Search Results: Sutra

A sutra (Sanskrit for “thread”) is a written work in the belief systems of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism which is understood to accurately preserve important teachings of the respective faiths and guide an adherent on the path from ignorance...

A clay tablet carrying a sutra inscription. From Komachizuka Sutra Mound, Tanga, Uraguchi-cho, Ise-she, Mie, Japan. Heian Period, dated 1174 CE. Important Cultural Property. (Tokyo National Museum)

This sutra case was excavated at Hatogamine in Kyoto, Japan. It is made of gilt bronze and dates to the 1116 CE, which was during the Heian period in Japanese history. (Tokyo National Museum)

A Sanskrit manuscript copy of the Heart Sutra at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

The Buddhist text known as the Diamond Sutra is believed to be the oldest surviving printed book in the world, dated to 868 CE and written in Chinese. This work is one of the most important works of the Buddhist tradition.

This clay tablet with sutra inscriptions was excavated at Komachizuka Sutra Mound in Tanga, which is located in Mie prefecture, Japan. It dates to 1174 CE (Jo'an 4). Important cultural property. (Tokyo National Museum)

Perfection of Wisdom is the foundational text of the Mahayana Buddhist school, a kind of anthology of works, thematically linked, composed between c. 50 BCE - c. 600 CE in India by Mahayana Buddhist scribes. It is comprised of 38 sutras (defined...

Mahayana Buddhism is the largest Buddhist sect in the world, and its beliefs and practices are what most non-adherents recognize as "Buddhism" in the modern era. It developed as a school of thought sometime after 383 BCE, possibly from the...

This is one of 60 scrolls from a transcription of the "Avatamsaka Sutra." Ruled lines in gold pigment segment the paper, which is decorated with flakes of god. At some point, the top and bottom of this scroll were burnt in a fire with the...

The frontispiece in gold and silver of the Amitabha sutra showing a scene in paradise. Goryeo Dynasty, Korea, 1341 CE. (The British Museum, London)