AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE EARLY MING IMPERIAL WOODBLOCK PRINTED BUDDHIST SUTRA

The original brocade wrapper is inscribed in Sanskrit which maybe translated as Arya (Noble) Manjusri Nama samgiti (Name Chanting); and also an inscribed Tibetan name which maybe translated as 'Uttering the Pure Name of the Noble Manjusri'.

The present sutra, Manjusri nama samgiti (in Sanskrit) and Phags pa 'Jam dpal gyi mtshan yan dag par brjod pa (in Tibetan form), is the most revered and profund of Buddhist tantric text among all the Tibetan Buddhist sects. It has been noted that there are many different interpretations of this tantra. Some scholars believe it is propounds on the different kinds of mandala, whilst others interpret the text as the resourcefulness of Manjusri. An identical woodblock print sutra, most probably from this same printed series, also dated to the Yongle ninth year, is in the National Library of China and illustrated in Zhongguo Guojia Tushuguang Guji Zhenpin Tulu, Beijing, 1999.