Bosatsu Shotai Sutra (Sutra of the Bodhisattva in the Womb)

Said to Be the Oldest Surviving Handed-Down Sutra Copy

The Bosatsu Shotai Sutra (Sutra of the Bodhisattva in the Womb) (菩薩処胎経) is five folded volumes of the Bosatsu Shotai Sutra owned by Chion-in in Rinka-cho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City, which in 1952 were designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records five folded volumes owned by Chion-in.

According to Chion-in, they are in ink on paper, and volumes two to four carry a colophon dated the sixteenth year of Datong of the Western Wei, 550.

The Sutra

Chion-in explains that the sutra concerns the time around the Buddha's entry into nirvana and tells of his preaching for ten months within the womb.

Of the five volumes, the first was copied in the late Heian period and the fifth in the Nara period, while the second to fourth bear the Western Wei colophon of 550.

What to Look For

Chion-in notes that it is the most famous of the ancient sutra copies it holds and is said to be the oldest handed-down sutra copy in the world.

Sixth-century Chinese copies survive together with Japanese copies of the Nara and Heian periods.

Visiting the Bosatsu Shotai Sutra (Sutra of the Bodhisattva in the Womb)

The sutra is owned by Chion-in and is not always on display; check the temple's announcements.