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Upasakasila Sutra - Fascicle 10
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Upasakasila Sutra - Fascicle 10
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Upasakasila Sutra - Fascicle 10
CHINA; Sui dynasty (581–618), dated 604; By Ying Weijen; Regular script; Ink on paper; 25.6 x 459 cm; Gansu Provincial Museum, Lanzhou, China
Ying Weizhen handwrote this sutra fascicle consisting of 9 pages with 246 lines, and each line is composed of 17 to 20 characters. It was denoted at the end of this manuscript that it is the Fascicle 10 of the Upasakasila Sutra, however, the text corresponds with Fascicle 7 instead. The Upasakasila Sutra is also known as the Sujata Sutra, and was improved from the Dirgha Agama and Madhyama Agama before being compiled as a Mahayana scripture. The text describes Elder Sujata conducting the ceremony of refuge in the Triple Gem and the Five Precepts for upasakas, or lay practitioners.
Each character of the fluidly executed running script commences with a sharp tip stroke and is finished with a balanced, orderly, and elegant body. Interesting variations can be found in this meticulous work, where a gradual tendency towards regular script is apparent. Occasional hints of clerical script are observed in the short na" (right-falling) diagonal strokes |
