Samyukta Agama - Fascicle 25

CHINA; Northern Song dynasty

This scroll, which is undated and unsigned, is estimated by scholars to be a Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) work produced in approximately 1008. Most of the sutra manuscripts seen today are artifacts that were unearthed from a cave of scriptures in Dunhuang. This scroll differs as it is one of the rare copies handed down through generations of secular use, providing a valuable glimpse of Song dynasty hand-copied sutras. The 25th fascicle of the Samyukta Agama describes the Buddha’s prediction of the demise of the true Dharma following the Buddha’s passing. This was expounded to Sakra and the Four Heavenly Kings.
Thick and broad brushstrokes form short and wide characters in a spacious arrangement. Horizontal strokes are terminated in a schematized manner reminiscent of Yan Zhenqing’s calligraphic style. There are subtle allusions to running script in the composition, though it was predominantly executed in regular script. This scroll is considered an exemplary work of sutra calligraphy.