Maijishan Grotto 127: Western Pure Land

CHINA, Gansu, Tianshui; Western Wei dynasty

This mural, located in the upper section of the left wall, depicts the Western Pure Land based on sutra narratives. Although there is some deterioration, the mural’s details and depictions of Amitabha Buddha, Bodhisattvas, disciples, towers, halls, trees, and lotus ponds are striking.
In the upper middle register of the mural, there is a large hall and the Pure Land is portrayed surrounded with vast dense foliage. Amitabha Buddha sits on a Sumeru throne in full lotus position in the middle of the hall, and is flanked by the Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattvas. More than 20 Bodhisattvas and disciples, either with palms joined in reverence or with offerings, are arranged symmetrically on either side of the hall. In the foreground, heavenly musicians and heavenly dancers engage in music and dance, with two figures pummeling a giant drum under an immense canopy. Disciples amble around the hall beneath the flying apsaras. A mineral green pond, with many lotus flowers and mallards, softly surges in the lower register. This is the pond of seven treasures enclosing the water with eight virtues, as described in the sutras on the Western Pure Land.