The Diamond Sutra is a sacred Mahayana Buddhist text whose teachings date back to the 5th century BC. Part of a series of sutras known as ‘the perfection of wisdom’, the book was translated into numerous languages and tremendously influenced the development of Buddhism in Asia. The earliest surviving complete version of the Diamond Sutra is Kumārajīva’s printed Chinese translation, which was discovered by Wang Yuanlu in 1900 at the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China. Printed in 868 CE, it is the oldest dated printed book in the world, highlighting the historical interplay of religion, technology, and culture.
When Was the Diamond Sutra Written?
The Diamond Sutra was written between the 2nd century BC and the 3rd century CE, but the origins of its teachings stretch back to when the historical Buddha was alive. The teachings of the Buddha were memorized by his contemporaries and preserved for centuries through oral and esoteric transmissions. With the rise of sectarianism, different schools of Buddhism emerged and emphasized diverse aspects of these teachings. By the 2nd century BC, these teachings started to be compiled and recorded in written form. Among them were the Diamond and the Heart sutras, which belonged to the Prajnaparamita, ‘the perfection of wisdom’, genre, focusing on Buddha’s advanced teachings on the ‘emptiness of emptiness’ (sūnyasa).
The Diamond Sutra became one of the most influential Buddhist texts in Asia. It was translated from Sanskrit to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, Mongolian, and Vietnamese. The most authoritative translation among them was the one written in Chinese by Kumārajīva in the early 400s. Kumārajīva was a highly revered Chinese translator who focused on conveying the underlying meanings and nuances of a text rather than its literal denotation. To this day, Kumārajīva’s work is the main source of modern translations and scholarly studies, not only due to his mastery of translation, but also because it is the oldest complete version that survived of the Diamond Sutra.
Why Was the Diamond Sutra Printed?
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The Diamond Sutra was most likely printed for cultural and religious reasons. Commissioned by Wang Jie, the Diamond Sutra was first printed on the 11th of May 868 during the reign of the Tang dynasty. During that time, Zen Buddhism flourished in China. Dajian Huineng, one of the earliest founders of Chinese Zen Buddhism, was tremendously influenced by the Diamond Sutra. In his Platform Sutra, he recounts attaining sudden enlightenment upon first hearing a brief recitation of the sutra, an event that marked the start of his spiritual journey. The Diamond Sutra influenced the core fabric of the cultural and religious climate of imperial China. In addition to being an internationally influential text, the sutra was a perfect candidate for showcasing the unprecedented technological advancements of the Tang Empire.
Most interestingly, the religious reasons behind printing the Diamond Sutra seem tightly connected to the teachings of the sutra itself. Consisting of a dialogue between Buddha and his disciple Subhuti, the Diamond Sutra is a guidebook for bodhisattvas, who seek to realize liberation, not for themselves, but for all beings. Service and selflessness are core teachings of the Diamond Sutra, discussed within the context of spiritual merit, which significantly aligns with the intention behind the sutra’s distribution. As its colophon explained, the print was “reverently made for universal distribution by Wang Jie on behalf of his parents”, which constitutes not only religious public service, but also filial piety. The Diamond Sutra is the earliest dated printed book in history that is dedicated to the public.
How Was the Diamond Sutra Printed?
The Diamond Sutra was printed through the woodblock printing technique — the earliest printing technique in history. Woodblock is a type of relief printing. First, the desired characters or images are carved on a flat wooden surface by means of removing the negative spaces around them. This creates two layered surfaces on the wooden block: the non-recessed surface, consisting of the character or image shapes, and the recessed surface, consisting of the removed negative space. Secondly, ink is applied to the non-recessed surface, causing the carved shapes to be covered with ink.
Finally, the wooden block is pressed against a piece of paper, printing the inked shapes. While most of the Diamond Sutra is printed text, there is a beautiful illustration of the Buddha surrounded by his disciples printed on the frontispiece, revealing the meticulousness and mastery of Chinese printmakers.
The printing of the Diamond Sutra represents one of the earliest attempts undertaken by human beings to share and preserve knowledge through technological innovation. Today, a copy of the printed sutra resides at the British Library in London.
