Jesus Sutras

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The Jesus Sutras, or the Lost Sutras of Jesus are the names under which several recent translations of Chinese language Assyrian Church of the East (often incorrectly referred to as Nestorian) scriptures have been marketed to English-speaking spiritual seekers.

The "sutras" themselves date between AD 635, the time of Christianity's introduction to China; to AD 1005, when the Mogao Cave, near Dunhuang, in which they were found was sealed. Four of the Sutras are said to be located in private collections in Japan, while one is in Paris. Their language and content reflect varying levels of adaptation to Chinese culture, including Buddhist and Taoist influences.

Contents

1 List of Sutras

1.1 Doctrinal Sutras
1.2 Liturgical Sutras
1.3 The Xi'an Stele

2 Sutra
3 English language sources
4 See also

List of Sutras

The following list uses the numbering and nomenclature of Martin Palmer (see below). The first title is more poetic, while the title in parentheses represents the original Chinese more strictly.

Doctrinal Sutras

Sutra of the Teachings of the World-Honored One (Lokajvesta Teaching on Charity, Part Three). Translated AD 641. Based on Tatian's Teachings of the Apostles, a second-century gospel harmony written in Syriac.
Sutra of Cause, Effect, and Salvation (First Treatise on the Oneness of Heaven). Palmer sees a similarity with the Buddhist Milinda Panha, the Questions of King Milinda.
Sutra of the Teachings of the World-Honored One (Sutra of the Origins, Second Part of the Teaching)
Sutra of Jesus Christ. Translated around AD 645. Refers to karma and reincarnation. Palmer conjectures influence from Tibet, Hinduism, and/or Jainism.

Liturgical Sutras

Da Qin Liturgy of Taking Refuge in the Three. Translated AD 720.
Let Us Praise (Invocation of the Dharma Kings and Sacred Sutras)
The Sutra of Returning to Your Original Nature. Translated 780-790?

The Xi'an Stele

Main article: Nestorian Stele

The Xi'an Stele was composed AD 781 in honor of a construction project at the Da Qin Pagoda, which we now understand to have been a Christian monastery at the time. The Da Qin Pagoda is located near Lou Guan Tai, the traditional site of Lao Tze's composition of the Tao Te Ching. The Stele was unearthed in AD 1625 and is now on display in the nearest major city, Xi'an.

Sutra

Sutra is a Sanskrit term which means, roughly, 'treatise'. It is arguably misapplied in the case of the Jesus Sutras, which are of Chinese origins. In Chinese, all religious and classical books are referred to as jing (經), including indigenous Chinese works, Buddhist scriptures, and other foreign works such as the Bible and the Koran. In the context of Buddhist scriptures, jing is conventionally translated as "sutra", but this is not the usual practice for non-Buddhist texts, such as the Daodejing.

English language sources

*Moule, A.C.

Christianity in China Before the Year 1550

London, 1930.

*Saeki, Peter Yoshiro

The Nestorian Documents and Relics in China

Academy of Oriental Culture, Tokyo Institute

Tokyo, 1937; second edition, 1951

:This book contains the Chinese texts with English translations.

*Palmer, Martin.

The Jesus Sutras: Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity

Wellspring/Ballantine, 2001

ISBN 0-345-43424

:In this book the texts themselves are translated by Palmer, Eva Wong, and L. Rong Rong.

*Moore, Thomas (ed.) & Ray Riegert (ed.)

The Lost Sutras of Jesus: Unlocking the Ancient Wisdom of the Xian Monks

Seastone, 2003

ISBN 1569753601

:In this book the texts themselves are translated by John Babcock.

*Tang, Li

A Study of the History of Nestorian Christianity in China and Its Literature in Chinese: Together With a New English Translation of the Dunhuang Nestorian Documents

Peter Lang, 2002

ASIN: 0820459704

:A fresh scholarly translation by a Chinese academic, with historical background and critical linguistic commentary on the texts.