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JENS-UWEHARTMANNLAN ̇KAVATARA-SUTRA
The Lan ̇kavatara-sutra(Discourse on the Descent into
Lan ̇ka) is a text in the MAHAYANAtradition, probably
composed sometime around the fourth century C.E.,
that purports to be a teaching given by the Buddha on
the island of Sri Lanka. The sutra discusses a number
of important Mahayana doctrines, including the non-
difference of identity between SAMSARA(or the cycle of
REBIRTH) and NIRVANA, and includes an entire chapter
devoted to a denunciation of meat-eating. Its organi-
zation and presentation are haphazard, which has led
a number of scholars to conclude that it is a com-
pendium of heterogeneous materials that saw signifi-
cant later interpolation. There are three extant Chinese
(Lengqie abadolo bao jing) and two Tibetan (Lang Kar
gShegs pa’i mdo) translations of the text, and one San-
skrit manuscript from Nepal, which was used by Bun-
yuNanjio in 1923 to construct a critical edition.
The Lan ̇kavatara-sutrais often associated with the
Indian Yogacara tradition because it discusses a num-
ber of basic doctrines associated with it, such as the
storehouse consciousness (ALAYAVIJN
ANA), the womb
of the tathagata (TATHAGATAGARBHA), and mind-only
(cittamatra). However, the Lan ̇kavatara-sutrais not
mentioned in the works of Yogacara “founders”
ASAN ̇GA (ca. 320–ca. 390) or VASUBANDHU(fourth
century C.E.). It was far more influential in East Asia,
and it played a prominent role in the development
of the Chan tradition. Its importance in East Asia is
attested by the fact that there are fifteen Chinese
commentaries on it, the most important of which is
by FAZANG(643–712). It is also one of the nine core
Mahayana texts (Navagrantha) of Newari Buddhism
in Nepal.See also:Chan School; Yogacara SchoolBibliography
Sutton, Florin G. Existence and Enlightenment in the Lan ̇kavatara-
sutra: A Study in the Ontology and Epistemology of the Yogacara
School of Mahayana Buddhism.Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1991.
Suzuki, Daisetz T., trans. The Lan ̇kavatara-sutra(1932). Reprint,
Boulder, CO: PrajñaPress, 1978.
JOHNPOWERSLAOSThe primary sources for the history of Buddhism in
Laos are texts, such as palm leaf and mulberry leaf
manuscripts, stone and metal inscriptions, traveler’s
reports, and printed materials. These sources, which
are held in monastic, governmental, and royal archives,
provide information on Lao Buddhism from only the
fourteenth century and after, and many have yet to re-
ceive scholarly scrutiny. A survey of the information
gleaned from these sources reveals the story of Bud-
dhism in Laos to be a fragmented and contested his-
tory of royal patronage and governmental reform, as
well as a creative engagement between local, indige-
nous beliefs and a translocal religion. As the various
kingdoms of what became Laos emerged as regional
centers of power and wealth, Buddhism helped con-
struct Lao identity. In turn, royal reform, rituals,
beliefs, aspirations, and vehicles of expression recon-
stituted Lao Buddhism.
Texts and inscriptions reflect the fragmented and,
for lack of a better word, syncretic, nature of the early
history of Lao Buddhism. Generally, the most com-
mon texts found in Laos before the twentieth centuryLANKA ̇ VATARA-SUTRA