When was diamond sutra written

The Diamond Sutra is one of the most revered texts of Mahayana Buddhism and a jewel of the world's religious literature. The Diamond Sutra is a brief text. A typical English translation contains about 6, words, and an average reader could finish it in less than 30 minutes, easily. But if you were to ask ten dharma teachers what it is about, you might get ten different answers, because the Diamond defies literal interpretation. The sutra's title in Sanskrit, Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra, could be very roughly translated as the "diamond-cutting perfection of wisdom sutra.

The Diamond is part a large canon of early Mahayana sutras called the Prajnaparamita Sutras. Prajnaparamita means "perfection of wisdom. The Heart Sutra also is one of the Prajnaparamita Sutras. Sometimes these sutras are referred to as the "prajna" or "wisdom" literature. Mahayana Buddhist legend says that the Prajnaparamita Sutras were dictated by the historical Buddha to various disciples.

They were then hidden for about years and only discovered when people were ready to learn from them. However, scholars believe they were written in India beginning in the 1st century BCE and continuing for a few more centuries. For the most part, the oldest surviving versions of these texts are Chinese translations that date from the early first millennium CE.

The several texts of the Prajnaparamita Sutras vary from very long to very short and are often named according to the number of lines it takes to write them. So, one is the Perfection of Wisdom in 25, Lines.

Another is the Perfection of Wisdom in 20, Lines, and then 8, lines, and so on. It is often taught within Buddhism that the shorter Prajnaparamita sutras are distillations of the longer ones and that the brief and highly distilled Diamond and Heart sutras were written last. Even though this ancient text was originally written in Sanskrit , we have access to English translations to help us tap into its life-transforming messages.

Here is one of the most powerful passages from the Diamond Sutra. Use it in meditation or print it out to put up on your wall. See if you can tap into its deeper meaning. So, what does this passage mean to you? Tell us in the comments below.

Search Search. Written by Shannon Terrell. What Is The Diamond Sutra? Cave 17, Dunhuang, ink on paper British Library Or. It was made in AD Seven strips of yellow-stained paper were printed from carved wooden blocks and pasted together to form a scroll over 5m long.

Though written in Chinese, the text is one of the most important sacred works of the Buddhist faith, which was founded in India.

Although not the earliest example of a printed book, it is the oldest we have bearing a date. By the time it was made, block-printing had been practised in the Far East for more than a century. It was one of a small number of printed items among many thousands of manuscripts, comprising a library which must have been sealed up in about AD Although not the earliest example of blockprinting, it is the earliest which bears an actual date. Through careful methodology this translation is true to the original structure and meaning of the text.

As an important Buddhist text the Diamond Sutra has been handed down for many years and been read by millions… and now this new translation is provided for you unaltered, and without interpretation. Thanks for visiting this site, and I hope you enjoy this translation of a truly magnificent Sutra.