Transformation tableau of the Visualization on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sutra (觀無量壽經變, Niche 18, Baodingshan Dafowan Rock Carvings (寶頂山大佛灣摩崖造像) - Amitabha Triad

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Transformation tableau of the Visualization on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sutra (觀無量壽經變, Niche 18, Baodingshan Dafowan Rock Carvings (寶頂山大佛灣摩崖造像) - Amitabha Triad Anderl, Christoph

Description

Baodingshan Dafowan Rock Carvings (寶頂山大佛灣摩崖造像) is situated in Baoding Town (寶頂鎮), Dazu District (大足區), Chongqing (重慶). The site contains 32 rock carving niches dated to the Southern Song 南宋 Dynasty (1127–1279 CE). This niche depicts a complex transformation tableau of the Visualization on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sutra (Guan wuliang shou jingbian 觀無量壽經變). The upper part depicts the Pure Land scene; the middle part contains the Amitabha triad; the bottom part and both sides portray the sixteen contemplations. The Amitabha triad consists of Amitabha Buddha (阿彌陀佛) in the middle, flanked by Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin, 觀音菩薩) on the left and Mahasthamaprapta (Dashizhi, 大勢至菩薩) on the right. The images only show half of their bodies. Attendant bodhisattvas, pavilion architecture with seated Buddhas and feitian (apsara) images are depicted in between the images of the Amitabha triad. In addition, images of reborn spirits playing musical instruments are placed on the fences before the Amitabha triad. A line of ten Buddha images is depicted on top of Avalokiteśvara and Mahasthamaprapta. Descriptions of the photos: Overview of the upper part of the niche [Image 01]. Close-up of Amitabha Buddha showing the mudra of the highest level of the highest grade rebirth [Image 02, Image 03, Image 04]. Close-up of Avalokiteśvara holding a bowl in his left hand and a willow branch in his right hand [Image 05 to Image 09]. Close-up of Mahasthamaprapta holding a piece of lotus leaf in his left hand [Image 10 to Image 12]. Close-up of Amitabha Buddha and Avalokiteśvara [Image 13, Image 14]. Close-up of Amitabha Buddha and Mahasthamaprapta [Image 15]. Metadata created by: Sau Ling Wendy Yu.

Item Metadata

Title	Transformation tableau of the Visualization on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sutra (觀無量壽經變, Niche 18, Baodingshan Dafowan Rock Carvings (寶頂山大佛灣摩崖造像) - Amitabha Triad
Creator	Anderl, Christoph
Contributor	From the Ground Up: Buddhism & East Asian Religions (FROGBEAR Project)
Date Issued	2016-11-01
Description	Baodingshan Dafowan Rock Carvings (寶頂山大佛灣摩崖造像) is situated in Baoding Town (寶頂鎮), Dazu District (大足區), Chongqing (重慶). The site contains 32 rock carving niches dated to the Southern Song 南宋 Dynasty (1127–1279 CE). This niche depicts a complex transformation tableau of the Visualization on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life Sutra (Guan wuliang shou jingbian 觀無量壽經變). The upper part depicts the Pure Land scene; the middle part contains the Amitabha triad; the bottom part and both sides portray the sixteen contemplations. The Amitabha triad consists of Amitabha Buddha (阿彌陀佛) in the middle, flanked by Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin, 觀音菩薩) on the left and Mahasthamaprapta (Dashizhi, 大勢至菩薩) on the right. The images only show half of their bodies. Attendant bodhisattvas, pavilion architecture with seated Buddhas and feitian (apsara) images are depicted in between the images of the Amitabha triad. In addition, images of reborn spirits playing musical instruments are placed on the fences before the Amitabha triad. A line of ten Buddha images is depicted on top of Avalokiteśvara and Mahasthamaprapta. Descriptions of the photos: Overview of the upper part of the niche [Image 01]. Close-up of Amitabha Buddha showing the mudra of the highest level of the highest grade rebirth [Image 02, Image 03, Image 04]. Close-up of Avalokiteśvara holding a bowl in his left hand and a willow branch in his right hand [Image 05 to Image 09]. Close-up of Mahasthamaprapta holding a piece of lotus leaf in his left hand [Image 10 to Image 12]. Close-up of Amitabha Buddha and Avalokiteśvara [Image 13, Image 14]. Close-up of Amitabha Buddha and Mahasthamaprapta [Image 15]. Metadata created by: Sau Ling Wendy Yu.
Subject	Dazu; Baodingshan; Buddhist art; Rock carving; Buddha; Amitabha; Avalokitesvara; Guanyin; Mahasthamaprapta; Dashizhi; Feitian
Geographic Location	Chongqing (China); Dazu Qu (Chongqing, China); 29.75437; 105.794076
Type	Still Image
Language	zxx
Notes	Author Affiliation: Ghent University
Series	Cluster 3.4: Typologies of Text-Image Relations
Date Available	2024-03-01
Provider	Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights	Attribution 4.0 International
DOI	10.14288/1.0440549
URI	http://hdl.handle.net/2429/87503
Affiliation	Non UBC
Peer Review Status	Unreviewed
Scholarly Level	Faculty
Rights URI	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository	DSpace

Item Media

Anderl_C_Niche_18_Amitabha_triad_1_2016.jpg -- 12.79MB

Anderl_C_Niche_18_Amitabha_triad_2_2016.jpg -- 13.99MB

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Anderl_C_Niche_18_Amitabha_triad_14_2016.jpg -- 13.64MB

Anderl_C_Niche_18_Amitabha_triad_15_2016.jpg -- 12.55MB

Item Citations and Data

Rights

Attribution 4.0 International

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