
Print on paper
This 10th century woodblock print portraying scenes from the Lotus Sutra was one of the artworks collected by Chonen of Todaiji Temple in 985 during a stay at Kaiyuan Temple in Taizhou, Zhejiang. The central image is Sakyamuni Buddha expounding the Lotus Sutra at Vulture Peak. The Buddha sits in full lotus position on a lotus throne flanked by disciples, Bodhisattvas, and the Eight Classes of Dharma Protectors. Manjusri Bodhisattva is shown sitting on the back of a lion and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva is depicted riding an elephant. Images from the “Chapter on the Emergence of the Prabhutaratna Pagoda” and the “Chapter on Emerging from the Earth” are painted in the lower register.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Painting A-H, page 66.