Sutrasamuccaya
The Sūtrasamuccaya is a collection of excerpts from various Buddhist Sutras. The Sūtrasamuccaya is extant in Chinese and Tibetan versions. According to the Chinese and Tibetan traditions, this anthology is attributed to Nagarjuna.
Alex Wayman in making reference to the Lankavatara Sutra and the Madhyamika holds that:
...as the Lankavatāra-sutra is cited several times, and the Mādhyamika Nāgārjuna surely precedes this scripture, it is highly unlikely that this Sūtrasamuccaya is by Nāgārjuna. The fourth century AD is the earliest possible period for such a compendium.
Content
The utmost rareness of a Buddha's appearanceThe utmost rareness of being born a human
The rareness of obtaining an auspicious rebirth
The rareness of having trust
The rareness of aspiring after Buddhahood
The rareness of great compassion
The rareness of forsaking obstructive conditions
The rareness of really serious Dharma-practice on the part of householders
- The Dharma-practice of householder-bodhisattvas
- Wrong practice, the evil of taking life, etc.
- Further wrong practice on the part of laymen—attachment to life, riches, etc.
- Spiritual friends as prerequisites for really serious Dharma-practice
The utmost rareness of beings who are truly and resolutely intent on the tathagatas' complete nirvana
The utmost rareness of beings who are resolutely intent on the ekayana
The utmost rareness of beings who progress in the direction of a Buddha's and bodhisattva's sublime and exalted position