BUDDHISM.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Three-column fragment from a manuscript copy of the Amitayus Sutra ("Wuliang shou jing"). An example of ritualized sutra-copying in Korea, the Chinese text presenting one of the 48 vows of Amitabha, a highly revered Buddha in the Pure Land tradition. The style of gold characters on blue paper was popular in Korea in the 14th-16th centuries. Here, the characters have the look of a private devotee rather than a professional copyist.This vow, the 33rd of the 38 in the Amitayus Sutra, pledges Amitabha to the spiritual nourishment of countless beings.Provenance: Ekky Chung collection, Indonesia and Beverly Hills, California; acquired by the London bookseller Sam Fogg in May 1998 - Martin Schøyen (b. 1940), the Norwegian collector of rare books and manuscripts, with his pencilled pressmark on the card sheet.

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