The oldest ancient writing records the teachings of the Buddha

A copy of the Diamond Sutra in China is said to be the world's oldest printed book, dating back to 868 AD.

According to Ancient Origins, Vajracchedika prajnaparamita sutra (Vajracchedika prajnaparamita sutra) is translated from Sanskrit with many different names such as Diamond Sutra or Vajra Sutra . This sutra is one of the most revered texts of Mahayana Buddhism, containing the Buddha's teachings and religious teachings.

Wang Yuanlu, a Taoist monk, discovered a copy of the Diamond Sutra in the Mac Cao cave in Dunhuang, China, in the early 20th century. This is the world's oldest complete printed book ever known. , dating back to 868 AD.

Figure on the first page of the Diamond Sutra.(Photo: Wikipedia).

The Diamond Sutra belongs to a larger volume of early Mahayana Buddhism called Prajnaparamita Sutras . According to Mahayana Buddhist legend, the above scriptures are recorded by disciples of the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. Many scholars believe that the series began to be written in the 1st century BC and completed several centuries later.

The content of the Diamond Sutra is quite brief with the English translation only covering about 6,000 words. But the message of the book is very profound, can be interpreted in many different ways.

One of the most basic interpretations of the Diamond Sutra is the Buddha's encouragement to call disciples "to overcome the illusions of the surrounding reality" to realize things that are true.

In 401, a Buddhist monk named Shu Ma La Cross (Kumarajiva) first translated the Kim Sutra into Chinese. In the following century, Prince Chieu Minh, Luong Vu De's son, divided the scriptures into 32 chapters and gave them titles, although these titles are rarely used today.

In 1907, Aurel Stein, a Hungarian-English archaeologist, visited the Mac Cao cave in Dunhuang. He met Wang Yuanlu and bought a lot of paintings, embroidery, relics, manuscripts including the Diamond Sutra. The book is on display at the British Library in London.