The British Library in London, England, is home to many rare and interesting documents. They have four original Magna Cartas, Beowulf, and one of the few remaining Gutenberg Bibles. One of their most exciting documents is the Diamond Sutra, the oldest printed book ever discovered.

The Diamond Sutra was completed in 868, nearly six hundred years before the Gutenberg Bible was printed. In the final paragraph, the manuscript contains the quote: "Reverently made for universal distribution by Wang Jie on behalf of his two parents" followed by the Chinese date for 11 May 868.

The book was made by piecing seven separate strips of paper together to form a scroll measuring more than 5 meters, and imprinted with Chinese characters via woodblock printing.

Block printing was practiced in the Far East for at least a century before the Diamond Sutra. The characters to be printed were carved into blocks of wood, and then the raised areas were inked and pressed onto paper to form the printed text.

The Diamond Sutra was discovered in the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas in Dunhuang, China. In 1900, an abbot, Wang Yuan-Iu, found the caves and began cleaning them, discovering manuscripts and silk paintings.

In 1907, Sir Aurel Stein, an archeologist, visited Abbot Wang and, for a fee of 130 pounds, took away 24 cases of manuscripts and other relics, including the Diamond Sutra.

Sutra is a Sanskrit word meaning a teaching or sermon, most commonly of Buddha. Followers memorized the teachings and the sutras were passed from generation to generation orally. In the Diamond Sutra, Buddha is teaching his disciple, Subhuti, and tells him the sutra should be named "The Diamond of Transcendent Wisdom" because its teaching illuminates what is real and everlasting.

Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) was born in Nepal around 565. He was the son of the king of Kapilavastu and he grew up in luxury. He was shielded from old age, dying, and death. When he was 29, he went outside the palace walls, encountered these things, and was distraught by them. He left his royal life and embarked on the road to enlightenment.

By the age of 35, through his meditations, he developed the Noble Eight-Fold Path to Enlightenment, the foundation of Buddhism. Buddhism is a philosophy of wisdom and compassion, emphasizing equanimity (balance).

Buddhism spread via merchants along the Silk Road, as they traveled throughout the Middle East and Asia along trade routes carrying goods and information along the way.

Theravada, the earliest style of Buddhism practiced by ascetics, was difficult for traveling merchants because it required long hours of meditation and isolation. Mahayana developed, enabling larger groups of people to participate in Buddhist practice.

It was Wang Jie's wish that his translation of the Diamond Sutra be available for universal distribution. His work has survived more than a thousand years and is, indeed, available for all.