Mogao Cave 17: Illustration of the Amitayurdhyana Sutra

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Tang dynasty

This painting of scenes from the Amitayurdhyana Sutra is divided into three vertical sections by two diamond-patterned ribbons. The central image is Amitabha Buddha teaching the Dharma in the Western Pure Land. The left panel shows the Sixteen Contemplations, while the right panel depicts the story of Ajatasatru. Figures making offerings occupy the lower register. Although the painting is badly damaged, many detailed figures are still visible.
Amitabha Buddha wears a red monastic robe and has a nimbus and an aureole composed of concentric rings. The Buddha is flanked by two Bodhisattvas and two disciples. A heavenly palace is partially visible in the upper register. Below the Buddha, kneeling Bodhisattvas either join their palms or form a mudra. One of them holds a red lotus flower. A peacock and two birds are depicted in a small pond below the large damaged section. On both sides of the pond, a Buddha and a Bodhisattva stand beneath a canopy.
Eleven scenes of Queen Vaidehi using the Sixteen Contemplations to visualize the Western Pure Land are painted down the left panel. On the right panel, the story of Ajatasatru is portrayed in five scenes framed by five buildings with upward curving eaves. In the lower register, a female figure and a maid carrying a tray of flowers are partially visible on the left. A kneeling male figure holding an incense burner and a bell is painted on the right. He is also accompanied by a maid carrying flowers.