Kizil Cave 110: Life of the Buddha

CHINA, Xinjiang, Aksu

Close to 60 scenes sequentially depicting the Life of the Buddha were painted on the left, right, and back walls of the main chamber. Few of the illustrations presently remain in the cave, and most of these are heavily damaged. They progress chronologically from top to bottom across each wall, beginning in the upper right of the left wall, and ending with the Buddha’s Parinirvana on the lower left of the right wall. There are ink inscriptions in Brahmi script along each row, most of which are damaged or illegible.
Three rows of illustrations remain on the left wall. The upper row depicts Queen Maya’s Dream, the Interpretation of Queen Maya’s Dream, and the Birth of Prince Siddhartha. In the middle row are the First Meditation, Pilgrimage, Decision to Renounce, the Great Departure, and Bidding Farewell to Chandaka. The lower row depicts the Conversion of the Three Kasyapa Brothers. The surviving paintings on the back wall are the Skills Contest, Tossing the Elephant, Palace Life, and Sujata Offering Milk Porridge. The right wall is illustrated with Svastika Offering a Seat, Merchants Offering Food, Four Heavenly Kings Offering Bowls, Temptation of Mara’s Daughters, First Turning of the Dharma Wheel, and the Buddha’s Parinirvana.