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Tiangong Louge in Eastern Pure Land Illustrations You & Zhu

practice, including “universal vows” of all translation depicts the Master of Healing as
bodhisattvas and “specific vows” of various seven bodies, and in the Healing Master Sutra
bodhisattvas for their respective pure lands, illustration on the north wall of Cave 220 in
such as Amitabha's forty-eight vows, Dunhuang, which was painted based on this,
Maitreya’s ten good vows. Central to the are seven Buddhas [Figure 2]. In Dunhuang,
twelve vows of Medicine Master Buddha is to the Sutra of the Mastering of Healing is the
eliminate all the suffering and afflictions of Sutta pitaka that circulates widely. It is
sentient beings in their present life, heal estimated that there are up to 295 copies of the
diseases, remove calamities, and extend life Sutra of the Master of Healing in the remains
expectancy. The resultant Medicine Buddha of Buddhist manuscripts and 128 extant
faith is secular and utilitarian in nature. “Healing Master Illustrations.” Among the
Although all the translations of the Sutra five translations, Po-Srimitra and Xuanzang’s
of the Master of Healing are almost the same translations had the highest influence early,
in terms of basic contents, difference and but the “Healing Master Illustration” painted
preference in contents are shown in the in Po-Srimitra’s translation is in the trial stage
Healing Master Sutra illustration due to the with no image of tiangong louge, such as
trade-off with the Sutta pitaka made by the Dunhuang Cave 394, which was painted in
translators, and difference in their the Sui dynasty (581‒618) according to the
understanding of the Sutta pitaka. For Sutra Spoken by the Buddha on the Abhi܈eka
example, Xuanzang’s translation only which eliminates faults of the past and confers
describes the Master of Healing, and in the freedom from birth to death (Fo shuo
illustration based on this are usually the so- guanding bachu guozui shengsi dedu jing).
called “Three Sages of the East,” with the Tiangong louge in the “Healing Master
Medicine Buddha standing in the middle and Illustration” was only created after the High
Sūryaprabha and Candraprabha at the left and Tang era (618‒907), which was mainly based
right as retinues. And Dharmagupta’s on Xuangzang’s translation.

Figure 2. Seven Buddhas, the Masters of Healing on the north of Cave 220, Dunhuang during the early Tang
dynasty, which was painted based the text of the translation by Yi Jing. Source: Dunhuang Academy, Chinese
Rock Caves: Dunhuang Mogao Caves Ⅲ.

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