On The Literary Characteristics Of The Sutra Of Golden Light Literary Analysis

Suvarna Prabhasa Sottama-Sutra, with its earliest Sanskrit version beingdiscovered in Nepal, has several translations in different languages, including TangutScript, Mongolian, Uighur Script and Chinese. This Buddhist scripture is widelyenshrined in regions where people believe in Mahayana Buddhism. It has long beenregarded by Buddhists as the scripture to guard their nation. Suvarna PrabhasaSottama-Sutra mainly described Bodhisattva’s activity, the guardian of nation:Vaisravana, and the thoughts of confession. In this Buddhist scripture, we can findthree stories of Buddha’s life, which are most widely known among Buddhists:Confession by a Golden Drum, The Story of Saving Thousands of Fish, and PrinceSattva Sacrifices Himself to Feed the Tiger. These stories are moving, full of twistsand turns, and has abundant literary flavor.In this paper, a discussion has been made on Suvarna Prabhasa Sottama-Sutrafrom a literary perspective. First, an analysis has been made on its narrative features,which were based on a fascinating, diversified narrative space. Moreover, an analysishas been made on its narrative literary style, in which Gatha was adopted to highlightits linguistic features. Dialogues were used to summarize the facts that were describedin above paragraphs or to describe certain functions. Second, an analysis has beenmade on its narrative languages. In this Buddhist scripture, several writing techniqueswere used, such as Apadana (analogy) and image. Third, an analysis has been madeon the images of Bodhisattva who appeared in the scripture. In Suvarna PrabhasaSottama-Sutra, the Buddha is the main body of the dialogues, and other Bodhisattvasplay an assistant role in the scripture. With such a narrative structure, the Buddha’seternal image could be highlighted.In addition, an introduction has been made on Suvarna Prabhasa Sottama-Sutra,including introductions on its translators and evolution of its notes. A comparison hasbeen made on the contents and structures of the three translations that still existnowadays. In conclusion, the argumentation in Suvarna Prabhasa Sottama-Sutra isthe most completed. The translation by Dharmaksema is most widely distributedamong Buddhists. Moreover, a detailed description and summary has been made onBuddha, who is the most important character in this Buddhist scripture.Finally, a discussion has been made on the Buddhist scripture’s influence on thereligion and literature thereafter, including its influence on ancient Chinese literatureand Japanese literature.