BUDDHISM.

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Daihan'nya haramitta-kyo ("The Great Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom"). Volume 207. An early Japanese manuscript of one of the core texts of Mahayana Buddhism. This example was brushed in mid-late Heian period, during a period of religious fervour brought on by fears of a coming dark age. The approximate age of the manuscript can be pinpointed by the scented paper and more free-flowing calligraphic style compared to older Chinese models.In the late Heian period, fear of the mappo (dark age) led wealthy temple donors and patrons to invest in increasingly extravagant gifts. In Buddhist cosmic history, the death of the Buddha would be followed by three ages: the "true law" (shobo, the "copied law" (zobo), and the "degeneration of the law" (mappo), the latter of which would only be fixed by the future incarnation of the boddhisatva Maitreya (Miroku in Japanese). Japanese buddhists calculated the final age to being in approximately 1052 AD, leading the rise of many new sects such as True Land and Nichiren Buddhism.Sutras were naturally a popular option for wealthy temple donors, and texts such as the Great Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom were copied in great quantities. During this time handwriting styles became softer and smoother, developing a distinctly Japanese style that would give rise to the hiragana alphabet.The Great Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom (Sanskrit: Mahaprajnaparamita sutra) is a 600-volume collection of 16 different sutras, including the Diamond Sutra, ea

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