Nirvana, the Hall of Pure Land (A Study of Dunhuang Mogao Cave 148)

Author: Gong Weizhang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: The Great Tang Dynasty Cave 148 at Dunhuang Mogao is a large Nirvana cave carved and constructed by the prominent Li Dabin family of Dunhuang. All Buddhist sculptures inside the cave were created during the Dali period of Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty, which holds significant meaning for studying the themes embodied by the cave. The Li Dabin family of Cave 148 is a typical aristocratic family in Tang Dynasty Dunhuang, with high political, economic, and social status. The Li family was also one with a deep tradition of Buddhist faith, having carved "family caves" 331, 332, and 148, as well as the "three main caves." This book primarily explores the religious background, iconographic interpretation, and influence on subsequent similar Buddhist transformation murals in Mogao of the Nirvana Sutra, the Contemplation of Amida Buddha, the Pure Land of the Medicine Buddha, and the Sutra of Maitreya's Descent and Ascent in Cave 148. It also examines the iconographic interpretation of the Thousand-Armed Thousand-Eyed Avalokite?vara, the Bodhisattva of the Unempty Cord, and the Wish-Granting Wheel Avalokite?vara in Cave 148, as well as the of similar images in later Mogao murals. Additionally, the book interprets the iconography of the Heaven-Questioning Nirvana Sutra and the Sutra of Repaying Kindness in Cave 148, the naming and iconographic function of the images of Manjushri and Samantabhadra, and finally discusses the historical background of the cave's construction and its influence on Cave 148, as well as the impact of the nirvana and pure land themes embodied in the images of Cave 148 on the mid-Tang caves of Mogao. The book also investigates the relationship between the images in Cave 148 and the Huayan faith of the cave's patron, Li Dabin, and his brother, the monk Lingwu. It argues that all the images in Cave 148 are closely related to the Huayan faith, and the absence of the Huayan Sutra transformation in the cave is due to the special historical context during its construction.