Kizil Cave 80: Life of the Buddha - Monkey Offering Honey

CHINA, Xinjiang, Aksu

This illustration is located on the right side of the barrel-vaulted ceiling in the main chamber. The story is found in the “Chapter on Madhuvasistha” from the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish. According to the sutra, a monkey living in the forest once asked Ananda for the Buddha’s alms bowl. The monkey filled the bowl with honey and offered it to the Buddha. The Buddha asked the monkey to remove the impurity from the honey and dilute it with water. The monkey did this and offered it again with success but as he jumped with excitement, he carelessly slipped from the tree, and the fall ended his life. The monkey was then reborn as a human in his next life, renounced, and became enlightened.
This painting illustrates the scene of the monkey offering diluted honey to the Buddha who sits on a rectangular throne with legs crossed at the ankles. The monkey, to the right, leans over to grasp the alms bowl with two hands.