The National Taiwan Library’s book hospital has recently completed repairing a set of Lotus Sutra (法華經) books donated by Dharma Master Cheng Yen (證嚴) which are more than a century old.
National Taiwan Library director Tsao Tsui-ying (曹翠英) on June 7 said that the seven books of the Lotus Sutra are the Dharma Master’s “wisdom-life” (慧命) and represent the concept of “paper lasts for a thousand years” (紙壽千年) for cultural heritage to live on endlessly, a concept that the library cherishes.
The most important treasure is not a carefully crafted statue of Buddha made with white jade, nor is it a rare dharma-vessel handed down from generation to generation, but yellowed books of Buddhist scriptures — seven volumes of the Lotus Sutra printed in the Qing Dynasty, under the reign of Tongzhi Emperor (同治), who ruled between 1861 and 1875 — according to Cheng.
Photo: Weng Yu-huang.
They have been in her possession for more than half of her life and are the foundation of her determination to promote Buddhism, she said.
The seven volumes of the Lotus Sutra were printed more than a century ago, Cheng said, adding that she received them by chance from another person when she was in her 20s and before she became a monk.
The books have since been by her side, and she has studied them in countless silent nights in the past decades, she said.
The Lotus Sutra is said to contain the teachings of the Buddha during his final eight years of life.
After years of reading, the inner pages of the books have become broken and torn with many parts taped together, Cheng said, adding that even after she later stored them in a wooden box, the pages still weathered and became brittle.
Hsu Mei-wen (徐美文), a book restorer at the National Taiwan Library’s book hospital, was entrusted with the difficult task of restoring the books.
According to her study, the books were printed between 1864 and 1874 for Yongquan Temple in Fuzhou of China’s Fujian Province.
The abbot of the temple wanted a copy, but was short of funding, so they could only print one volume at a time, Hsu said.
The seven volumes owned by Cheng were gradually printed after several fundraising sessions over the course of a decade, she said.
Hsu and the restoration team said it was very difficult to repair the books, as there were many pieces of tape on inner pages, and removing the tape marks was a challenging job.
The team had spent two years to complete the restoration, she said.
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
RSS