The Diamond Sutra or in Sanskrit, Vajracchedika-prajnaparamita-sutra is a significant manuscript that should be considered for our Time Capsule because not only is it a sacred Buddhist text, which will help future generations learn about the culture and beliefs of people of the Buddhist faith but also because it is the oldest known printed and dated book. The Diamond Sutra has a fascinating history that sheds light on the historical background of its time, which can answer many questions of culture and technology in China during the Tang era.<!--more-->

The Diamond Sutra was produced using the Chinese technology of block printing in the 9th century.  Block printing was the first form of book printing; it was used in East Asia thousands of years before printing was established in Europe in the 15th century. Although The Diamond Sutra was not the first example of block printing during this era it is however the world’s first printed book that bares a date. It was printed on seven yellow-stained strips of paper carved from large wood blocks. The over 16 ft long and approximately 12 in tall scroll was carved by a skilled and practiced man named Wang Jie in 868. We know the date of the sutra because of a written colophon at the inner end of the scroll. According to The Diamond Sutra website the colophon inscription is as follows: “reverently made for universal free distribution by Wang Jie on behalf of his parents on the fifteenth of the fourth moon of the ninth year of Xian Long (May 11, 868).”  The Diamond Sutra has only 300 lines divided into 32 short chapters that can be read in less than an hour. Because of this, monks and other Buddhist followers have been reciting these essential teachings of Buddha since before the book put in print. In this sutra Buddha teaches of the “perception of nature” (Fiero B2 156). According to the article The Buddha’s Diamond written by Richard Rosen in The Yoga Journal just like this one, sutras come in the form of an “answer and question session between Buddha and one of his disciples”(141). While reading the scripture the reader is taking place of the questioner, so as we are all learning Buddha’s wisdom together. The Diamond Sutra teaches “the manner in which you should conduct yourself, both in outward behavior and inward attitude, in order to “be like Buddha” (Rosen 142).

The Buddhist religion originated in India and is thought to have made its way to Asia by the famous ancient trade route known as the Silk Road, which connected Asia to the Western world. During the Tang era, according to Gloria Fiero, author of The Humanistic Tradition, Buddhism was at its peak (B2 154). However, the silk road website states that in the 840’s the “resurgence of the old Confucian and Taoist ideas, China turned against foreign religions” and Buddhism “came under an imperial ban in 845; over 4,600 temples and monasteries were shut down and their devotees barred from the religious life.” Although 2 decades later the ban was rescinded, the Buddhist religion never regained the height it had during the Tang era. Invasions by northern nomadic tribes, known as His Hsia along the Silk Road and the walled city and military base, Dunhuang located near the trade route forced an unknown person to hide thousands of Buddhists sutras and other literature, sometime around the early 1000’s, in caves surrounding Dunhuang. The Diamond Sutra was one of the precious manuscripts stored safely in what is now known as the “Caves of the Thousand Buddha’s” until the 20th century when they were rediscovered by the British archeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein in a walled-up cave.

In monotheistic religions such as Christianity with the Bible and Islam with the Koran, Buddhism doesn’t have one significant book that teaches the truth about God, it has sacred texts that serve as guides to the truth.  It is obvious how priceless the scroll’s philosophies were during its age for many reasons; one being the fact that it was skillfully printed after centuries of oral tradition. Another reason is that someone took the time and the risk to conceal and preserve the ancient teachings in a walled up cave.  Rosen writes that “[L]egend has it that the Sixth Patriarch of Zen, Huineng, achieved enlightenment after hearing just one line of The Diamond Sutra”, he goes on to declare it “[O]ne of the holiest and most popular of the Mahayana Buddhist scriptures” (Rosen 141). Today it is still perceived as a priceless sutra of the Buddhist faith. The Diamond Sutra is considered one of the most consecrated important Sutra of the Mahayana sutras according to Barbara Hoetsu O'Brien a journalist and student of Zen Buddhism, who writes articles about Buddhism for the about website. It has been translated numerous times and in many different languages. “The Diamond Sutra has been rendered into English many times over the last 40-odd years; those editions are now joined by a wonderful new translation and commentary The Diamond Sutra, the Perfection of Wisdom by Red Pine, an American who dropped out of his graduate studies in anthropology to become a Buddhist scholar and acclaimed translator” (Rosen 141).

Another book printed using the Chinese block printed method during the same era is The Book of Songs. This collection of over 300 hundred poems is similar to The Diamond Sutra in the way that they were recited or sang, however the poems are not considered religious texts. Although according to Dr. Robert Churchill of Creighton University in his Handbook for the Study of Eastern Literatures, Confucius treasured them and recommended his followers to study them in detail. Churchill goes on to say that “Confucius personally selected these 305 poems from an earlier collection of over three thousand. Choosing poems which exemplified his ideas about statecraft and harmonious personal relations, Confucius arranged them in their present order, revising the musical scores to which the songs were customarily sung.” The purpose of The Diamond Sutra is to enlighten ones perception to live a more fulfilled life whereas The Book of Songs has a more of a political and societal view. It deals with common dilemmas such as marriage, work and war. A major achievement of both works of Chinese literature is that they have survived over the centuries and are still valued and studied by scholars. They both also have been translated and printed in multiple languages.

I personally find The Diamond Sutra meaningful because of its fascinating path of concealment and rediscovery. Looking into why this and other Buddhist manuscripts were essentially buried just like our time capsule, for future generations to ascertain is an exciting concept. Because someone had the courage and keenness during a conflict to preserve this outlawed religious sutra, we now have a better idea of how the Chinese and the Buddhist religion progressed into what it is in the modern world. We also have an enhanced education of the technology, social, and economic trade advancements of the time.

I think what makes this work the most significant for future generations is the myriad of ways it can educate both religiously and culturally. The Diamond Sutra deserves the chance to live on because it is the world’s earliest known printed and dated book as well as one of the most sacred sutras of the Buddhist religion.

Works Cited

"Barbara O'Brien." Buddhism. 2011. Web. 01 May 2011. .

Churchill, Dr. Robert. "Book of Songs." Your Home Page Goes Http://mockingbird.creighton.edu/english/Here. Web. 02 May 2011. .

Diamond Sutra - A New Translation of the Classic Buddhist Text. Alex Johnson Productions, 2005-2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .

Fiero, Gloria K. "The World Beyond the West: India, China, and Japan Ca. 500–1300." The Humanistic Tradition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2011. B2 152-2 158. Print.

Kuhlman, James R. "The Diamond Sutra: The Perfection of Wisdom.
(Religion)." Library Journal 126.20 (2001): 134.Health Reference Center Academic. Web. 28 April. 2011.
http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&amp;contentSet=IAC-Documents&amp;type=retrieve&amp;tabID=T003&amp;prodId=HRCA&amp;docId=A81222825&amp;source=gale&amp;srcprod=HRCA&amp;userGroupName=txshracd2487&amp;version=1.0

"The Diamond Sutra." The Silk Road Foundation. 2007-2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. http://www.silk-road.com/artl/diamondsutra.shtml

Rosen, Richard. "The Buddha's Diamond." Yoga Journal 165 (2002): 141-44. Alt HealthWatch. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. http://ehis.ebscohost.com.lsproxy.austincc.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=d9000b15-68ce-42cd-9818-576050e23379%40sessionmgr114&amp;vid=1&amp;hid=103

."Sacred Texts: Diamond Sutra." THE BRITISH LIBRARY - The World's Knowledge. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .