M?y?j?la-s?tra - a Unique Text of the Gilgit D?rgh?gama

The M?y?j?la-s?tra is a unique Buddhist s?tra which is contained in the newly discovered manuscript of the Sanskrit Buddhist canonical collection called the D?rgha-?gama (The Long Collection). The discovery of this Sanskrit manuscript in the 1990s was a major development in early Buddhist studies (only P?li and Chinese versions were previously available). In the first part of this work Gleb Sharygin presented a transliteration, reconstruction and translation of the M?y?j?la-s?tra, No. 18 in the D?rgha-?gama manuscript, as well as an overview of its content. The text of the s?tra is in a seriously deteriorated state, but a great deal of repetition helped to reconstruct it safely. It is the meaning of the text that presented difficulties. The second part of this work grew from his attempts to understand it. The main result that the study brought is that the text likely constitutes an intermediate link that unites the older ways of canonical writing and thinking with the newer types of Buddhist literature and structures of thought. In particular, the study revealed that the M?y?j?la-s?tra likely was the source of the first chapters of the Sa?dhinirmocana-s?tra, the first Yog?c?ra-Vijñ?nav?da text.