Hidden Diamond Sutra found at Longmen Grottoes

In the early morning of March 28, workers involved in a conservation project at the Liuzuota area of the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan province, climbed onto scaffolding to inspect potentially dangerous rocks and crevices on the cliff face, as they did every day.

But this time, some of them noticed traces of characters on a vertical cliff face about 30 meters above the ground. They immediately reported the find to professionals at the Longmen Grottoes Academy, which oversees this UNESCO World Heritage site.

"I was very excited to hear the news," says Zhao Shumei, a researcher at the academy. "The engravings were so high up that people normally walked right past without knowing of their existence. We immediately searched our database to see if this site had been documented before."

After careful identification and comparison, researchers confirmed a new engraving of The Diamond Sutra on the cliff face of the grottoes.

Located about 30 to 40 meters south of the iconic giant statue of the Lushena Buddha, the newly discovered text is written in kaishu (regular script) from the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The brushwork is vigorous and clearly visible. It records a version of The Diamond Sutra translated by the Buddhist scholar Kumarajiva from the Later Qin period (384-417) of the Sixteen Kingdoms (304-439), and its upper part remains well-preserved.

Zhao says that after careful analysis, they believe the engraving was probably originally in a niche, but over time, the niche gradually eroded away, leaving only part of its ceiling to protect the upper part of the carving from the wind and sun.

"From the early 5th century, when the sutra was first introduced to China, to the Tang Dynasty, six Chinese versions of it appeared, among which the Kumarajiva version was the earliest," says Ma Chaolong, deputy director of the academy's center for cave temple protection research and heritage monitoring.

Kumarajiva translated the sutra in Chang'an (present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi province) in 402. It was translated in simple yet eloquent words that even ordinary people could understand. Under the reign of Tang emperor Li Longji, the version was officially circulated throughout the dynasty and became widespread, Zhao says.

Next to the engraving are three grooves believed to have been used for burying the ashes of Buddhists, suggesting they were probably related. Zhao says they will explore the possible connection between the sutra and these grooves.

"Normally, carving sutras on the cliff, just like building Buddhist statues, shows Buddhist practitioners' faith in their religion," says Zhao."We infer that the combination of the grooves and the carving may indicate the Buddhists' wish to attain enlightenment through spiritual practice, with the firm belief that upon rebirth, they will dwell alongside the Buddha."

As of now, the Longmen Grottoes have yielded five carvings of The Diamond Sutra and the newly discovered one is among the best-preserved.

"We previously found a carving of The Diamond Sutra in Grotto No 429, which contains mostly the latter part of the sutra. The new discovery mostly presents the first half, so it complements and enriches The Diamond Sutra findings at Longmen," says Zhao.

This discovery is the latest in a series of surprising finds during recent conservation efforts at the grottoes. Over the past years, Zhao says they have also found traces of gold on the face of the Lushena Buddha, suggesting the statue may have been covered in gold leaf. In addition, a Bodhisattva statue was found to have eyeballs made of glass.

"The discoveries are closely related to our careful checks of potential risks. Each year, in different areas of the grottoes, we inspect every inch of the cliff surface to check whether the unstable rocks have been reinforced and if crevices have been filled and protected. Otherwise, they could endanger both the caves and visitors," says Zhao.