Guanyin and the sixteen luohans
Not on view
Chinese beliefs about magical islands and enchanted caves were blended with Buddhist ideas imported from India to create iconographic combinations like the one you see here. Mystical clouds encircle the magical island of Mount Putuo as a dragon rises from the crashing waves. The bodhisattva Guanyin, who pledged to forgo enlightenment and remain in the world in order to aid suffering beings, sits in a cave high atop the mountain. Sixteen luohans, wizened guardians of the Buddhist law, pay her homage. Prostrating before Guanyin is the young pilgrim boy Sudhana (Chinese: Shancai), who has come to her seeking spiritual guidance.
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