Abstract
This article considers the significance of the “Painting of the Five Hundred Arhats at the Monastery of Immense Virtue” from two perspectives. The first concerns legends about sacred monasteries dating back to the Eastern Jin dynasty (317-420). In the “Painting,” which consists of 100 scenes, there are six themes that constantly appear: mountain crags, caves, cloud formations, waterfalls, bamboo groves, and an exquisite monastery situated inside a cave. All of these themes were influenced by legends that spread beginning during the Eastern Jin that described such sites as “sacred monasteries” (shengsi 聖寺). The second treats the formation of arhat cults, using five stele inscriptions dating to the Five Dynasties (907-960) and Song dynasty (960-1279) to describe how people would worship arhats in mountain caves containing Buddhist monasteries, practices portrayed in 10 scenes from the “Painting.” By the Song dynasty, people would build artificial caves in cities or plains areas and worship arhats there. In addition, this article examines scenes in the “Painting” that show eminent monks visiting arhat caves as well as their experiences with vegetarian meals, drinking tea, and scripture chanting. One other issue explored in this article is portrayals of youths (tongzi 童子) and barbarian slaves (mannu 蠻奴).
Keywords
Monastery of Immense Virtue; Painting of the Five Hundred Arhats; sacred monasteries; arhat caves; barbarian slaves
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