Yulin Cave 25, A Buddha Eight Buddha Images

Among the caves created during the period when Dunhuang was ruled by Tibet, Anxi Yulinku 25 was comparatively special in the sense that Paradise of Amit(?)bha and Paradise of Maitreya on the south and north walls preserved the structure and style of picture of the High Tang period,whereas the remnants of the picture of Vairocana with the Eight great Bodhisattvas on the main wall vary from the other pictures in the same cave in terms of statue pattern.Through comparison and analysis of what remains of the names of four bodhisattvas and the Buddhist sutras in Chinese, I demonstrate that the titles of the eight bodhisattvas can be found in some early Vidyadh(?)rani-y(?)na sutra and dh(?)rani-y(?)na sutra and are closely related to vaid(?)ryaprabha.《Mandala of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas》,translated by Amoghavajra in the Tang Dynasty,is the classic closest to the picture of Vairocana with the Eight great Bodhisattvas.However,the description of the portraits of the eight bodhisattvas in this sutra is still different from the picture in Yulinku 25.The stylistic features of this picture resemble those of some silk paintings in Cave No.17.Some of the silk paintings were inscribed in Tibetan and bear close relation to Tibetan believers.《Mandala of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas》copied in Tibetan found in Cave No.17 could prove that the Tibetan believers really believed in this scripture.The picture of Vairocana with the Eight great Bodhisattvas has been frequently found in native Tibetan Lhasa and the region of Qinghai,including Samye Kloster as recorded in some literatures,and some cliff inscriptions and temple relics discovered by archaeological excavation.The cliff inscriptions in Changdu of Tibet and Yushu of Qinghai attracted much attention because they recorded information regarding the historical period and Danapati.The,Danapati ye shes dbyangs,was an eminent Monk active in Tibet.He image-making activity attests to the spread and reception of the picture of Vairocana with the Eight great Bodhisattvas in Tibet.Through comparing the picture in these places with that of Vairocana with the Eight great Bodhisattvas in Yulin,I argue that the picture of Vairocana with the Eight great Bodhisattvas popular in Tibet,although varying from each other,share in common the structure and style of images.The pictureof Vairocana with the Eight great Bodhisattvas in Yulin encapsulates the interaction and interpenetration of Buddhist faith and images of Han and Tibetan people in the period when Tibetans governed Dunhuang.