Bodhisattva Surrounded by a Monk and Devas (from the south wall of Mogao Cave 320, Dunhuang, Gansu province)

This mural section is a companion to the Bust of an Attendant Bodhisattva (1924.43) at left. The scene is centered upon a bodhisattva who turns to face a Buddha (not seen here), whose halo is partially visible at the left edge. Standing between the unseen Buddha and this bodhisattva, an elderly monk — Mahakashyapa, one of the Buddha’s favored disciples — holds a sutra scroll, a reference to the Buddha’s teachings. Clad in military armor and displaying a fierce demeanor, one of the Eight Devas and Dragons appears in the upper-right corner of the composition. This mural section thus gives a sense of the radially hierarchical nature of mural compositions throughout much of the history of Chinese Buddhist art: a buddha at center is immediately flanked by his closest disciples and principal attendant bodhisattvas; they, in turn, are surrounded by protective deities of decreasing levels of spiritual advancement.