Anyue Yuanjue Cave 7: Sudhana
Stone
Anyue Yuanjue Cave 7: Sudhana
CHINA, Sichuan, Ziyang; Northern Song dynasty
Located on the left wall of the cave, this depiction of Sudhana was sculpted according to the “Gandavyuha Chapter” of the Avatamsaka Sutra. As the son of an elder in the town of Dhanyakara, Sudhana had a deep desire to learn the Dharma. On the advice of Manjusri Bodhisattva, Sudhana made 53 visits to various spiritual mentors, including Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, and finally attained enlightenment after a meeting with Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. The image of Sudhana receiving guidance from Avalokitesvara is a fairly common subject in Chinese Buddhist art.
In this depiction, Sudhana kneels on clouds with joined palms, looking up towards Avalokitesvara. He has long eyebrows, a beard, and hair tied up in a topknot. A stole is draped over one shoulder and rises up over his head as if it is blowing in the wind.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves A-E, page 83.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Johnson, Peter and Mankuang and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves A-E},
pages = 83,
title = {{Anyue Yuanjue Cave 7: Sudhana}},
volume = 5,
year = {2016}}