Da cheng zao xiang gong de jing 大乘造像功徳經; in Japanese: Daijo zozo kudoku kyo [Creation...
14; 13 folding leaves. Two parts in one vol. Large 8vo, cont. or later dark wrappers dyed with persimmon juice (shibubiki), new stitching. [Japan, probably Kyoto: printed with moveable types, ca. 1615-40].
A very rare edition printed with moveable types, apparently unrecorded in the standard bibliographies, of the story — or legend — of the creation of the first statue of Siddhartha Gautama or Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. The statue, executed while Buddha was still alive, was commissioned by King Udayana of Kaushambi, a contemporary of Buddha. It was the very first image of Buddha, and is especially... More