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Sec. viii]   PICTURES OF BUDDHIST HEAVENS   889

Two fine paintings, both of considerable artistic merit,34 show us the Paradise of Bhaisajyaguru, the Buddha of Medicine. Its representation was to be expected in view of the widespread cult which this form of Buddha has, evidently since an early period, enjoyed in Northern Buddhism from Tibet to Japan.35 In both paintings the Paradise representation is flanked by a series of marginal scenes illustrating legends connected with Bhaisajyaguru. These scenes, all in purely Chinese style and furnished with inscriptions, were to have been fully explained and commented upon by MM. Petrucci and Chavannes.36 The main lines of composition and arrangement in the Paradise portion agree also here with those observed in the Sukhâvatis of Amitabha. But there are some points of divergence which, as they are found in both pictures, may be considered as peculiar to the type of this Buddha's Paradise. Among these may be briefly mentioned the appearance of twelve Kings, richly dressed and armoured figures closely recalling the type of the Lokapalas and occupying separate terraces in the foreground ; also the introduction of two subsidiary Buddhas and Bodhisattvas with attendants in the bottom portion. Whether the ,representation of a Thousand-armed Avalokite§vara in one of the top corners and of Mafljugri in the other 37 is peculiar to Bhaisajyaguru's Mandala cannot be determined, as the topmost portion of Ch. liii. 002 is lost.

Ch. lii. 003 is a particularly spirited and carefully executed painting, and fortunately its fine colouring, as the portions reproduced in Thousand B., Plates I, II, show, has been well preserved. Among its many interesting details only a few can be mentioned here. The two chief Bodhisattvas enthroned at the side of the central Buddha are identified by M. Petrucci as Maiijugri and Samantabhadra. The former appears again• in the right top corner, carrying the Thousand Alms-bowls, which are nowhere else represented among our paintings. Similarly unique among Paradise pictures is the presence of Lokapâla-like warriors and demons forming the outer ranks of the central triad's cortège.37a They and some other secondary figures impart an element of animation to the scene. It is in keeping with this that we see the richly dressed dancer, here unmistakable as a girl, engaged in very spirited saltation, and by her side two infants violently dancing in joy. On floating lotuses appear other newly reborn souls in a variety of stages, just springing to life, curled up in happy infant sleep, or sitting as small Bodhisattvas with an air of consciousness not yet fully awakened. For the instruments played by the unusually numerous orchestra, some exactly resembling pieces preserved in the Shosoin, reference may be made to Appendix H. Even to the figures of subsidiary Buddhas, elsewhere seated in statue-like repose within side pavilions, the painter has imparted life by showing them and their attendants advancing from their abandoned lotus seats to the railing before the wings of the main terrace. Even more living are the small Bodhisattvas who are seen sitting at their ease on verandah railings, pulling up blinds, and otherwise enjoying their blissful leisure. Finally attention may be called to the excellence of the drawing, vigorous in all its delicate clearness, and the skilful balancing of the once brilliant colours.

Similar qualities of finished workmanship are displayed in the other picture of Bhaisajyaguru's Paradise, Ch. liii. 002 (Plate LVI) ; but there is not the same wealth of figures and colours, and an air of quiescence pervades the whole scene. Here fine individualized figures of disciples appear between the central Buddha and the two chief Bodhisattvas, who carry lotus buds in their hands,

Paradise of Bhaisajyaguru.

Details of interest in Ch. lii. 003.

Paradise painting,

Ch. liii. 002.

" For *Ch. lii. oo3, which in its complete state must have measured over 7 by 6 feet, 'see ,Pl. LVII ; also Pl. I, II of Thousand B., each reproducing in colour a portion of the painting on the R. and L. of the central Buddha. For Ch. liii. 002, also excellently preserved in colour, see Pl. LVI. For points of iconographic interest, cf. M. Petrucci's notes, Appendix E, III. vi.

36 Cf. Grünwedel, Mythologie des Buddhismus, p. 118.

1sî4

S6 In Mémoires concernant l'Asie orientale. For the Sutra text helping to interpret these scenes, cf. Appendix E, III. vi.

67 See *Ch. Iii. oo3, Pl. LVII.

37a The figure of a demon holding up a child is of special interest, as it has its counterpart in the fine fragment Ch. 00373. a (Thousand B., Pl. XLVI) of a large paper painting, remarkably well executed, which may also have represented a Mandala of the type of *Ch. lii. oo3.

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