Fifty-Three Visits of Sudhana

CHINA; Ming dynasty

The gold characters at the top of the painting read “Avatamsaka Assembly of Spiritual Mentors.” This painting depicts the 53 visits of Sudhana described in the “Gandavyuha Chapter” of the Avatamsaka Sutra. According to the sutra, Sudhana’s quest for Dharma began with a visit to Manjusri Bodhisattva, followed by visits to Bhiksu Meghasri, Bodhisattvas, monastics, lay practitioners, children, heavenly beings, brahmins, the elderly, physicians, a boatman, monarchs, sages, and deities. The 53rd visit was a return visit to Manjusri prior to a visit to Samantabhadra Bodhisattva where Sudhana learns that true wisdom must be put into practice for the benefit of all beings.
The sequence of the 53 visits starts from the top right corner, proceeds to the bottom, and continues at the top of the subsequent column. Above each scene, there is an inscription stating the sequence number and the name of the teacher that is depicted, similar to an illustrated travel journal.