Volume 55 from the <i>Garland Sutra</i>

This volume is from a luxuriously decorated set of the Garland Sutra, a Buddhist text. The five-fold frontispiece features the Buddha seated on a throne encircled by a red halo and decorated with exquisite gold scrolling. The surrounding figures include arhats (enlightened disciples of Buddha and protectors of the Buddhist law), bodhisattvas (beings who delay enlightenment to help suffering beings on earth), the Four Guardian Kings (protectors of the four cardinal directions), and various minor deities and devotees. The inscription was written in 1457 by the Buddhist monk Xing Jueheng, who hoped his pious act would ensure his right to attend the assemblies of the future Buddha, Maitreya. He also prayed: May the empire always be secure, May the emperor flourish, May the Buddha’s light shine increasingly, And the wheel of the law turn eternally.