B

 Yes—what you’re describing is the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, one of the earliest and most foundational Prajñāpāramitā (“Perfection of Wisdom”) scriptures in Mahāyāna Buddhism.

It’s often called the “Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines,” and your summary is broadly on point: it is “compact” relative to later Prajñāpāramitā texts, yet it already contains the full doctrinal architecture that later expansions elaborate.

What the text is doing philosophically

At its core, the sutra is a sustained exploration of prajñā (wisdom) as the realization that:

• All phenomena are empty (śūnya) of intrinsic nature
• Even wholesome concepts (merit, enlightenment, the path itself) must not be grasped as fixed realities
• The bodhisattva path depends on acting in the world without attachment to any dharma whatsoever

So instead of presenting a step-by-step doctrine, it repeatedly circles the same insight from different angles: wisdom is non-grasping awareness of emptiness, paired with compassion-driven activity.

Why it’s called a “mother” text

In Mahāyāna classification, “mother” (mātṛkā) texts are those considered generative sources for entire literary families. This sutra is one of the six “mother Prajñāpāramitā works because:

• Later Prajñāpāramitā sutras (like the 25,000-line and 100,000-line versions) are expansions of its themes
• It establishes the conceptual core: emptiness, non-abiding bodhisattva practice, and the perfection of wisdom
• It became a structural template for later scholastic and meditative elaborations

Influence in Asia

Its influence is hard to overstate:

• India: foundational for Madhyamaka philosophy (especially Nāgārjuna and later commentators)
• Tibet: central to scholastic training and philosophical debate traditions
• East Asia: shaped key translations and commentaries, influencing schools like Tiantai and Chan/Zen
• It also deeply influenced Buddhist art and ritual imagination—often personified as Prajñāpāramitā herself

A key tension it emphasizes

One of its most distinctive features is the paradoxical style:

• It insists that even the idea of enlightenment must not be clung to
• Yet it simultaneously affirms the bodhisattva’s compassionate activity in the world

So it’s constantly balancing:

“Nothing is to be grasped” + “Still, practice compassion fully”

If you want, I can also  break down how this 8,000-line version differs doctrinally from the much longer Prajñāpāramitā sutras, or  how Nāgārjuna draws on it in Madhyamaka philosophy.