A Study Of Cave 417 Of Mogao Grottoes In Dunhuang

In the Sui Dynasty,because of the unification of the country and the emperor’s worship of Buddhism,the Buddhism culture of the North and the South exchanged and integrated with each other.The regional characteristics of "Nan Hui Bei Ding" developed into "Shuang Hong Ding Hui".In the Sui Dynasty,Mogao Grottoes were also affected.The content of asceticism in Meditation,which mainly consisted of Buddhist biography,Fate story and Bensheng story,gradually decreased,and its position began to move up;The Maitreya Sutra,Medicine Buddha Sutra and Vimalakirti Sutra began to appear,and gradually occupied the leading position.In the west wall of cave 417 of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang,seven statues of one Buddha and two disciples,four Bodhisattvas,two deer and three wheel of the dharma were painted in the niches,forming the statue of the first sermon in Luyeyuan.This plays a decisive role in other contents of the cave.Together with the Suvarna-prabhāsa-(uttama)-sūtra,it forms the method of visualizing the view of life and body in the Meditation.The four noble truths mentioned by Luyeyuan at the beginning,the Suvarna-prabhāsa-(uttama)-sūtra and Shanzi Birth Story,embody the truth of suffering;the Maitreya Sutra and Medicine Buddha Sutra belong to the pure land belief of Mahayana,and embody the truth of the cessation of suffering;The Vimalakirti Sutra represents the later development of Mahayana Buddhism.It believes that everyone has Buddha nature and everyone can become a Buddha.The "Non-dual Method" advocated by it is considered as a bridge and way to complete the practice,reflecting the essence of the four truths.Cave 417 is a small cave in the Sui Dynasty.It not only inherits the ascetic pictures of Hinayana Buddhism since the Northern Dynasty,but also adds the Mahayana Buddhist Scripture changing pictures that began to appear in the Sui Dynasty,which embodies the conservative and innovative construction style of Mogao Grottoes in the Sui Dynasty.