A Whole Set of Sutras
There was one remarkable Buddhist priest in the 17th century or in the Edo period of Japan under the rule of the Tokugawa samurai clan. When he was a 36 year old Zen monk, he decided to accomplish a big deed of printing all the Buddhist sutras.
Tetsugen Dōkō (1630 – 1682) was a Japanese Zen Master, and an important early leader of the Ōbaku school of Buddhism.
The following story is told of Tetsugen's efforts to publish the sutras.
Tetsugen decided to publish the sutras, which at that time were available only in Chinese. The books were to be printed with wood blocks in an edition of seven thousand copies, a tremendous undertaking.
Tetsugen began by travelling and collecting donations for this purpose. A few sympathizers would give him a hundred pieces of gold, but most of the time he received only small coins. He thanked each donor with equal gratitude. After ten years Tetsugen had enough money to begin his task.
It happened that at that time the Uji River overflowed. Famine followed. Tetsugen took the funds he had collected for the books and spent them to save others from starvation. Then he began again his work of collecting.
Several years afterward an epidemic spread over the country. Tetsugen again gave away what he had collected.
For a third time he started his work, and after twenty years his wish was fulfilled. The printing blocks which produced the first edition of sutras can be seen today in Ōbaku monastery in Kyoto.
The Japanese tell their children that Tetsugen made three sets of sutras, and that the first two invisible sets surpass even the last.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetsugen_DokoIn China and Japan, a complete set of all the Buddhist scriptures is called Issai-Kyo (in Japanese pronunciation) or the whole set of sutras. This set comprises 6,965 books. They are divided into the three categories: Kyo (in Japanese), books of doctrines the Buddha taught, Ritsu (in Japanese), books of warnings and instructions about living of monks, and Ron (in Japanese), books containing teaching and explanation by the Buddha and his disciples about Kyo and Ritsu,
To produce Issai-Kyo, wood-block printing was applied. Issai-Kyo was once printed and issued only twice separately in China and Japan. But in Japan it is admitted today that it was Tetsugen Doko that made this whole set of sutras widely known to and learnt by the public.
Specifically, Tetsugen printed 7,334 books in 1,618 volumes in 1678, according to a record. He dedicated them to ex-emperor with a Buddhist title Go-Mizunoo (1596 – 1680). And in 1681, he officially made printed sutras available to the public, while the printing was made possible based on religiously goodwill donation from 8,000 people including farmers, townsmen, and samurai lords.
Any Buddhist scriptures any school of Buddhists uses are included in Issai-Kyo consisting of about 7,000 books.
http://www.city.nishio.aichi.jp/index.cfm/8,17641,91,408,html
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Pro 3:27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
Pro 3:28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
Pro 3:29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
Pro 3:30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.