Prajnaparamita

Enshrined Manjushri with monks and deities, cover of a Prajnaparamita Sutra; Central or western Tibet; 15th century; Wood with opaque watercolour; 24.76 x 68.58 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California

A central concept in Mahayana Buddhism that refers to the perfect way of seeing reality. It also refers to a sutra or series of texts about wisdom and is considered integral on the path to becoming a bodhisattva. The sutras are also personified in the form of a female deity by the same name, who is a central figure of Mahayana Tantric Buddhism. From the Sanskrit words prajna, meaning “wisdom” and paramita, meaning “perfection.”