaka. There are also some Buddhist texts, such as the Platform Sutra, that are called sutras despite being attributed to much later authors. Some scholars consider that the Buddhist use of sutra is a mis-Sanskritization of sutta, and that the latter represented Sanskrit sūkta (well spoken).
The Pali form of the word, sutta is used exclusively to refer to Buddhist scriptures, those of the Pali Canon.
Contents |
Associated with Christianity
|
|||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
 | What was the first book? (history) |
| Nichiren (Japanese Buddhist monk and founder) |
| Aksapada Gautama (philosophy) |
 | When was the 'diamond sutra' printed? Read answer... |
| What is the best kama sutra position? Read answer... |
| Who is the author of kama sutra? Read answer... |
 | What is the jankinchi sutra and it's meaning? |
| When was Carmen Sutra born? |
| How many translations kama sutra? |
Copyrights:
 |
 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Buddhism Dictionary. A Dictionary of Buddhism. Copyright © 2003, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sūtra". Read more |
Mentioned in
|
