The MahÃÂvaipulya MahÃÂsaá¹ÂnipÃÂta Sà «tra (Chinese: 大æ¹çÂÂ大éÂÂç¶Â, pinyin: DàfÃÂng dÃÂng dàjàjëng, Great Extensive Great Collection Sà «tra) is a Mahayana Buddhist anthology of Mahayana sutras.
The sutra was translated into Chinese three times. The only extant copy of the entire collection is found in Chinese, though the individual sutras can be found in Sanskrit and in the Tibetan canon. The anthology consists of 17 sutras across 60 fascicles.
The MahÃÂsaá¹ÂnipÃÂta Sà «tra is an important collection of Mahayana sutras for the Indian Mahayana commentary tradition. The sutras in this collection were important sources for Indian anthologies like the à Âiká¹£ÃÂsamuccaya of Shantideva and the Sà «trasamuccaya. It is also a major source for the RatnagotravibhÃÂga which especially relies on the DhÃÂraá¹Âià ÂvararÃÂja Sà «tra. The sutra was also important in Central Asian Buddhism, and it is cited in the Book of Zambasta along with the PrajñÃÂpÃÂramitàand BuddhÃÂvataá¹Âsaka sutras.
The MahÃÂsaá¹ÂnipÃÂta was also an important source for the East Asian Buddhist tradition, and it was translated numerous times by some of the preeminent translators of Chinese Buddhism. It was one of the first Mahayana sutras translated into Chinese as it was first translated by the 2nd century CE figure Lokaká¹£ema (though his translation is no longer extant). Another version of the MahÃÂsaá¹ÂnipÃÂta, also now lost, was translated by KumÃÂrajëva in the early 5th century. Another translation was carried out by Dharmaká¹£ema from 414 to 421 (of fascicles I-XI & XIII) which is the basis for the version that is now extant as Taishà  Tripiá¹Âaka no. 397. This version was further completed with the addition of the missing Aká¹£ayamatinirdeà Âa Sà «tra by Zhiyan and Baoyun (fascicle XII, c. 427) and by further translations ofàNarendrayaà Âas (fascicles XIV-XVII, c. 586 CE).
The entire MahÃÂsaá¹ÂnipÃÂta does not survive in the Tibetan canon. However, various independent chapters are preserved in Tibetan translations (chapter 1-2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12). The colophons and titles of these independent Tibetan translations mention that they are part of the MahÃÂsaá¹ÂnipÃÂta collection.
The sutras of the MahÃÂsaá¹ÂnipÃÂta Sà «tra discuss all of the main topics of Mahayana Buddhism. As such it is a major source for Mahayana teachings on the bodhisattva path, bodhicitta, non-duality, dhÃÂraá¹Âë, and the decline of Dharma.
The DhÃÂraá¹Âëà ÂvararÃÂja sà «tra (also known as the TathÃÂgatamahÃÂÃÂkaruá¹ÂÃÂÃÂnirdeà Âa) was very influential on Indian Buddhism. This sutra is a key source for the RatnagotravibhÃÂga an important Indian treatise on Buddha-nature. The RatnagotravibhÃÂga draws on the DhÃÂraá¹Âëà ÂvararÃÂja for all seven of its main topics and for its discussions of the triratnavaá¹Âà Âa (lineage of the three jewels). The DhÃÂraá¹Âëà ÂvararÃÂja also explicitly points out that the nature of the minds of sentient beings is fundamentally pure (cittaprakrtivisuddhi), even if they are bound by the adventitious afflictions. This is a key notion also found in the RatnagotravibhÃÂga.
The DhÃÂraá¹Âëà ÂvararÃÂja sà «tra is also an important source for the Tibetan tradition's understanding of the three turnings of the wheel of Dharma since it describes the Buddha's teaching as consisting of three phases.
The Candragarbha sutra was particularly influential because it enumerates the notion of the decline of the Dharma, or decline of the Buddha's teachings, dividing this into three eras. This teaching was very influential on Pure Land Buddhism in general as well as on Japanese Buddhist schools of the Kamakura period, such as Shinran's Jà Âdo Shinshà «, the largest Buddhist tradition in Japan.
The Chinese edition of the MahÃÂsaá¹ÂnipÃÂta Sà «tra (Taisho Tripitaka no. 397) contains the following sutras:
Some parts of the sutra have been translated into English. 84000.co currently contains five translations of individual sutras:
Furthermore, Jaehee Han includes a translation of the Gaganagañja sà «tra in thesis The Sky as a MahÃÂyÃÂna Symbol of Emptiness and Generous Fullness: A Study and Translation of the Gaganagañjaparipá¹Âcchà(University of Oslo October 2020).
The Chinese version of the MahÃÂsaá¹ÂnipÃÂta is currently being translated by Alexander James O'Neill (along with ÃÂloka Dharmacaká¹£us and Charles Patton). As of 2026, two volumes have been published:
The Chinese Buddhist Canon also included various other sà «tras which seemed to have been associated with the MahÃÂsaá¹ÂnipÃÂta. These are found in the MahÃÂsaá¹ÂnipÃÂta Section (Dàjàbù, Taishà  Tripiá¹Âaka Volume 13) of the Chinese canon. These sà «tras are: