Master Yuanzhao

CHINA; Southern Song dynasty

Master Yuanzhao was born in 1048 in Yuhang, Zhejiang, and resided at Chongfu Temple for more than 30 years. He made a deep study of the doctrines of the Nanshan Vinaya school and the Pure Land school, and wrote voluminous commentaries on the Dharmagupta Vinaya and the Amitayurdhyana Sutra. Through his efforts, the Vinaya school of Buddhism was revitalized after it nearly died out under the persecution of Buddhism by Emperor Wuzong (reigned 840–846) of the Tang dynasty. Yuanzhao died in 1116 at the age of 69.
The black-robed Yuanzhao stands out from the empty background. Turned slightly to one side, he smiles peacefully, carrying a monk’s staff in his right hand and holding up a black alms bowl with the left. An inscription by Liu Tao in the upper right corner reads “Dignified he is, perfect in his upasampada, his appearance is like his mind; uncompromising and loftily aloof, his mind is like his appearance. To say he is square, he proves to be round; he looks timid, yet his spirit is unbound. Having no attachment, and holding no reins, men and deities alike take refuge in him.” The use of the posthumous title Dazhi in the inscription indicates that this work was painted during the mid-12th century.