Mogao Cave 61: Illustration of the Ghanavyuha Sutra

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Five Dynasties

This mural based on the Ghanavyuha Sutra is painted on the north wall of Cave 61. In the upper register are shrines and pavilions in the heavenly palace. This grand architecture represents the Ghanavyuha Buddha Land. Between the palaces, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas fly on clouds to attend the assembly.
The Ghanavyuha assembly is depicted in the middle register. Sakyamuni Buddha is seated in full lotus position on a raised platform in the center, and on each side is an attendant Bodhisattva seated among a large crowd of smaller Bodhisattvas and disciples. Below, a heavenly being dances in front of an altar, and heavenly musicians seated around the dancer play instruments. Moving downwards, on a platform to the right, Ruciraketu Bodhisattva and Manorama Bodhisattva listen to the Buddha’s teaching. Behind them on another platform is Sakra, a figure not mentioned in the sutra. On a platform opposite them on the left are Brahma and his retinue. The lowest scenes, separated from the rest by a strip of patterning, feature Buddhas and Bodhisattvas engaging in dialogue with one another.