Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
CONRAD WALTERS: The world's oldest printed book,
the Diamond Sutra of 868 AD,
is revered for its spiritual message about the fleeting nature of our lives.
But it also contains the oldest image in a printed book.
I'm Conrad Walters, co-author of "Journeys on the Silk Road",
and I'd like to tell you more about that illustration.
The image was carved into word twelve hundred years ago
by an unknown craftsman in China before being printed.
It's a beautiful complex image.
At first glance it can be overwhelming. There's so much going on within that
single sheet of paper
At the center of course is the Buddha
seated in the lotus position on a lotus flower throne
that is surrounded by halo purifying flames.
There's a third eye on his forehead,
a symbol of his enlightenment,
and a swastika on his chest.
Swastika of Sanskrit word
and it translates as "to be good."
In China, as in the rest of east Asia,
it has become a symbol for Buddhism and the concept of eternity.
And noticed the Buddha's hands.
In India, where Buddhism began, hand gestures carry great meaning be great meaning
and these are symbols of the Buddha's benevolence.
Around the Buddha are all sorts of characters.
To his right and left are monks
with their shaved heads.
And I like help each one has been drawn with a unique expression.
I especially love how one monk on the left
gazes directly at us, inviting us to join in on this precious moment with the Buddha.
The other key figures is on the lower left,
kneeling and with his hands clasped palm to palm.
It's a monk named Subhuti,
one of the Buddha's greatest disciples
He has placed his slippers neatly beside him on the tiled floor
and is looking up at the Buddha.
The text of the Diamond Sutra unfolds is a conversation between Buddha and Subhuti.
The frontispiece captures the reverence
of that exchange as Subhuti poses questions to the Buddha
and the Buddha shares his knowledge
in the hope of leading Subhuti -- and all beings -- toward enlightenment.
Protecting the Buddha are a pair of lions.
You'd expect them to look ferocious.
After all, they are protecting the Enlightened One.
But the lion on the bottom left,
with its tongue hanging out, looks to a modern eye,
like a cuddly bear that's just woken from hibernation.
Far more fearsome are two deities that also guard the Buddha.
The one on the left is wielding the weapon called a "vajra."
This is another Sanskrit word and it has dual meanings.
One is thunderbolt,
which you can see from its shaft-like shape.
The other meaning is diamond,
although this is an inexact English translation.
that attempts to describe a material so hard
as to be indestructible.
The word diamond is no coincidence here.
The Diamond Sutra is a Buddhist teaching that aims to smash any misconceptions
about what is real, including our sense of our own importance.
The sutra's central message
is that everything is fleeting.
Everything is transitory.
Floating above the Buddha
are two angelic figures known as apsaras.
These, too originate in India
where apsara were supernatural female nymphs who served the gods.
You can see that here
they're offering what look like a bowl of fruit on the left
and a lotus flower on the right.
Such offerings a commonly found inside Buddhist temples even today.
The last element I'd like to discuss
are the patrons whose donations
allowd such are works to be created.
Similar images adorn the Caves of a Thousand Buddhas
in China's Gansu Province.
where the Diamonds Sutra of 868 was discovered.
In a sense these donors represent us,
the unenlightened on Earth
who seek a better life
In ancient China, as in the West,
images like the frontispiece allowed religious messages
to be shared with the faithful,
even those who were unable to read.
The text of the Diamond Surtra can be perplexing and enigmatic.
But I think the frontispiece speaks to a still
and makes us want to accept that invitation from the humble of monk
who gazes out at us from 1200 years ago.