A MANUSCRIPT OF THE AMITABHA SUTRA WITH SILK COVERS, DATED 1788
China. Accordion album of approximately 88 leaves, ink on paper. Besides the text there are two depictions of Buddha, one surrounded by a retinue of monks and the other flanked by two disciples, likely the bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri. The imperial yellow silk cover bears a paper label with an inscription, the outer blue silk cover also with a paper label and the same inscription.

Inscriptions: To the front cover, Amituo Jing ('Amitabha Sutra'), dated to winter of the year of wushen during the Qianlong reign (corresponding to 1788).

Provenance: French private collection.
Condition: Good condition with wear, soiling, minor creasing, browning to edges, the front of the blue silk cover has come apart, few small losses.

Dimensions: Cover size 15.8 x 7.4 cm

The Shorter Sukhavativyuha Sutra, also known as the Amitabha Sutra, is one of the two Indian Mahayana sutras that describe Sukhavati, the pure land of Amitabha. This text is highly influential in East Asian Buddhism, including China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

The bulk of the Sukhavativyuha Sutra, considerably shorter than other Pure Land sutras, consists of a discourse that Gautama Buddha gave at Jetavana in Sravasti to his disciple Sariputra. The talk concerned the wondrous adornments that await the righteous in the western pure land of Sukhavati as well as the beings that reside there, including the Buddha Amitabha. The text also describes what one must do to be reborn there.

《佛説阿彌陀經》，1788年
中國。葉子裝88頁，紙本水墨。除文字外，還有兩尊佛像，一尊被僧侶包圍，另一尊則由兩個門徒相伴，可能是觀世音菩薩和文殊菩薩。 皇家的黃色絲綢封面，帶有一個帶有銘文的紙標籤，藍色的絲綢外部覆蓋，還帶有一個紙質標籤和相同的銘文。

封面：《佛説阿彌陀經》，乾隆年間戊申年冬(1788年)

來源：法國私人收藏.
品相：狀況良好，有磨損，污跡，輕微起皺，邊緣變成褐色，藍色絲綢蓋的正面已經散開，幾乎沒有損失。

尺寸：封面 15.8 x 7.4 厘米