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Mogao Cave 17: Buddha Teaching the Dharma

Ink and color on paper

Mogao Cave 17: Buddha Teaching the Dharma

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Tang dynasty

The Buddha sits on a lotus throne in the center of the picture, surrounded by a nimbus and an aureole that have partially worn away. Dressed in a red monastic robe, the Buddha forms the Dharmacakra (Dharma wheel) mudra with both hands. This mudra is formed by joining the thumb and index finger of each hand and holding the hands close to the chest with one palm facing inwards and the other out. It symbolizes the subjugation of defilements and the purification of body and mind. Two attendant Bodhisattvas with red nimbuses and golden headdresses stand on lotus pedestals beside the Buddha. The painting was possibly used as the frontispiece for a sutra.

For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Painting I-O, page 575.

Cite this article:

Hsingyun, et al. "Mogao Cave 17: Buddha Teaching the Dharma." Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Painting I-O, vol. 15, 2016, pp. 575.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Youlu, Graham Wilson, Manho, Mankuang, and Susan Huntington. 2016. "Mogao Cave 17: Buddha Teaching the Dharma" In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Painting I-O, 15:575.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Youlu, Wilson, G., Manho, Mankuang, & Huntington, S.. (2016). Mogao Cave 17: Buddha Teaching the Dharma. In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Painting I-O (Vol. 15, pp. 575).
@misc{Hsingyun2016,
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Youlu and Wilson, Graham and Manho and Mankuang and Huntington, Susan,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Painting I-O},
pages = 575,
title = {{Mogao Cave 17: Buddha Teaching the Dharma}},
volume = 15,
year = {2016}}


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