Goddesses Of Animals

  

Both wild and domesticated animals appear as goddess images. 

In at least one case, we find a wild and a domesticated version of the same animal representing separate god desses: Egyptian Bast (domesticated cat) and Sekhmet (lioness). 

In all circumstances, however, the goddesss familiar animal was common in the area where she was wor shiped; goddesses are not represented by exotic or alien fauna. 

One of the most important animal images for the goddess is the cow. 

Domesticated in Egypt approximately 5,000 years ago from wild cattle (where cows were honored as images of the goddesses Hathor and Neith), the cows nourishing milk symbolically connects this animal to human mothers. 

In a few cases, the goddess is seen associated with a bull. 

Greek Europa was carried across the sky by a bull, Mesopotamian Innana owned the bull of heaven (see Eastern Mediterranean), Irish Medb kidnapped a mag ical bull (see Celtic). 

But most commonly, the milch cow serves as a symbol of the abundant and nurturing goddess. 

In Scandinavia, the cow was a primal being, Audhumbla, who freed the first beings from the primordial ice in which they were frozen. 

Among the Irish Celts, we find Boand, ‘‘she of the white cows, who brought fertility to the land through the waters of the river that bears her name (Boyne). 

Honoring the ‘‘sacred cow, embodiment of the Hindu goddess Prthvı, in India gives religious support for respecting the cows economic and nutritional importance. 

In the same culture, the goddess of wealth, Laks˛mı, appears as a beautiful cow, and cows are called by her name. 

In Egypt, Hathor was depicted with the horned head of a cow, which had huge wings rising from her shoulders; in this shape, she gave birth to the universe. 

Anahita (see Eastern Medi terranean) was embodied in herds of cows on whose brows moons were branded. 

Nearby, Ugaritic Anat took on the form of a cow to mate with her beloved brother, the god Baal. 

The cow was not only an earthly creature but was imagined as heavenly as well. 

When a greedy person milked Irelands Glas Ghaibhleann (see Celtic) into a sieve, the animal was so insulted that she levitated into the heavens where she walks the ‘‘White Cows Path, the Milky Way. 

The Greeks connected this broad band of stars with the cow goddess Hera, who sprayed the heavens with milk while feeding her son Heracles. 

In some Christian narratives, the starry road was formed from the milk of the virgin Mary (see Eastern Mediterranean). 

The Egyptians saw the sky as a great cows belly, with the sun rising between the horns of the solar cow Hathor. 

Another domesticated animal that provided meat and milk, as well as skin for leather, was the goat, whose usefulness became part of her symbolic importance. 

The hollow horn of Greek Amaltea became the cornucopia, symbol of abundance. 

The Scandinavian heavenly goat Hedrun provided endless intoxicating mead that fed heroes in the afterlife. 

Goats were offered as sacrifices to Hittite Wurusemu (see Eastern Mediterranean). 

Other goddesses to whom goats are sacrificed are Tibetan Tara (see India) and Ethiopian Atete (see Africa). 

Used less often for food than for transportation, the horse appears connected with goddesses prominently in the mythologies of most Indo-European cultures as well as that of other lands. 

Goddesses can appear in horse form, accompanied by or riding horses, or drawn by them in a chariot. 

Many are associated with celestial powers, including the sun and moon. 

Celtic Epona and A ine may have represented the sun that speeds across the sky in a chariot drawn by horses; the folkloric English figure Lady Godiva (see Celts) may descend from a horse goddess. 

The feminine solar horse appears in India as well, in the figures of Samjn a and the dawn maiden Usas, who drove a chariot pulled by red horses. 

Two divine horses pulled the chariot of Scandina vian Sol, while Hungarian Xatel-Ekwa rode three horses simultaneously. 

Occasion ally, a lunar goddess was associated with the horses that pull the moons silver chariot; Greek Selene rode in such a chariot. 

Persian Anahita (see Eastern Mediterra nean) rode in a chariot drawn by four white horses signifying her control over the weather. 

Although typically connected with light, horses can also be associated with goddesses of darkness. 

A nightmarish horse, Russian Mora (see Slavic), killed people as they slept. 

In Scandinavia, the goddess Nott drove black horses that pulled the dark ness across the sky at nightfall. 

As horses were often used in battle, it is not surprising to find goddesses of war associated with this animal. 

In Greece, horses were connected with the warrior women called Amazons, who bore horse-names like Hippolyta and Melanippe. 

In Scandina via, a similar group of horsewomen, the Valkyries, brought dead heroes from the battlefield to heaven. 

In Ireland, the war goddess Macha was identified with horses, for she could outrun them even when nine months pregnant. 

Horses can represent transformation, as with Sumerian Ereshkegal (see Eastern Mediterranean), whose horse rode the boundary between death and life, or Greek Medusa who gave birth to the winged horse Pegasus, symbol of transformative poetry. 

Medusa may be connected with an obscure form of the grain goddess Demeter, who was impregnated while wearing a horses head. 

In the Baltic, the death goddess Giltine˙ drove two black horses, while in Wales the goddess Rhiannon rode a white horse from the Otherworld and was later forced to carry people on her own back like a mare. 

In hunting societies, wild herd animals like deer and buffalo appear as divinities, sometimes pictured in whimsical fashion. 

In Scandinavia, the Skogsfruen (see Busch frauen) herded wild animals and, when not otherwise occupied, liked to knit socks. 

But the underlying image of the goddess of wild herds is as a cosmic game warden, controlling access to the beasts and thus to the meat they provide. 

In southeastern Europe, Dali was goddess of mountain sheep who appeared as a nubile woman with whom male hunters had intercourse, which empowered them to become great hunters. 

Yet, like other goddesses of the hunt, she put prohibitions on hunters and killed any who broke her commands. 

The connection of goddesses with hunting is common, despite similarly common prohibitions on human women hunting. 

Greek Artemis wanders through the forests accompanied by her Nymphs, tending to woodland creatures and helping animals safely bear their young. 

Other such goddesses are Celtic Arduinna and Artio, Irish Flidais (see Celtic), Finnish Mielikki, Eskimo Sedna, and Siberian Umaj (see Circumpolar). 

In North America, Wohpe, the white buffalo calf-woman of the North American Sioux, is not only a guide to correct behavior when hunting but a general power of order. 

Such woodland goddesses set the rules and expectations for hunters, who were rewarded with success if they treated the goddess with respect. 

Dogs often appear as goddess images, as do their wild counterparts, wolves. 

Often the dog appears as a companion of the goddess rather than an embodiment of her, as with Celtic Nehalennia, Greek Hecate, and Hawaiian Pele (see Pacific Islands). 

Eskimo Sedna (see Circumpolar) lived with a dog, described sometimes as her hus band. 

Scandinavian Frau Goˆde (see Holle in Scandinavia) always traveled with a dog, which she used to annoy people who did not sufficiently respect her. 

Babylonian Gula was always shown accompanied by dogs, and dogs were buried in her temple, suggesting that they were connected with her healing powers. 

In rare cases, as with Irish Uirne, the divine figures are themselves canine in form, but more typically we find the dog by the goddesss side. 

Wolf goddesses, by contrast, were embodied in wolf form rather than merely traveling in their company. 

The related Roman figures of Rhea Silvia, Lupa, and Acca Larentia show the goddess in both human and lupine form. 

Both as dog and as wolf, the goddess appears more protective than threatening, although as Brimwylf (see Scandinavian) she can appear monstrous to those who would threaten her child. 

Like canines, felines can appear as both wild and tame in goddess iconography. 

However, when the tame cat appears as the wild lion, she changes from an affectionate goddess (Egypts Hathor, with her cat ears; Scandinavias sensual Freya; Chinese Wu Lo, goddess of fertility) to a fierce one (Indias Durga, a warrior goddess; Babylonian Eriskegal, queen of death; Egypts raging Sekhmet). 

At times, a complex but generally kindly goddess such as Cybele (see Southeastern Europe) or Chinas Xiwang Mu appeared accompanied by lions or tigers, which suggest the goddesss fiercer powers. 

Among other wild animals that serve as goddess images or vehicles, the bear appears as both the goddess herself (Greek Callisto and Artemis, Celtic Artio) and as her mate (Tlingit Rhpisunt; see North America). 

The goddess appeared as a fox in Japan (Inari), where she could transform herself into a beautiful woman to seduce and kill men. 

Finally, occasional goddesses take on animal forms appropriate to a spe cific region, such as Egyptian Taweret (hippopotamus). 

~ Kiran Atma

You can learn more about Goddess Symbolism here.

Goddesses Of Fire

The mobile element of fire is more typically depicted as feminine than masculine, although a few fire gods appear in world mythology. 

These are often blacksmiths, such as the Celtic Goibniu, Greek Hephaestus, or Roman Vulcan. 

Such gods do not so much embody fire as use it in transformation of one material to another. 

But the role of smith is not always a male one in mythology. 

Smith goddesses also appear, most notably Celtic Brigit, connected to smithcraft, poetry, and healing, all of which show her trans formational power. 

In Japan, too, we find the smith goddess Ishikore-Dome, who crafted the first mirror and saved the world from darkness. 

In China, the smith Moye worked with her husband to craft an impossibly strong sword, in the process of which she sacrificed herself to the fire. 

Fire itself appears as a goddess in one of two forms: as the wild, tempestuous fire of volcanoes, and as the tamed and useful fire of the hearth. 

The former figures are typi cally depicted as voluptuous and demanding of lovers, who often perish at their em brace. 

The unpredictability of volcanic eruption and the potential destructiveness to human settlement, coupled with the astonishing fertility of volcanic soil after it has cooled and settled, led to depiction of volcano goddesses as both threatening and fecund. 

Around the ‘‘ring of fire in the Pacific, such volcano women can be found, from the Aleutian Chuginadak and Multnomah Loo-Wit (see North America) to Micronesian Latmikaik and Hawaiian Pele (see Pacific Islands). 

In Europe, a similar figure is Roman Aetna, whose mountain bears her name. 

The earths inner fires, which pour out from the surface as lava, gave rise to images of women with flames hidden in their genitals, as in Goga (see Pacific Islands). 

The connection of such natural fires with the domestic flame upon the hearth was articulated in some cases, as in Japanese Fuji, who was both the volcanic mountain and the familys cook fire. 

More commonly, the fire goddess of the household is seen as a distinct domestic presence, to whom simple rituals are offered daily while cooking and eating. 

The hearth, which is either the home of the goddess or her very body, was often hedged about with taboos. 

Spitting in the fire, dumping urine or other waste upon it, or otherwise showing disrespect was typically forbidden, with penalties enacted for transgressions. 

Across Indo-European territory, the hearth goddess was typically vir ginal (Greek Hestia, Roman Vesta, Celtic Brigit) and served by a college of similarly chaste priestesses. 

At other times, she was a nurturing maternal force (such as the Bal tic Gabija). 

Finally, in a few cases fire goddesses were connected with water, espe cially hot springs, as was Celtic Sul (see Sun, above). 

~ Kiran Atma

You can learn more about Goddess Symbolism here.

Goddess Yum Chenmo

 

Yum Chenmo (also known as Prajnaparamita) is a Tibetan goddess of knowledge.

Yum Chenmo is regarded as the mother of transcendental knowledge and the female Buddha.

She maintains the universe's rules in balance and provides insight to those who seek it.

She is the abyss, the All and Nothing, as well as the embodiment of meditation and instruction.

What Is The Meaning Of Yum Chenmo?

In Mahyna and Theravada Buddhism, the term "Prajpramit" (Sanskrit: ) refers to "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge." 

Both a refined perspective on the nature of reality and a specific collection of Mahyna texts (stras) that cover this knowledge are referred to as "prajpramit." 

It also alludes to Prajpramit Devi, a female goddess who is a manifestation of knowledge and is often referred to as the "Great Mother" (Tibetan: Yum Chenmo).

The Sanskrit terms praj, meaning wisdom or knowledge, and pramit, meaning perfection or transcendence, are combined to form the word prajpramit. 

A key theory in Mahyna Buddhism, prjpramit is often linked to concepts like emptiness (nyat), "lack of svabhva" (essence), the illusory nature of things (my), the idea that all phenomena are characterized by "non-arising" (anutpda, i.e., unborn), and the madhyamaka philosophy of Ngrjuna. Its application and comprehension are regarded as essential components of the Bodhisattva path. 

What Is The Origin Of Yum Chenmo?

Some of the Prajnpramit stras are believed to be among the oldest Mahyna stras, according to Edward Conze, who describes them as "a collection of roughly forty writings... written somewhere on the Indian subcontinent between about 100 BC and AD 600."

The Aashasrik Prajpramit Stra, also known as "Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines," is generally accepted by Western academics to be the oldest text in the Prajpramit class. 

It was most likely written down in the first century BCE. This timeline is based on Edward Conze's opinions, who primarily took into account the dates of translation into various languages. 

The Ratnaguasacaya Gth, a poetry translation of this work, is also available. Because it is not written in conventional literary Sanskrit, some people assume it to be a little older. 

These conclusions, however, are based on late-dating Indian writings, where poetry and mantras are often preserved in more archaic forms.

The Sanskrit Ratnagunasasacaya Gth's first two chapters serve as the PP literature's urtext. Chapters three through twenty-eight of the Ratnagunasacaya, as well as the prose of the Ashasrik, are then created. 

This foundational text was then further developed with (2) passages from the Abhidharma, (3) concessions to the "Buddhism of Faith," and (4) allusions to the Pure Land in the Mahayana. As a result of this procedure, the PP stras were (5) further expanded into bigger stras and (6) contracted into shorter stras (such as the Diamond Stra, Heart Stra, and Prajpramit in One Letter). The (7) Indian PP Commentaries, (8) Tantric PP writings, and (9) Chinese Chan scriptures were all based on this extended corpus. 

Jan Nattier also supports the idea that the Ashasrik evolved as different levels were gradually introduced. However, Matthew Orsborn has recently asserted that the complete sutra may have been produced as a single unit based on the chiastic elements of the text (with a few additions added on the core chapters).

Teachings Associated With Yumn Chenmo?

Many academics have hypothesized that the Caitika branch of the Mahsghikas was responsible for the creation of the Mahyna Prajpramit teachings. 

They contend that the southern Mahsghika schools in the ndhra area, near the Ka River, are where the Aashasrik Prajpramit Stra developed. 

These Mahsghikas built two illustrious monasteries close to Amarvati and the Dhnyakataka, which gave the Prvaaila and Aparaaila schools their names. 

The Ashasrik Prajpramit Stra in Prakrit was available at each of these schools. Guang Xing also judges that the Mahsghikas' perspective on the Buddha is represented in the Aashasrik Prajpramit Stra. According to Edward Conze, this sutra was created about 100 BCE.

The Aashasrik Prajpramit's damaged and incomplete Kharoh manuscript was released in 2012 by Harry Falk and Seishi Karashima. It has a ca. radiocarbon date. It is one of the earliest known Buddhist scriptures, dating from 75 CE. 

It resembles the earliest existing translation of the Prajpramit genre into a language other than Indian, Lokakema's translation of the Aashasrik into Chinese (about 179 CE), whose original text is thought to be in the Gndhr language. 

It is also most likely a translation from Gndhri since it extends on numerous phrases and includes glosses for terms that are absent from the Gndhri when compared to the normal Sanskrit text. 

Ancient Yum Chenmo Scriptures.

This suggests that the work was written in Gandhara's native language, Gndhr (the region now called the Northwest Frontier of Pakistan, including Peshawar, Taxila and Swat Valley). 

It is obvious that the "Split" manuscript is a copy of an older text, indicating that the book may have been written before the first century CE.

Japanese academics have long held the Diamond Stra (Vajracchedik Prajpramit Stra) to be from a relatively early period in the formation of Prajpramit literature, in contrast to western academia. 

The Vajracchedik is often placed earlier in this relative chronology for reasons other than the date of translation, such as a comparison of the topics and contents. 

Some western academics also contend that the older Vajracchedik Prajpramit Stra served as a model for the Aashasrik Prajpramit Stra.

Gregory Schopen also believes the Vajracchedik to be older than the Aashasrik after looking at the vocabulary and expressions used in both texts. 

Examining similarities between the two texts, where the Ashasrik seems to reflect the later or more evolved standpoint, helps to support this viewpoint. 

The focus has shifted from an oral tradition (Vajracchedik) to a written tradition (Aashasrik), according to Schopen, who also claims that these works demonstrate this movement.

One of the biggest PP sutras, the Pacaviatis Hasrika Prajpramit Stra (T. Shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa; C. Mohe bore boluomi jing) is composed of three volumes of the Tibetan Kangyur (26-28). 

Given that there are multiple Indian commentators on this text, including those by Vimuktisena, Haribhadra, Smtijnakrti, and Ratnakarashanti, it was also one of the most significant and well-known PP sutras in India. 

The original Sanskrit translation of the sutra, discovered in Gilgit, is still available. There are four translations into Chinese as well.

Nattier claims that the Pacaviatishasrik is essentially the Aashasrik basal text that has been "sliced" up and filled with additional content, greatly lengthening the book. 

The greatest of the PP sutras, the huge "atashasrik Prajpramit Stra" (100,000 lines), is the result of this growth process, which persisted.

Joseph Walser asserts that there is evidence linking the Pacavi-atis-hasrik Prajpramit Stra (25,000 lines) and the atas-hasrik Prajpramit Stra (100,000 lines) to the Dharmaguptaka sect, but not the Aas-hasrik Prajpramit Stra (8,000 lines).

Other PP works that were significantly shorter and had a structure distinct from the Ashasrik were also written. 

Conze notes that among the shorter PP writings, "two of them, the Diamond Stra and the Heart Stra are in a class by themselves and deservely recognized across the world of Northern Buddhism, both of which have been translated into various languages and have frequently been remarked upon." 

According to Jan Nattier, the Heart Sutra was likely created in China using fragments of the Pacavi-atis-hasrik and other writings. century seven. Red Pine, on the other hand, disagrees with Nattier's position and argues that the Heart Sutra is an Indian creation.

Tantric Prajpramit writings, including sutras like the Adhyardhaatik Prajpramit, were created starting in the year 500 CE, with the advent of Vajrayana Buddhism (150 lines). Additionally, according to some Tibetan Buddhists, Ngrjuna received the Prajpramit terma teachings from the Ngarja, or "King of the Ngas," who had been watching over them at the bottom of the ocean.

According to the Chinese monk Zhu Shixing, who brought back a copy of the Prajpramit with 25,000 lines, it suggests that certain Prajpramit manuscripts were known in Central Asia by the middle of the third century CE.

Zhu Shixing Brings Yum Chenmo To China.

When the Chinese monk Zhu Shixing made the decision to go to Khotan in 260 AD in search of the original Sanskrit stras, he was successful in finding the Prajpramit in 25,000 verses and attempted to convey it to China. 

However, many Hnaynists in Khotan made an effort to stop it since they believed the text to be unorthodox. In the end, Zhu Shixing remained in Khotan but sent the manuscript to Luoyang where a Khotanese monk by the name of Mokala transcribed it. 

A second copy of the same scripture was brought to Chang'an by the Khotanese monk Gtamitra in 296.

Beginning in the second century CE, a large number of Prajpramit writings were translated into Chinese. The principal translators are Lokakema (c. 408 CE), Zh Qan (c.), Dharmaraka (c.), Mokala (c.), Kumrajva (c.), Xuánzàng (c.), Făxián (c.), and Dnapla (c.). These translations had a significant impact on both Chinese Buddhism and East Asian Mdhyamaka.

A Chinese scholar named Xuanzang (c. 602-664) visited India and brought three copies of the Mahprajpramit Stra back to China after his long travels. 

In order to preserve the integrity of the original source material, Xuanzang began translating the extensive work in 660 CE with a group of disciple translators. Several of the disciple translators urged Xuanzang to produce an abbreviated version. A series of dreams helped Xuanzang make up his mind to produce an unabridged, complete book that was true to the original 600 fascicles.

The Dazhidulun (T no. 1509), a comprehensive commentary on the Pacaviatishasrik Prajpramit translated by Kumrajva, is a significant PP book in East Asian Buddhism (344–413 CE). 

The Heart and Diamond sutra has subsequent commentary from Zen Buddhists, and Kakai's commentary—from the ninth century—is the earliest documented Tantric commentary.

The academics Jinamitra and Silendrabodhi, as well as the translator Ye shes sDe, introduced the PP sutras to Tibet for the first time under the reign of Trisong Detsen (742–796). 

The Abhisamaya Lakra and its multiple commentaries are the primary sources used by Tibetan Buddhist scholasticism to study the PP sutras. The Gelug school, according to Georges Dreyfus, "takes the Ornament as the central text for the study of the path" and "treats it as a kind of Buddhist encyclopedia, read in light of commentaries by Je Dzong-ka-ba, Gyel-tsap Je, and the authors of manuals [monastic textbooks]." This school places a special emphasis on the Abhisamaylakra.

Eight Prajpramit sutras that were "taught to bodhisattvas" and are regarded as superior (from the Sravakayana sutras) because they are superior "in eliminating conceptually imaged forms" are listed in an Indian commentary on the Mahynasagraha titled Vivtaguhyrthapiavykhy (A Condensed Explanation of the Revealed Secred Meaning, Derge No. 4052).

The following eight texts are presented in order of length:

The Vajracchedik Prajpramit Stra (Diamond Stra) is another name for the 300-line Triatik Prajpramit Stra.

The Pacaatik Prajpramit Stra has 500 lines.

The 700-line Saptaatik Prajpramit Stra is the bodhisattva Majur's explanation of Prajpramit.

Srdhadvishasrik Prajpramit Stra: 2,500 lines taken from Suvikrntavikrmin Bodhisattva's inquiries

The Aashasrik Prajpramit Stra has 8,000 lines.

The Adaashasrik Prajpramit Stra has 18,000 lines.

the Pacaviatishasrik Prajpramit Stra, which contains 25,000 lines.

100,000 lines, atashasrik Prajpramit Stra.

The vast Sanskrit collection of Prajpramit sutras known as "the Xuanzàng Prajpramit Library" or "The Great Prajpramitstra" ( , pinyin: br bluóm du jing) was translated by the Chinese scholar and translator Xuánzăng (, 602-664). 

Three copies of this Sanskrit text that Xuánzăng acquired in South India were brought back to China, and it is stated that these three sources served as the foundation for his translation. It has 600 scrolls in all and 5 million Chinese characters.

There are 16 texts from the Prajpramit collection.

The Prajpramit Stra has 100,000 verses (scrolls 1-400)

The Prajpramit Stra has 25,000 verses (scrolls 401-478)

The Prajpramit Stra has 18,000 verses (scrolls 479-537)

8,000 verses of the Prajpramit sutra (scrolls 538-555)

8,000 verses of a condensed version of the Prajpramit Stra (scrolls 556-565)

Devarajapravara Prajpramit Stra is a section of Suvikrnta's Questions (scrolls 566-573)

The Prajpramit Stra has 700 verses (scrolls 574-575)

Prajpramit Ngaripa-priccha (scroll 576)

Diamant Sutra (scroll 577)

The Prajpramit Stra has 150 verses (scroll 578)

"rya pa capramitnirdea nma mahyna stra" (bokrull 579-592)

Questions posed by Suvikrnta (scroll 593-600)

The Abhisamaylakra is regarded as a commentary on seventeen Prajpramit (PP) primary texts in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. 

These are referred to as the "Seventeen Mothers and Sons," and they are considered to be the most significant PP sutras (Wyl. yum sras bcu bdun).

These are The Six Mothers:

The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines, Tohoku (Toh) Catalogue #8 (Sanskrit: atashasrikprajpramit; Wylie: sher phyin stong phrag brgya pa/('bum/)).

Pacaviatishasrikprajpramit, sher phyin stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa/(nyi khri/), Toh 9. The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines

Sher Phyin Khri Brgyad Stong Pa, The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines (Adaas Hasrikprajpramit), Toh 10.

Shes phyin khri pa, Toh 11, The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines (Daashasrikprajpramit).

In Eight Thousand Lines: The Perfection of Wisdom (Aashasrikprajpramit, sher phyin brgyad stong pa), Toh 12.

Shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa sdud pa tshigs su, in The Verses that Summarize the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajpramitsacayagth), Toh 13.

These are The Eleven Sons:

The Seven Hundred Lines of Perfect Wisdom (sapta atik praj pramit), Toh 24.

Pacaatik Prajpramit: The Perfection of Wisdom in Five Hundred Lines, Toh 15.

The illustrious perfection of wisdom is found in the fifty lines of the Bhagavata Purana (Toh 18).

The Rules of Wisdom's Perfection in One Hundred and Fifty Lines (prajpramitnayaatapacaatik), Toh 17.

The Twenty-Five Entrances to Wisdom's Perfection (pacaviatikprajpramitmukha), Toh 20

Svalpkaraprajpramit: The Perfection of Wisdom in a Few Syllables, Toh 22.

The Wisdom Mother's Perfection in One Syllable (ekkarmtprajpramit), Toh 23.

Kauika's (kauikaprajpramit's) Perfection of Wisdom, Toh 19

The Questions of Suvikrntavikrmin, Toh 14. The Perfection of Wisdom Teachings, "The Questions of Suvikrntavikrmin" (suvikrntavikrmipariparipcch­praj­pramit­nirdea).

The "Diamond Cutter" (vajracchedik) Sutra on the Perfection of Wisdom, Toh 16.

Blessed Mother, the Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom (Bhagavatprajpramithdaya), Toh 21.

In addition to the seventeen Mothers and Sons sutras, the Kangyur's Prajpramit section also contains the following sutras:

The 108 Names of the Perfection of Wisdom (prajpramitnmaataka), Toh 25.

Sryagarbha's (sryagarbhaprajpramit's) Perfection of Wisdom, Toh 26.

Candragarbha's Perfection of Wisdom (Candragarbhaprajpramit), Toh 27.

Samantabhadra's Perfection of Wisdom (samantabhadraprajpramit), Toh 28.

Vajrapiprajpramit, Toh 29, The Perfection of Wisdom for Vajrapi

Vajraketu's Perfection of Wisdom (vajraketuprajpramit), Toh 30.

On the Prajpramit sutras, there are several Indian and subsequently Chinese commentators. Some of the more significant commentaries include:

The vast and comprehensive Mahprajpramitopadea (, T no. 1509) was translated into Chinese by Buddhist scholar Kumrajva (344–413 CE). This essay is written in response to the Pacaviatishasrik Prajpramit. 

The colophon of this work states that it is by the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna (c. 2nd century), however numerous academics, including Étienne Lamotte, have questioned this claim. Gelongma Karma Migme Chodron and Lamotte translated this text from the French into English as Le Traité de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse.

The first Prajpramit shastra in the Tibetan tradition is called Abhisamaya Lakra (Ornament of Clear Realization). 

Tradition has it that the master of the Yogachara school and scholar Asanga (fl. 4th century CE) received this revelation from the Bodhisattva Maitreya.

Later Tibetan works have been influenced by the Abhisamayalankaraloka, the Indian commentary on this text by Haribadra. 

Another Indian commentary on the AA is written by Vimuktisena.

commonly credited to Vasubandhu, "atashasrik-pacaviatishasrik-daashasrik-prajpramit-bhak" (4th century).

Darsena-attributed Satasahasrika-paramita-brhattika.

The Prajnaparamitarthasamgraha-karika of Dignga.

The Prajpramitopadea of Ratnkaranti.

The figure of the Bodhisattva (literally, awakening-being), which is defined in the 8,000-line Prajpramit sutra as follows, is a central topic of the Prajpramit sutras.

"One who practices all dharmas without hindrance [asakti, asaktat] and also understands all dharmas exactly as they are."

Then, a Bodhisattva is a being that perceives reality or suchness (Tatht) as it is and feels everything "without attachment" (asakti). 

The fundamental ideal of Mahayana (Great Vehicle), which views Buddhahood as the endpoint of the Buddhist path and not only for oneself but for all sentient beings, is the bodhisattva:

They determine that "we will tame one single self..." We will guide one solitary self to ultimate Nirvana.

In no way should a Bodhisattva train himself in this manner.

Instead, he ought to instruct himself as follows: "I will put my own self in Suchness [the real way of things], and in order to benefit the entire world,

All creatures will be brought into Suchness, and I shall guide the whole infinite universe of beings to Nirvana."

The practice of Prajpramit, a very profound (gambhra) level of knowledge that is a comprehension of reality emerging through analysis as well as meditative insight, is a key characteristic of the Bodhisattva. It is transcendental, non-conceptual, and non-dual (advaya). 

The phrase may be interpreted literally to mean transcendental knowledge or "knowledge gone to the other (beach)". According to the Aashasrik Prajpramit Stra

The non-grasping of form, feeling, perception, volition, and cognition is referred to as the bodhisattva's Prajpramit.

In another section of the 8,000-line Prajpramit sutra, it is explained that Prajpramit means that a Bodhisattva stands in emptiness (shunyata) by not standing (sth) or resting on any dharma (phenomena), whether conditioned or unconditioned. Standard lists of dharmas, such as the five aggregates, the sense fields (ayatana), nirvana, Buddhahood, etc., include those that a Bodhisattva "does not stand" on. 

To clarify, it is said that Bodhisattvas "wander without a home" (aniketacr); "home" or "abode" being signs (nimitta, meaning a subjective mental impression) of sensory objects and the afflictions that result from them. 

This includes a lack of even "proper" mental indications and perceptions, such as "form is not self," "I practice Prajpramit," etc., as well as its "not taking up" (aparighta). To stand in Prajpramit is to be free of all structures and signs; to be signless (animitta) means to be devoid of them. 

According to the Prajpramit sutras, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the past have engaged in Prajpramit practice. In the Prajpramit sutras, Prajpramit is also linked to Sarvajata (all-knowledge), a characteristic of a Buddha's intellect that understands the essence of all dharmas.

In addition, "such omniscient wisdom is always nonconceptual and free from reference points since it is the constant and panoramic awareness of the nature of all phenomena and does not involve any shift between meditative equipoise and subsequent attainment," says Karl Brunnholzl, "such omniscient wisdom is always free from reference points because it is the constant and panoramic awareness of the nature of all phenomena."

Yum Chenmo And Bodhisattva.

According to Edward Conze, a Bodhisattva who practices prajpramit should possess the following psychological traits:

Non-apprehension (anupalabdhi) (anupalabdhi)

Absence of "non-attachment" or settling down (anabhinivesa)

Not achieved (aprapti). Any dharma cannot be "had," "possessed," "acquired," or "gained" by anyone.

being independent of all dharmas, standing alone, and not relying on any dharma.

The attitude of the accomplished sage is one of non-assertion, one might say.

The Prajpramit sutras also stress the significance of other pramits (perfections) for the Bodhisattva, such as Ksanti (patience): "They [bodhisattvas] cannot accomplish their separate ends without resorting to this patience (knti)," they say.

Another characteristic of a Bodhisattva is their lack of fear (natras) in the face of the notion that all dharmas, including their own existence, are empty. 

A trustworthy buddy (kalyanamitra) is helpful on the road to bravery. Additionally, Bodhisattvas have no sense of self-importance or pride in their status as Bodhisattvas (na manyeta). These are crucial aspects of a bodhisattva's mind, also known as bodhicitta. 

The Prajpramit sutras further state that bodhicitta is a middle path, that it is "immutable" (avikra), "free from conceptualization," and that it is neither seen as existing (astit) or non-existent (nstit) (avikalpa).

Bodhisattvas and Mahsattvas are also willing to give up all of their meritorious deeds for sentience. 

The Bodhisattva is said to generate "great compassion" (maha-karu) for all beings on their path to liberation while also maintaining a sense of equanimity (upek) and distance from them through their understanding of emptiness. 

As a result, the Bodhisattva knows that even after bringing A Bodhisattva may develop into the following via prajipramit practice:

"you shall become a support to those who are without support, a savior of the helpless, a defender of the defenceless, a refuge to those without refuge, a place to rest to those without resting place, the final relief of those who are without it, an island to those without one, a light to the blind, a guide to the guideless, a resort to those without one, and...guide to the path those who have lost it."

Yum Chenmo And Adherence To Dharma.

Other significant concepts found in the Prajpramit scriptures are Tathgata, Dharmat (the character of Dharma), and Tatht (Suchness or Thusness). 

Prajpramit is the practice of adhering to "the nature of Dharma" and seeing the Tathgata (i.e. the Buddha). 

According to the Aashasrik Prajpramit Stra, these terms are typically used interchangeably: "As the suchness (tathat) of dharmas is immovable (acalit), and the suchness (tathat) of dharmas is the Tathgata." 

The Tathgata is described as "neither coming nor going" in the Aashasrik Prajpramit Stra. 

In addition, the Ashasrik Prajpramit Stra provides a list of terms that describe Tathgata as also existing "beyond coming and going," among them: 

1. Being such (tathat); 

2. Anutpda (unrisen); 

3. Limit of reality (bhtakoi); 

4. "Nyat" (emptiness); 

5. Category (yathvatta); 

6. Separation (virga); 

7. Nirodha (cease); 

8. Space component (kadhtu). 

The sutra continues:

There cannot exist a Tathgata apart from these dharmas. These dharmas' and the Tathgatas' respective suchnesses are all one single suchness (ekaivai tathat), not two or split (dvaidhkra). ... beyond any categorisation (gaanvyativtt) since it doesn't exist.

Since suchness, like the other words, is not a real thing (bhta, svabhva), it only manifests conceptually via dependent origination, much like a dream or an illusion, and as a result, suchness does not come or go.

Yum Chenmo And Dharma.

The Prajpramit takes into account the ontological position of dharmas in six different ways, according to Edward Conze:

Dharmas don't exist since they aren't self-aware (svabhava).

Dharmas only have a theoretical existence. They are only words, just forms of expression.

Dharmas are "without markings, with one mark alone, i.e., without marks," where a mark (laksana) is a distinguishing characteristic that sets one dharma apart from another.

Dharmas are completely and utterly secluded (vivikta) (atyantavivikta).

Dharmas are not really ever brought forth, they are unborn; they have never been created, they have never been (ajata).

Numerous similes, such as dreams, magical illusions, echoes, reflected pictures, mirages, and space, are used to represent non-production.

One is said to receive a vision of the Buddha (the Tathgata) via witnessing this Tatht; doing so is referred to as seeing the Buddha's Dharmakaya (Dharma body), which is none other than the real essence of dharmas.

The majority of contemporary Buddhist scholars, including Lamotte, Conze, and Yin Shun, believe that the Prajpramit sutras' main topic is nyat (emptiness, voidness, hollowness). 

Author Edward Conze says,

The Sanskrit phrase is svabhva-nya, and it is now the main teaching of Prajpramit with reference to own-being that it is "empty." 

Svabhava may refer to any oblique case in this tatpurua compound, in which the final item is qualified by the first without losing its grammatical independence. 

The Mahayana interprets this to suggest that all dharmas are reliant on something other than themselves, that is, that they are not ultimate realities in and of themselves, but are only imagined and wrongly differentiated. From a slightly different perspective, this means that dharmas reveal an own-being that is identical with emptiness when viewed with perfected gnosis, i.e., they are empty in their own-being.

In the Prajpramit sutras, apophatic expressions are often used to convey the nature of reality as seen by Prajpramit. 

The Prajpramit sutras often use the formula "A is not A, thus it is A" or, more frequently, merely part of the prior assertion, as in "XY is a Y-less XY," to negate a previous claim. 

Hajime Nakamura, a Japanese Buddhist scholar, refers to this denial as the "logic of not" (na prthak). An example of this use of negative is found in the Diamond Sutra:

Subhuti, all of them are dharma-less as far as "all dharmas" are concerned. They are known as "all dharmas" for this reason.

This form's foundation is the Buddhist notion of the two truths, which places conventional truth and ultimate truth side by side. 

The idea that nothing has an ontological essence and that everything is merely conceptual and without substance is supposed to be expounded by the negation of conventional truth, which is meant to demonstrate the ultimate truth of the emptiness (or "nyat") of all reality.

In order to emphasize that dharmas should not be conceptualized as either existing or not, the Prajpramit sutras state: "In the way in which dharmas exist (savidyante), just so do they not exist (asavidyante)".

Yum Chenmo In Prajpramit Sutras And Diamond Sutra. 

According to the Prajpramit sutras, all dharmas (phenomena) resemble illusions (my), dreams (svapna), and mirages in some manner. 

According to the Diamond Sutra:

This is how one should see the conditioned: "A shooting star, a clouding of the sight, a lamp, an illusion, a drop of dew, a bubble, a dream, a lightning's flash, a thunder cloud."

The highest wisdom, or praja, is a form of spiritual knowledge that sees everything as illusory, including the highest Buddhist goals like Buddhahood and Nirvana. According to Subhuti in the Ashasrik Prajpramit Stra:

Even if there were something more distinct, I would still say that it is similar to an illusion or a dream because Nirva and illusions are not two entirely different things.

This is related to the transience and illusory character of dharmas. The Prajpramit sutras compare awakening of beings (by "cutting off" the conceptualization of self view; Skt: tmadi chindati) and the fact that this is also ultimately like an illusion because their aggregates "are neither bound nor released" to the simile of a magician (mykra: "illusion-maker") who, while seemingly killing his illusory persons by cutting off their heads, really kills nobody. 

The conception and mental creation of dharmas as existing or not existing, as emerging or not originating, is hence the illusion. 

Prajpramit, who is devoid of ideas and fabrications, sees through this deception.

The "great armor" (mahsanaha), also known as the "illusory man" (mypurua), of the Bodhisattva is described as seeing dharmas and beings as an illusion (mydharmat).

The phenomenon of laudatory self reference—the lengthy praise of the sutra itself, the immense merits to be obtained from treating even one verse of it with reverence, and the unpleasant consequences that will result from those who denigrate the scripture in accordance with karma—is another major theme of the Prajpramit sutras, according to Paul Williams.

According to Edward Conze, the Prajñāpāramitā sutras contributed considerable new doctrinal information in the latter levels and the bigger texts. Conze cites the following further accretions:

• Growing sectarianism, with all the hostility, abuse, and debate it entails
• the addition of ever-longer Abhidharma lists and an increase in scholasticism

Stress is being placed more and more on methodical skill, as well as its offshoots like the Bodhisattva's Vow and the four ways of conversion and its logical progressions like the difference between provisional and ultimate truth.

1. an increasing worry over practicing Buddhists, their heavenly Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Buddha-fields;
2. a propensity for repetition, overelaboration, and verbosity
3. Lamentations regarding the Dharma's decline
4. The more often the hidden meaning is revealed, the more the original meaning is obscured.

Any use of the term "Buddha's Dharma body" to refer to anything other than a collection of his teachings, a doctrine that describes a Bodhisattva's career in graded stages (bhmi) in increasing depth.

 Yum Chenmo In Art.

In Buddhist art, Prajpramit is often personified as a female bodhisattva known as Prajpramitdevi.

Art from the Himalayas, old Javanese art, and Cambodian art all include Prajpramitdevi.

In the eighth century CE, Mahayana Buddhism developed in the palace of Sailendra in ancient Java. 

Tara and Yum Chenmo.

The cult of Tara, which was first enshrined in Central Java's Kalasan temple in the eighth century, marked the beginning of Mahayana veneration of female Buddhist deities. 

There are similarities between some of Prajnaparamita's crucial roles and characteristics and those of Tara. 

Since Buddhas are created from wisdom, Tara and Prajnaparamita are both referred to as the mothers of all Buddhas. Srivijaya in Sumatra was ruled by the Sailendra dynasty as well. One of Nalanda's primary monasteries was also built in India by Srivijaya Maharaja Balaputra of Sailendras during the reign of the third Pala monarch Devapala (815-854). 

After that, Sumatra and Java-based manuscript editions of the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra spread and sparked a goddess of transcendent wisdom cult.

King Kertanegara of Singhasari gave royal support to tantric Buddhism in the 13th century, and as a result, various Prajnaparamita statues were created in the area, including the Prajnaparamita of Singhasari in East Java and the Prajnaparamita of Muaro Jambi Regency, Sumatra. 

As they were both created during the same time period, East Java and Jambi Prajnaparamitas are stylistically similar. Unfortunately, the Jambi Prajnaparamita is headless and was found in poor condition.

The statue of Prajnaparamita from East Java is perhaps the most well-known representation of the goddess of enlightenment and is regarded as the pinnacle of Indonesian classical old Java Hindu-Buddhist art. 

Amid Malang, East Java, next to the Singhasari temple, in the Cungkup Putri ruins, it was found. The lovely and calm statue is now on exhibit on the second floor of Gedung Arca at the National Museum of Indonesia in Jakarta.

For more refer to my list Of Hindu, Buddhist, And Jain (South Asian) Goddesses From India, Nepal, And Tibet.

~Kiran Atma

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