The Avatamsaka Sutra, also known as the Flower Garland Sutra, is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras of East Asian Buddhism. The Avatamsaka Sutra describes a cosmos of infinite realms upon realms, mutually containing one another.
The sutra, among the longest Buddhist sutras, is a compilation of disparate texts on various topics such as the Bodhisattva path, the interpenetration of phenomena (dharmas), the visionary powers of meditation and the equality of things in emptiness.
The sutra is also well known for its detailed description of the course of the bodhisattva's practice through ten stages where the Ten Stages Sutra, or Daśabhūmika Sūtra, is the name given to this chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra.