The Buddha's Intention

The Buddha's Intention

Teachings and Images
101C Exhibition Hall

The Lotus Sutra says: "All buddhas appear in this world for one great cause alone."

This "one great cause" is to reveal and explain the ultimate reality realized by all buddhas, and to enable all beings to awaken to and arrive at the same realization.

And it was with this one intention that Shakyamuni Buddha traveled through India some 3,000 years ago—from Sarnath where he first turned the Dharma Wheel, to Kushinagar's twin sala trees where he entered nirvana—teaching the subtle and supreme Dharma for 49 years, guiding all beings to enlightenment, to the day when they may truly be free of suffering.

By narrating and revealing the Dharma through imagery, Buddhist art continues to promote the Buddha's one great cause. May the tangible beauty of works of art inspire us to realize the Buddha's intention and unlock the intangible prajna wisdom inherent in all beings.

Rocana Buddha Manifesting the Dharma Realms
Northern Qi Dynasty
550-577 C.E.
Limestone
53 cm
101C The Buddha's Intention: Teachings and Images
Rocana, the name of the Buddha of the Lotus Treasury World, means completely pure and illuminating everywhere. The image of Rocana Buddha manifesting the Dharma Realm expresses the idea that the Buddha's Dharma body (the truth body) is everywhere, illuminating everything. Moreover, in the Dharma body, every phenomenon in the universe can find its expression and manifestation. As seen in this statue, which should belong to the Huayan tradition under the Qingzhou lineage, the Buddha's body is covered all over with color-painted pictures and dotted with remnants of gold leaf in a few areas, depicting scenes of sentient beings in the six destinies as well as stories from the Buddha's life. They are an example of the integration of imagery and teachings in Buddhist art.
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