Mogao Cave 17: Illustration of the Avatamsaka Sutra - Chapter on the Ten Stages

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Five Dynasties

This painting, based on descriptions in the “Chapter on the Ten Stages” from the Avatamsaka Sutra, visually depicts the teaching given by Vairocana Buddha during the sixth assembly in Paranirmitavasavartin Heaven. Decorative strips divide the picture into 12 squares. In the square on the bottom left, Samantabhadra is shown riding on an elephant. Manjusri, sitting on the back of a lion, is in the middle of the square on the bottom right. Each Bodhisattva is accompanied by Sudhana, as well Heavenly Kings, Bodhisattvas playing musical instruments, and animal keepers.
The remaining ten squares represent the ten stages of Bodhisattva practice, and feature Vairocana Buddha as the central figure. Vairocana has a patterned aureole and a nimbus filled with swirling colors. The Buddha wears a red monastic robe and sits in full lotus position on a lotus throne, forming a different mudra in each of the ten illustrations. Above Vairocana, there is a Bodhi tree, a parasol, and a heavenly palace flanked by apsaras. Vairocana is flanked by Liberation Moon Bodhisattva on the right and Vajragarbha Bodhisattva on the left. Sariputra, Subhuti, and Bodhisattvas stand beside Vairocana’s nimbus.