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Mogao Cave 302: Illustration of the Sutra on the Field of Merits
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Mogao Cave 302: Illustration of the Sutra on the Field of Merits
CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Sui dynasty (581–618)
This illustration is located on the west slope of the gabled ceiling and is arranged like a horizontal scroll painting. Six of the seven Dharma practices expounded in the Sutra on the Field of Merits are presented in the mural. The scenes include: felling trees for construction, erecting a stupa, planting an orchard, building a pool for bathing, tending to an enclosed garden, tending to the sick, building a boat to ferry people across a river, erecting a bridge to ease travel, digging a well beside a roadway, and a monk establishing a vihara. The varied scenes reflect daily life during the Sui dynasty (581-618).
The illustration is one of two murals of this subject matter within the Mogao Caves. The other is from the Northern Zhou dynasty (557-581) and is on the north ceiling slope of Cave 296. The two murals represent the short-lived influence of the Three Stages school in Dunhuang. |
