The Goodman Lectures 20: A Brief History of, and Introduction to, the Śatasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā

by Dr. Gareth Sparham
April 22, 2023

“The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines” is a colossal scripture. Probably the longest sacred book in existence, it comprises 12 volumes running to nearly 10,000 pages in the Tibetan translation included in the Kangyur. Both the history of the scripture following Traditional Buddhism and a different history following the Western Buddhological Academic Tradition are of value. A “constructivist middle position” balances the two perspectives. The explicit teaching of the Perfection of Wisdom scriptures is that the fundamental tenets of Buddhism (the dharma), their originator (the Buddha), and those who put the dharma into practice (the sangha) are appropriate objects of faith and worship but are not authoritatively true or special in and of themselves. Not understanding this turns even the most sacred scripture or perfect tradition into a basis for destructive, negative mental states.

This is the explicit teaching of even the shortest Perfection of Wisdom scriptures like the “Heart Sutra.” This longest version makes this abundantly clear. The Perfection of Wisdom scriptures are themselves subject to the same analysis and insight. They are appropriate objects of faith and worship, but they too are not authoritatively true in and of themselves. Implicit in this teaching is that the different traditions or cultures we find ourselves in, and even our secular scientific culture, though conveying truths and values worth defending, are not authoritatively true in and of themselves. The truths and values they convey can always be the basis for destructive, negative mental states. The absence of any absolute that bestows authority on any sacred scripture or any truths conveyed in a tradition leaves only the unique compassion adverted to by the transformed kama (“desire”) of the opening lines of the Perfection of Wisdom scriptures as a guiding hermeneutic principle. This principle is the perfection of wisdom called “the mother.”

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Khyentse Foundation Goodman Lectures | A series of online lectures by leading Buddhist studies scholars.

The Goodman Lectures are organized in honor of long-time Khyentse Foundation friend and advisor Professor Steven D. Goodman (1945–2020), whose enduring vision to make academic talks available to people beyond the classroom inspired KF and our friends in academia to share their knowledge and insight with a more general audience.

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