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Great Wisdom Sutra from the Chū sonji Temple Sutra Collection (Chūsonjikyō)
Additional Images (17)

Great Wisdom Sutra from the Chū sonji Temple Sutra Collection (Chūsonjikyō)

Period: Heian period (794–1185)
Date: ca. 1175
Culture: Japan
Medium: Handscroll; gold and silver on indigo-dyed paper
Dimensions: 10 1/16 in. x 24 ft. 5 13/16 in. (25.6 x 746.3 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
Accession Number: 1975.268.16
Not on view
Description Related Objects Online Resources Object Information Video Audio
The frontispiece to this sutra chapter shows a dramatic three-quarters view of the Buddha seated with two bodhisattvas. Seven figures pay obeisance to the Buddha, with the six in front raising offerings of food. The silver used to articulate sections of the ground, the ribbons that hang from the tree behind and the altar before the Buddha, and the offering bowls raised before him provides a subtle, pleasing contrast to the gold used elsewhere in the composition.

This chapter from the Great Wisdom Sutra (Daihannyakyō; Sanskrit: Mahaprajnaparamita) is one of more than five thousand scrolls of Buddhist scripture that were dedicated in 1176 to the temple Chūsonji in northern Japan by the nobleman Fujiwara Hidehira (died 1187) for the salvation of his father, Motohira (died 1157). Throughout the sutra, absolute truth is equated to emptiness, and wisdom is praised as the best means of attaining enlightenment.
Some related objects from the collection
Illustrated Frontispiece to the Sutra of Enlightenment through the Accumulation of Merit and Virtue, the So-called Jingoji Sutra

Illustrated Frontispiece to the Sutra of Enlightenment through the Accumulation of Merit and Virtue, the So-called Jingoji Sutra
Date: ca. 1150–85
Medium: Handscroll; gold and silver on indigo-dyed paper
Accession Number: 1975.268.17
Not on view

Scroll from a Set of the Lotus Sutra (Hokekyō)

Scroll from a Set of the Lotus Sutra (Hokekyō)
Unidentified Artist
Date: 12th century
Medium: Handscroll; gold and silver ink on indigo-dyed paper
Accession Number: 65.216.2
Not on view

Scroll from a Set of the Lotus Sutra (Hokekyō)

Scroll from a Set of the Lotus Sutra (Hokekyō)
Date: 12th century
Medium: Handscroll; gold and silver on indigo-dyed paper
Accession Number: 65.216.1
Not on view

Great Wisdom Sutra from the Chūsonji Temple Sutra Collection (Chūsonjikyō)

Great Wisdom Sutra from the Chūsonji Temple Sutra Collection (Chūsonjikyō)
Date: ca. 1175
Medium: Handscroll; gold and silver on indigo-dyed paper
Accession Number: 2002.447.1
Not on view

Ten Oxherding Songs

Ten Oxherding Songs
Karasumaru Mitsuhiro
(Japanese, 1579–1638)
Date: ca. 1634
Medium: Handscroll; ink on dyed paper with stenciled decoration in gold and silver
Accession Number: 1986.142
Not on view

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