sutra

(1) As in Hinduism, a term meaning sacred text. (2) The Sutra Pitaka is one of the three divisions of the tripitaka . It contains the words and teachings of Buddha himself. (3) The Sutras are the foundational texts for Mahayana Buddhism, which differentiate Mahayana from Theravada Buddhism. Two important Sutras are the Heart Sutra and the Lotus Sutra .

Sanskrit; a discourse attributed to the Buddha; sutras comprise the second part of the Buddhist canon, or Tripitaka; they traditionally begin with the phrase "Thus have I heard. . . " and are believed to have been written down by the Buddha's disciple Ananda one hundred years after his death.

medium; threads of thought which outline the ancient spiritual texts