It was on this day in the year 868 A.D. that the Diamond Sutra was printed It is the world’s oldest book bearing a specific date of publication. The Diamond Sutra is a collection of Buddhist teachings — the word sutra comes from Sanskrit and means teachings or scriptures. The Diamond Sutra is set up as a dialogue between the Buddha and Subhuti, one of his elderly disciples. This copy of the Diamond Sutra was printed with wood blocks on seven strips of paper — each page was printed from a single block. These seven sheets were bound together to form a scroll about 16 feet long.
"As a lamp, a cataract, a star in space / an illusion, a dewdrop, a bubble /
a dream, a cloud, a flash of lightning / view all created things like this."
Read (or listen to) the whole entry which includes a poem by Anne Sexton here
5 minutes
This ancient Buddhist text is sung in English to a melody reminiscent of Buddhist chanting by Kumuda at the Sun Valley Opera House. More info and play the full text at
http://www.diamond-sutra.org
http://www.diamond-sutra.org
No comments:
Post a Comment