Buddhist texts facts for kids

The Dhyāna sutras (pronounced Dee-YAH-nah SOO-tras) are a collection of old Buddhist texts. They teach different ways to meditate and focus your mind. These writings were very important for people learning about Buddhism, especially in China.

What Are Dhyāna Sutras?

The Dhyāna sutras are like guidebooks for meditation. They explain how to practice different types of meditation to help calm your mind and gain wisdom. These texts were some of the earliest writings about meditation in Buddhism.

Meditation Teachings

The sutras include teachings from an early Buddhist group called the Sarvastivada school. They also have some very early ideas that later became part of Mahayana Buddhism. This means they show a mix of different meditation styles and thoughts.

Where Did These Teachings Come From?

Many of these meditation teachings came from a group of Buddhist teachers in a place called Kashmir. These teachers were skilled in what was known as "Buddhist Yoga." Their ideas traveled and became very important in the development of Buddhism in China.

Influence in China

The Dhyāna sutras had a big impact on how Buddhism grew in China. They helped shape the meditation practices that became popular there. These ancient texts guided many people on their spiritual journeys.

Images for kids

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  Illustrated Sinhalese covers and palm-leaf pages, depicting the events between the Bodhisattva's renunciation and the request by Brahmā Sahampati that he teach the Dharma after the Buddha's awakening.

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  Illustrated Lotus Sūtra from Korea; circa 1340, Accordion-format book; gold and silver on indigo-dyed mulberry paper.

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  Folio from a manuscript of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra depicting Shadakshari Lokesvara, early 12th century, Opaque watercolor on palm leaf.

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  Samyutagama Sūtra, Medieval China, 11th century

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  Burmese Pāli manuscript

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  Illuminated manuscript of a Jataka, the Story of Phra Malai's Visit to Heaven and Hell, Thailand, Bangkok style, 1813, ink, color and gold on paper, Honolulu Museum of Art

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  Frontispiece of the Chinese Diamond Sūtra, the oldest known dated printed book in the world

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  Sanskrit manuscript of the Heart Sūtra, written in the Siddhaṃ script. Bibliothèque nationale de France

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  A section from the Illustrated Sutra of Past and Present Karma (Kako genzai inga kyō emaki), mid-8th century, Japan

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  Image of leaves and the upper book cover of Thar pa chen po’i mod (The Sūtra of Great Liberation), showing Tibetan writings on black paper with an ink that contain gold, silver, copper, coral, lazurite, malachite, and mother of pearl. The unbound sheets are kept between two wooden boards covered with green brocade. The upper book cover shows the images of four of the Eight Medicine Buddhas.

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  Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche of Samye Ling Temple reads from prayer text.

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  Tibetan Buddhist manuscripts handmade with woodblock printing method by Tibetan buddhist monks of Tashilhunpo, Shigatse, Tibet in 1938

See also

In Spanish: Sutra (budismo) para niños