Mogao Cave 17: Mahaparinirvana Sutra - Chapter on Noble Practices

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Northern Wei dynasty

This scroll, discovered in Mogao Cave 17 in Dunhuang, elaborates on the “Chapter on Noble Practices” of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra. It outlines in detail the teachings the Buddha taught Kasyapa regarding the five holy practices a Bodhisattva is expected to perform. These include the holy, pure, heavenly, childlike, and illness practices. The Buddha further mentioned the duty of a Bodhisattva to uphold the precepts, observe the four foundations of mindfulness, and understand the Four Noble Truths. The sutra continues to narrate the Buddha speaking to Manjusri Bodhisattva on various Mahayana concepts such as the secular, supramundane, and absolute truths, as well as the Buddha’s turning of the Dharma wheel upon nearing parinirvana.
The scroll is written predominantly in regular script, but with distinct clerical script features such as short yet wide characters and goose tail terminations. The brushwork is light and brief, but speedily executed. Characters are disparate in scripting without hesitation or reservation. The right-falling diagonal “na” strokes are gentle and well-rounded. Overall, the entire piece of calligraphy is pleasant and refined.