Guangsheng Lower Temple Great Hero Hall: Fifty-Three Visits of Sudhana

CHINA, Shanxi, Linfen; Yuan dynasty

The Great Hero Hall of Guangsheng Lower Temple was rebuilt during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). Murals were originally painted on the walls of the hall, covering an area of 300 sq m. The images of Tejaprabha Buddha Assembly and the Medicine Buddha Assembly on the east and west walls were stripped off in the 1920s, and are now kept in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the USA.
These murals, located on the gables of the east and west walls, are some of the few remaining images in the hall. They are based on the “Gandavyuha Chapter” of the Avatamsaka Sutra, in which Sudhana, upon receiving guidance from Manjusri Bodhisattva, traveled to visit 53 Dharma mentors. Each of the visits is illustrated within a landscape of mist and clouds, and is accompanied by an inscribed cartouche. Sudhana is often shown joining his palms, paying respect to his many mentors.