Annotated Lengjia jing (Lankavatara Sutra), Volume 1

This is an annotated edition of the Lankavatara Sutra (Ch., Lengjia abaduoluo baojing; J., Ryôga abatara hôkyô), translated by the Central Indian monk Gunabhadra (394-468), during the Chinese Liu Song period (420-479). Also known as the Lankavatara Sutra in Four Fascicles (Ch., Shiquan Lengjia jing; J., Shikan Ryôgakyô), this version is the oldest of three extant Chinese translations of this scripture. This volume, which is now missing the first section of its preface, was copied in large lettering with ten to eleven characters per line. The annotations by the Chinese monk Zhiyan (n.d.) of Dajing’ai-si Temple were written in smaller characters in two lines. At the end of the scroll is an inscription written by Li Shuchang (1837-97), a Chinese envoy to Japan, dated 1882 (Guangxu 8). Two fascicles, which are considered part of an original set, can today be found in the collections of Chion-in Temple in Kyoto (Volume 5) and the Nezu Museum in Tokyo (Volume 7).

— Museum description: Kyoto National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.