ཚའ་མཐའ་མད intro.2

intro.2

The Sūtra on the Limits of Life contains content and themes that predate the advent of Mahāyāna Buddhism, and it has therefore been regarded by Tibetan tradition as a sūtra of the “Lesser Vehicle” (Hīnayāna).¹ This can also be gleaned from the opening verses of its Tibetan translation, which pay homage to the Three Jewels instead of all buddhas and bodhisattvas, as well as from the introductory scene of the sūtra, in which the Buddha is not, as is usual in the sūtras of the Mahāyāna, surrounded by a large number of bodhisattvas. In this sūtra, the Buddha, who is staying in Prince Jeta’s grove in Śrāvastī, addresses the monks directly and teaches in detail about the lifespans of the beings inhabiting the different realms of existence of the Buddhist cosmos.