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Section of the Flower Ornament Sutra (Kegon-kyō), known as the “Senpukuji Burned Sutra” (Senpukuji yakegyō)

Japan

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 223

The Flower Ornament Sutra teaches that the wisdom of the Buddha is present everywhere in the universe, including within each person. The brown burn marks on this fragment indicate that it has survived a fire, a reminder that nothing—not even the Buddha’s law—lasts forever. Shakyōtai, a sutra-copying script from the late Heian period seen here, is characterized by rapidly brushed but very legible calligraphy.

Section of the Flower Ornament Sutra (Kegon-kyō), known as the “Senpukuji Burned Sutra” (Senpukuji yakegyō), Section of handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on pale indigo-dyed paper decorated with flakes of gold leaf, Japan

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Section of the Flower Ornament Sutra (Kegon-kyō), known as the “Senpukuji Burned Sutra” (Senpukuji yakegyō), Section of handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on pale indigo-dyed paper decorated with flakes of gold leaf, Japan
Section of the Flower Ornament Sutra (Kegon-kyō), known as the “Senpukuji Burned Sutra” (Senpukuji yakegyō), Section of handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on pale indigo-dyed paper decorated with flakes of gold leaf, Japan

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