Linking Khotan and Dūnhuáng: Buddhist Narratives in Text and Image

Christoph Anderl

doi:10.46586/er.v5.2018.250-311

Abstract

In the propagation and spread of Buddhism throughout Asia, jātaka and avadāna narratives played a decisive role, both in the form of texts and iconographical representations. In this paper I will focus on another set of narratives which enjoyed great popularity in the Dūnhuáng area during the later Tang and Five Dynasties period, dealing with historical projections concerning the origin and transmission of Buddhism. In this stories, “Auspicious Statues” (ruìxiàng 瑞像) play a key role. These “living” statues were thought to have moved from Indian monasteries to Khotan and other regions, serving as agents of the transmission of the Dharma in these areas. Besides reflecting religious key concern during that period, the historical narratives on the spread of Buddhism also give witness to the close diplomatic and family relations between Dunhuang and the Kingdom of Khotan during that period.

Highlights

In the propagation and spread of Buddhism throughout Asia, narratives played a decisive role, both in the form of texts and iconographical representations
In this paper I will focus on another set of narratives which enjoyed great popularity in the Dūnhuáng area during the later Tang and Five Dynasties period, dealing with historical projections concerning the origin and transmission of Buddhism
In the manuscripts on Auspicious Statues, we find notes on basic features of the statues, as recorded on Stein 2113, for example

Summary

Introduction

In the propagation and spread of Buddhism throughout Asia, narratives played a decisive role, both in the form of texts and iconographical representations. After the introduction of Buddhism to China, the accounts and depictions of the selfless acts of the Buddha in his countless former lives (jātaka)— during which he accumulated merit sufficient to be reborn as Śākyamuni and gain enlightenment—and the great deeds of other Buddhist heroes described in the avadāna texts enjoyed tremendous popularity. These types of stories initially played a main role in the transmission of Buddhism to Central Asia and China, judged by the frequency of their translations and extant iconographical representations in Buddhist caves and other sites. My focus will be on the Auspicious

The Localization of Buddhism in the Tarim Basin and China

The Auspicious Statues

The Udayana Buddha Image

Mirror Stories

Dūnhuáng Manuscripts on Auspicious Statues

Khotan as a Center of Buddhism

Oxhead Mountain

Ocean Eye Monastery of Khotan

OTHER BUDDHAS

Protector Bodhisattvas

Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva

Śāriputra and the Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa of Khotan