Zhai Ming Temple: Three Buddhas

TAIWAN, Taoyuan

These three paintings are currently kept in Zhai Ming Temple in Taoyuan, Taiwan. Each painting, measuring 139.7 cm high and 76.7 cm wide, features a seated Buddha with two disciples. The painting of Sakyamuni Buddha is in the center, flanked by the pictures of the Medicine Buddha and Amitabha Buddha.
Sakyamuni Buddha has small eyes, long ears, and a low usnisa. A nimbus decorated with flame patterns surrounds the head. The Buddha wears a yellow robe and a delicately patterned blue shawl. The hands cradle a wish-fulfilling jewel in the lap. Mahakasyapa and Ananda stand beside the Buddha’s lotus throne. Mahakasyapa is portrayed as an elderly monk with long white eyebrows and a wrinkled forehead. He wears a wide-sleeved robe and joins his palms in reverence. Ananda, with a more youthful appearance, also joins his palms. The canopy at the top of the picture is decorated with gold characters that read “fo ci guang da” (Boundless Compassion of the Buddha).
The other two pictures are similar, but the Buddhas wear different colored robes, hold different objects, and form different mudras. The positions of Mahakasyapa and Ananda are reversed in the painting of the Medicine Buddha, and they both hold trays of offerings. All three paintings are beautifully detailed. The fine gold patterns on the robes are particularly striking. The figures appear wise and peaceful, transmitting a feeling of serenity to the viewer. The style is similar to that seen in a pair of paintings of Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas also kept in Zhai Ming Temple.