Mogao Cave 420: Illustration of the Vimalakirti Sutra - Chapter on Manjusri’s Visit

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Sui dynasty

This mural is located on the upper registers on the two sides outside the back (west) wall niche. It illustrates the “Chapter on Manjusri’s Visit” from the Vimalakirti Sutra. This style of sutra illustration emerged during the Sui dynasty (581–618). On the left is Manjusri Bodhisattva, seated on a Sumeru throne in the center of a three-bay hall with a hip-and-gable roof. Manjusri has one arm raised and appears poised in debate. Bodhisattvas, disciples, and heavenly beings either stand or sit within the hall, and one Bodhisattva kneels before Manjusri and makes offerings. A forest landscape is behind the hall, while a lotus pond filled with fish and ducks is in the foreground. Apsaras scatter flowers from the sky above. Vimalakirti is depicted on the right, seated in the center of a five-bay hall with a hip-and-gable roof. He holds a whisk in his right hand and leans on a low table, engrossed in debate with Manjusri. Vimalakirti has a thin face and his eyebrows are knitted together. The hall, veranda, and platform are filled with people listening to the debate. Similar in layout to the illustration of Manjusri, there is a forest behind the hall and a lotus pond in the foreground.