Website of the Arya Sanghata Sutra


Seventh Century Manuscript of the Sanghata in Chinese
Found in Dunhuang 

This magnificent seventh-century manuscript is one of three copies of the Sanghāta in Chinese that were found hidden in caves in Dunhuang. The pages that survive cover most of the second fascicle of the earliest of the two Chinese translations of the Sanghāta.

Cave in Dunhuang in Which Manuscripts Found

topDunhuang was an important center along the far eastern reaches of the ancient Silk Road, where a major complex of Buddhist caves was discovered earlier this century. Because of the arid climate of Dunhuang and its caves, manuscripts were preserved here that would long ago have been destroyed by the monsoon climate of India. The three Chinese manuscripts of the Sanghata found at Dunhuang were removed to London by the second expedition of Aurel Stein, who basically bribed the officials guarding the caves.