Wat Kampong Tralach Leu Main Hall: Life of the Buddha - Merchants Offering Food

CAMBODIA, Kampong Chhnang

The Abhiniskramana Sutra states that during the seventh week after his enlightenment, the Buddha sat in meditation beneath a rajayatana tree. Two passing merchants from northern India were awed by his distinguished appearance and piously made food offerings. The Buddha accepted the offerings and conferred the Three Refuges and Five Precepts upon the merchants, making them his first lay followers.
In this mural, in the main hall of Wat Kampong Tralach Leu, the Buddha sits in lotus position beneath the blue rajayatana tree. He wears a monastic robe draped over the left shoulder and has a petal shaped nimbus around his head. The Buddha reaches out with his right hand to accept the offering made by the kneeling merchants on the left. Four monks sit on the right. In other depictions of this story, the merchants are shown wearing ornate garments, but here they wear simple clothing.