Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra

The Buddhāvataṃsaka-nāma-mahā­vaipulya-sūtra (The Mahāvaipulya Sūtra named "Buddhāvataṃsaka") is one of the most influential Mahāyāna sutras of East Asian Buddhism. It is often referred to in short as the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. In Classical Sanskrit, avataṃsa, vataṃsa and uttaṃsa (from stem taṃs, meaning "to decorate") all mean garland, wreath, or any circular ornament, such as an earring; suffix -ka often functions either as a diminutive or plural. Thus, the title may be rendered in English as A Garland of Buddhas, Buddha Ornaments, or Buddha's Fine Garland. In Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, the term avataṃsaka means "a great number," "a multitude," or "a collection." This is matched by the Tibetan title of the sutra, which is A Multitude of Buddhas (Tibetan: sangs rgyas phal po che).

Modern scholars consider the Buddhāvataṃsaka to be a compilation of numerous smaller sutras, many of which originally circulated independently and then were later brought together into the larger mature Buddhāvataṃsaka. Many of these independent Buddhāvataṃsaka sutras survive in Chinese translation.

The text has been described by the translator Thomas Cleary "the most grandiose, the most comprehensive, and the most beautifully arrayed of the Buddhist scriptures." The Buddhāvataṃsaka describes a cosmos of infinite realms upon realms filled with an immeasurable number of Buddhas. This sutra was especially influential in East Asian Buddhism. The vision expressed in this work was the foundation for the creation of the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism, which was characterized by a philosophy of interpenetration.