Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra-kārikā (Verses on the Ornament of the Mahāyāna Sūtras) is a major work of Buddhist philosophy attributed to Maitreya-nātha which is said to have transmitted it to Asanga (ca.
[1] The Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra, written in verse, presents the Mahayana path from the Yogacara perspective.
According to Richard K. Payne, the Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra is structured as follows:The text is organized into five unequal parts, and it is the progress of topics through these five that constitutes the author’s discursive intent.
The first step is to convince readers of the text that the Mahāyāna teachings are valid, that they are buddhadharma (Part One: Chapters 1 and 2).
Next, the intent is to convince readers of the superiority of the Mahāyāna, so as to instill enthusiasm for it (Part Two: Chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6).