According to the Tablet Recording Li Fujun's Patronage in the anteroom, this cave was excavated by Li Dabin in the eleventh year of Dali Era (776).
On the altar at the main hall is a 15m long statue of Buddha in nirvana. Nirvana is the highest spiritual state of eternity that Sakyamuni attains at the age of 80. Behind the nirvana statue are Buddhist disciples, celestials, princes of various states, Buddha's foster mother, Bodhisattvas, total 72 statues (renovated in the Western Xia Dynasty). The west wall depicts an illustration of nirvana sutra, which is the largest in size of its kind at Mogao Grottoes.
The south niche originally contained Cintamani-Cakra Avalokitesvara statue and the north Amoghapasa Avalokitesvara, yet both statues have been damaged and respectively replaced by Buddha of the Past and Buddha of the Future cast in Qing Dynasty. The ceiling of the cave shows thousand Buddhas painted in the High Tang period, yet the color is still bright and fresh after some 1,200 odd years.
The south side of the entrance illustrates Amitayur-dhyana-sutra in large canvas and the north side Bhaisajyaguru-sutra. Architectures such as halls, turrets, yards, cloisters, waterside pavilions in those two paintings are precise in composition and fine in artistry, providing precious materials for researching the Tang Dynasty architectures. In the anteroom is extant with two warriors, two heavenly kings, and two lions cast in the Middle Tang period and renovated in the Qing Dyansty. |
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