Mogao Cave 17: Illustration of the Amitayurdhyana Sutra

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Five Dynasties

This early 10th century illustration of the Amitayurdhyana Sutra is painted on two pieces of silk sewn together. It shows the Western Pure Land, the story of Ajatasatru, the Sixteen Contemplations, and figures making offerings in three distinct registers. The depictions of Ajatasatru and the Sixteen Contemplations, usually painted on the two side panels of such paintings, can be seen below the main image of the Western Pure Land.
In the center of the upper register, Amitabha Buddha is flanked by Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattvas and surrounded by disciples and Bodhisattvas who have gathered to listen to the Dharma. On the terrace below the central figures, there are heavenly dancers and musicians. Lotuses and lotus-born children rise from the emerald pond around the terrace. Heavenly palaces are painted in the upper register. The upper left and right towers of the palace house a large bell and a drum.
The right half of the middle register depicts the imprisonment of King Bimbisara by Prince Ajatasatru. The left half features scenes of the Buddha teaching the Sixteen Contemplations to Queen Vaidehi. In the lower register, separated from the rest of the picture by a strip of patterning, four monks on each side sit on rocks facing towards the middle. The monks meditate, join their palms, or hold offerings.