Yu-jing Chen (Di-hsuan Shih) Draft for FSU Forum Only 03/02/2013 The Worship of Medicine Master Buddha in Medieval China In the early development of Buddhism, Śākyamuni Buddha was regarded as the only Buddha in the present world who had devoted his life to attaining full enlightenment and to achieving the highest spiritual goal. The followers of the Mahāyāna tradition, however, have further developed a pantheon of Buddhas who reside in different world systems to serve different needs of living beings.1 Although Paul Harrison claims that the concept of “celestial” Buddhas and bodhisattvas did not exist in the earliest phase of the Mahāyāna,2 a number of Buddhas and bodhisattvas today are perceived as divine beings with salvific power. These Buddhas and bodhisattvas have become transcendental beings and the main objects of veneration.3 Among them, Medicine Master Buddha (Sk. Bhaiṣajyaguru; Ch. Yaoshifo 藥師佛)4 is one of the most popular celestial Buddhas in East Asian Buddhism today. In Chinese Buddhism, Medicine Master Buddha is also called Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathāgata (Yaoshi liuli guang rulai 藥師琉璃光如來) and Lapis Lazuli Radiance Buddha (Liuli guang fo 琉璃 1 For more information about the Buddhist world systems and the development of the concept about myriads of Buddhas, see Randy kloetzli, Buddhist Cosmology, 1-31 and 113-131. 2 Harrison examines the figure of Mañjuśrī in the Chinese scriptures translated by Lokakṣema in the second century CE and states that the term “celestial bodhisattva” is not applicable to describe the bodhisattvas in the earliest phase of Mahāyāna. See Harrison, “Manjusri and the Cult of the Celestial Bodhisattvas,” 157-193. 3 For the further discussion of heavenly Buddhas, see Berkwitz, South Asian Buddhism, 97-103, and David Snellgrove, “Celestial Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,” 134-43. For the academic sources about the salvific power of Mahāyāna Buddhas and bodhisattvas, see Yü Chün-fang, Kuan-Yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteśvara, 1-27; Ng Zhiru, The Making of a Savior Bodhisattva, 29-80; Jan Nattier, “The Meanings of the Maitreya Myth,” 23-53, and Paul Williams, Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 209-264. 4 The issue about whether Medicine King (Bhaiṣajya-rājā) is identical with Medicine Master (Bhaiṣajya-guru) is questionable and needs further research. Raoul Birnbaum links Bhaiṣajya-rājā Bodhisattva with Bhaiṣajya-guru Buddha according to Foshuo guan yaowang yaoshang erpusa jing 佛說觀藥王藥上二菩薩經 (Birnbaum, The Healing Buddha, 24-54). However, this scripture indicates that Medicine King Bodhisattva will become Pure Eye Tathāgata (Jingyan rulai淨眼如來) in the future instead of Medicine Master Tathāgata( T 20. 662a). It is problematic to equate Bhaiṣajya-rājā with Bhaiṣajya-guru. The issue about Medicine King Buddha and Bodhisattva will be another research topic, and this paper does not include the sources about Medicine King. 1 光佛). These alternate names denote that his Buddha-field5 is named “Pure Lapis Lazuli.”6 He is the Buddha who reigns over the Eastern Pure Land because of his twelve great vows in the past. Additionally, Medicine Master Buddha symbolizes the power of healing, and supposedly he promises his blessings to devotees in this life and the afterlife. To accumulate merits, devotees practice pious acts related to the worship and venerating of Medicine Master Buddha, such as chanting scriptures and spells, copying scriptures, repentance rituals, lighting votive lamps, making five-color banners, establishing votive steles, and sponsoring the paintings of paradise-like scenes of Eastern Pure Land. Indeed, the worship of Medicine Master Buddha has brought new elements that have influenced Chinese religious life, which can be seen in the surviving scriptural and visual sources. Most academic studies on the Medicine Master Buddha merely focus on the cult of the Buddha in the Sui-Tang period (581-907 CE),7 when the worship of Medicine Master Buddha was increasingly popular. However, little is known about the worship of Medicine Master Buddha before the Sui dynasty. To bridge the gap, this study analyzes the textual sources and inscriptional records from the third to the sixth centuries in order to reconstruct the whole picture of the Medicine Master Buddha cult in medieval China. This paper first surveys the earliest extant record of the Medicine Master Buddha cult in the third century. It also examines the textual history of chapter twelve of the Guanding jing灌頂經 (Consecration Scripture), the oldest extant fourth-century Chinese text that corresponds to the Bhaiṣajyaguru Sūtra discovered in Gilgit. The final part of the paper researches the actual worship of Medicine Master Buddha from the fourth to the 5 Buddha-field (buddhakṣetra) is a realm that derives from the merit accumulated by a Buddha while he was still a bodhisattva through his spiritual practice and past vows. A number of principle Buddhas are related with particular Buddha-fields. Maitreya, for example, is acknowledged as the future Buddha who currently resides in the Tuṣita Heaven as a bodhisattva. Amitābha, the principle Buddha in the Pure Land tradition, dwells in the Western Pure Land, a paradise-like “land of bliss” (Sukhāvatī). And Medicine Master Buddha presides over the Eastern Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli. The Eastern Pure Land, however, is not a single world but rather multiple world systems. There are a number of Buddhas reside in the Eastern Pure Land. The Achu foguo jing 阿 閦佛國經 (Akṣobhya-vyūha), a text translated into Chinese by Lokakṣema in 186 CE, describes the Buddha-field of Akṣobhya in the Eastern world. Moreover, Yijing’s translation of the Bhaiṣajyaguru-sutra shows the seven Buddhas of the East, including Medicine Master Buddha (see T 14. 409a-418a). For relevant secondary sources about the study of Buddha-field, see Luis Gomez, “Pure Lands,” 703-08; Randy Kloetzli, Buddhist Cosmology, 1-31, and Paul Williams, Mahāyāna Buddhism, 224-227. 6 T 14. 401a-418a. 7 There are several studies about Medicine Master Buddha in the Sui-Tang period, which all use Dunhuang manuscripts and wall paintings to research the popularity of the worship. Mostly, these studies are presented in Chinese. See Li Xiaorong, “Lun suiting wudai zhi songchu de yaoshi xinyang” (Research on the Beliefs of Medicine Master Buddha in the Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, and Song), 113-155; and Li Yumin, “Dunhuang yaoshi jingbian yanjiu” (Studies on The Transformation Tableaux of Medicine Master Buddha Scripture), 1-39. In addition, Yan zhihong’s dissertation at the University of London in 1997, titled “Bhaisạjyaguru at Dunhuang,” examines the artistic materials about the Medicine Master Buddha at Dunhuang, especially in the Tang dynasty. 2 sixth centuries when the cult of Medicine Master Buddha was in the early phase of development. . Beginning of the Worship of Medicine Master Buddha in China Like many other celestial Buddhas and bodhisattvas, little is known about the origins of the worship of Medicine Master Buddha in ancient India. There is no Indian pictorial or inscriptional record about Medicine Master Buddha that remains in existence.8 Birnbaum suggests that the texts and beliefs about Medicine Master Buddha may have been transmitted from Central Asia to China.9 Additionally, it is uncertain when the worship of Medicine Master Buddha began in China, and very few sources now can reconstruct the actual picture of this cult before the third century. One of the rare extant inscriptional record is “The Inscription of Making Medicine Master Buddha’s Image Sponsored by Zhang Yangci, the Eastern commissioner of the Western Jin (265-317 CE)” 西晉東作使張揚刺鑄藥師佛像記. This inscription shows the donor’s intention to make a Medicine Master Buddha’s image to commemorate the birth of the baby. It states, On the sixteenth day of the eighth month of the sixth year of the Taikang era (285 CE), the Western Commissioner, Zhang Yangci, had a baby boy. [The donor] prays to Medicine Master Buddha for the deceased parents, living relatives, and [all] sentient beings in the dharma realm, [May they] see the Buddha in every life and always listen to Buddha’s teachings. [May they] have resolute mind of practice until attaining awakening.10 The historical information about Zhang Yangci is not clear. This inscription, however, is one of the earliest extant evidence of making the image of Medicine Master Buddha and plays a significant role for tracing the origins of beliefs about Medicine Master Buddha in medieval China. Obviously, the donor’s expectation of favorable retribution for his meritorious acts is connected with Buddhist doctrine of karma and the concept 8 Both Birnbaum and Li Yumin agree with the lack of Indian sources of Medicine Master Buddha cult. See Birnbaum, 52-55. Li Yumin, 3-5. 9 Birnbaum, 55-61. 10 The transcription of this inscription is shown in Sato Chisui’s佐藤智水 study of the steles in the Northern Dynasties. See Sato Chisui, “Hokuchō zōzō mei kō,” 36. The copy of this image of Medicine Master Buddha can be found at the Website of the Institute for Research in Humanities at Kyoto University. 21 Nov. 2011 <http://www.kanji.zinbun.kyoto-u.ac.jp/db-machine/imgsrv/takuhon/type_a/html/sou0129x.html>. 3 of transferring the merits. According to this inscriptional record, the donor not only wished the achievement of spiritual enlightenment for himself but also for his deceased parents, relatives, and other sentient beings, which clearly demonstrated the altruism of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It should be noted that Zhang Yangci’s inscription was made in 285 CE. This inscription is earlier than the appearance of chapter twelve of the Guanding jing灌頂經, the oldest surviving scripture in the Eastern Jin 東晉 (317-420 CE) that states the benefits of venerating Medicine Master Buddha.11 It is uncertain how Zhang Yangci got the information about Medicine Master Buddha. Nonetheless, this valuable inscription demonstrates that Chinese people worshipped Medicine Master Buddha in the third century, although the Medicine Master Buddha cult might not be widespread at that time. Earliest Surviving Scripture and Other Related Texts The oldest surviving text that sets forth the vows and salvific rites of Medicine Master Buddha is chapter twelve of the Guanding jing,12 translated during the Eastern Jin era by Śrīmitra, a prince from Kucha. Based on the Gaoseng zhuan 高僧傳 (Biographies of Eminent Monks), we can see that Śrīmitra was a foreign monk who resided at Jianchu Monastery 建初寺, located at present-day Nanjing, and stayed in China from the Yongjia era 永嘉 (307-313 CE) to the Xiankang era 咸康 (335-343 CE).13 Other three later translations of the same scripture were translated in the Sui-Tang period. In the Sui dynasty, Dharmagupta (d. 619CE) translated Foshuo yaoshi rulai benyuan jing 佛說藥師如來本願經 (Scripture on the Merits of the Primordial Vows of the Medicine Master Tathāgata Spoken by the Buddha) in 11Zhi Qian’s支謙 (fl. 222-253) translation of Foshuo ba jixiang shenzhou jing佛說八吉祥神咒經 (Scripture on the Eight Auspicious Divine Dharani Spoken by the Buddha) mentions “Yaoshi juzu wang rulai藥師具足王如來,” which might be the earliest Chinese text that states another name of Medicine Master Buddha. The text, however, further indicates that the Buddha’s Buddha-field is called “Complete all Treasure Dharma” (Man yiqie zhenbao fa 滿一切珍寶法), which is not identical with Medicine Master Buddha’s world, "Pure Lapis Lazuli.” Although this text mentions “Medicine Master,” it is not exactly connected to Medicine Master Buddha cult. 12 The beginning of the chapter claims that the text should be titled Foshuo guanding bachu guozui shengsi dedu jing 佛說灌頂 拔除過罪生死得度經 (Scripture of Consecration of Eliminating Faults and Transcending Life-and-Death Spoken by the Buddha). At the end of the text, it states that the scripture is also titled Yaoshi liuliguang fo benyuan jing藥師琉璃光佛本願功德 經, Guanding zhangju shier shenwang jieyuan shenzhou灌頂章句十二神王結願神咒, and Bachu guozui shengsi dedu拔除過罪 生死得度. T 21. 536b. 13 See Gaoseng zhuan 高僧傳, composed by Huijiao慧皎, T50. 327c-8b, and 419b. 4 615CE.14 In the Tang dynasty 唐 (618-907 CE), two well-known translators, Xuanzang 玄奘 (602-664CE) and Yijing 義淨 (635-723), also translated the texts. Xuanzang’s translation, titled Yaoshi liuliguang rulai benyuan gongde jing 藥師琉璃光如來本願功德經 (Scripture on the Merits of the Primordial Vows of the Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Tathāgata), was completed in 650 CE and is the most widespread version now. Additionally, in 707 CE, Yijing translated the same text under the title Yaoshi liuliguang qifo benyuan gongde jing 藥師琉璃光七佛本願功德經 (Scripture on the Merits of the Primordial Vows of the Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Tathāgata and the Severn Buddhas), which is the longest version among all extant Chinese translations.15 Although the authorship of chapter twelve of the Guanding jing is unknown, the content of the text generally corresponds to the other three extant translations in the Sui-Tang period. In addition, the discovery of the Gilgit version of the Bhaiṣajyaguru-sutra provides more sources for the study of Medicine Master Buddha. Based on the extant full-length Sanskrit manuscript, discovered in 1931 near Gilgit, Kashmir, we learn that the belief of Medicine Master Buddha once occurred in the ancient northwest Indian and the Central Asia. The Gilgit manuscripts, including the complete text and other fragments, provide significant sources for the academic study of beliefs in Medicine Master Buddha. Nalinaksha Dutt researched the full-length Gilgit manuscript16 and other two nearly complete manuscripts. He claimed that these manuscripts generally correspond to Xuanzang’s Chinese translation and can be dated to the sixth or the seventh centuries.17 Gregory Schopen, in addition, translated this extant full-length Sanskrit into English and compared it 14 Before Dharmagupta’s translation, Huijian 慧簡 also translated the text. Unfortunately, this translation is lost and we can only see the record in Chinese Buddhist catalogue. According to the Gujin yijing tuji 古今譯經圖紀 (A Record of Past and Present Translated Scriptures), a catalogue that was compiled by monk Jingmai 靖邁 (r. 627-649). Huijian translated the text in the first year of the Daiming era 大明 (457 CE) of the Liu Song 劉宋 era (420-479 CE) in Jiankang 建康 (present-day Nanjing), see T 55, 363a. 15Yijing’s translation shows the names of the seven Buddhas in the Eastern Buddha-fields and details the great vows of these seven Buddhas, which are the most significant features different from other versions (T 14. 409a-418a). Neither other Chinese translations nor the Gilgit manuscripts show the seven Buddhas. But Yijing’s version is identical with one of the two Tibetan versions, Di-bshin-gśegs-pa bdun-gyisnon-gyismon-lam-gyikhya-par rgyas-pa. See Mochizuki Shinkō, Mochizuki Bukkyōdaijiten, 4893. 16 The copies of the manuscript can be found at Raghu Vira and Lokesh Chandra ed., Gilgit Buddhist Manuscripts, facsimiles 1394-1413. 17Dutt, Gilgit Manuscripts, vol. I, 1-43. 5 with the Tibetan translation of the text.18 Nagao Kayoko also compared Gilgit texts with the four Chinese translations. She concluded that although chapter twelve of the Guanding jing and Gilgit manuscripts have some minor differences, the two texts have similar content and share the same key elements, such as the twelve vows, the benefits of worshipping Medicine Master Buddha, the methods of eliminating faults and prolonging life span, and the twelve great Yakṣa Generals who protect living beings.19 The Contents of Chapter Twelve of the Guanding jing To examine the worship of Medicine Master Buddha before the Sui dynasty, it is necessary to analyze chapter twelve of the Guanding jing, the only extant Chinese text of Medicine Master Buddha from the fourth century.20 Chapter twelve of the Guanding jing is about Medicine Master Buddha’s vows of salvation. The text describes that Śākyamuni Buddha tells Mañjuśrī about Medicine Master Buddha’s salvific deeds and vows. Then he informs Ānanda that those who believe in Medicine Master Buddha will be free from catastrophes. It also expresses the benefits of worshipping the Buddha, the nine kinds of unfortunate death, and the rites of prolonging human lifespan. The beginning of the text reveals the vows of Medicine Master Buddha, which were made by the Buddha when he practiced the path of bodhisattva in his past life. These twelve vows are: 1) the vow of having the brilliant body with thirty-two major marks and eighty minor marks; 2) the vow of showing the dawn to living beings in darkness; 3) the vow of limitless wisdom; 4) the vow of eliminating defilements; 5) the vow of assisting beings to perfectly follow precepts; 6) the vow to cure all kinds of physical disabilities of all sentient beings; 7) the vow of no illness in his world; 8) the vow to preach Dharma and liberate living beings from ignorance; 9) the vow to cause beings to escape from heterodoxy and follow the eightfold noble path; 10) the vow to liberate beings from the suffering of lawsuits and prisons; 11) to release beings from hunger; and 12) the vow to liberate the poor and satisfy all their need.21 The vows of Medicine Master Buddha demonstrate his wishes to save living beings from physical disabilities, illness, lawsuits, and 18 Schopen, “Bhaiṣajyaguru-sutra and the Buddhism of Gilgit,” 1978. 19 Nagao Kayoko, “Girugitto moto yakushi kyō no seirutsu,” 101-110. 20 For more information about this scripture, see Michel Strickmann, “The Consecration Sutra,” 75-118. 21 T 21.532c-3a. 6 poverty. These vows also illustrate the Buddha’s determination and promise to living beings to relieve their suffering in this worldly life. In addition, the text indicates the twofold benefit of worshipping Medicine Master Buddha: the welfare of this life and a favorable rebirth in the afterlife. Regarding the benefits of this life, the scripture indicates that those who wish to be free from the danger of demons, monsters, beasts, robbers, poison, nightmare, fire, and flood should venerate Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathāgata.22 It also states that those who contribute to the making of Medicine Master Buddha’s image will gain what they want, namely longevity, wealth, children, and official position.23 If women giving birth pray to Medicine Master Buddha, they will be free from acute pain and their children will be endowed with keen sense organs. Furthermore, the scripture claims that one who upholds, reads, recites, explains, and copies this scripture can gain great merits and attain the supreme enlightenment, which are the common features of Mahāyāna scriptures.24 Regarding benefits that are obtained in the afterlife, chapter twelve of the Guanding jing points out that those who believe in Medicine Master Buddha will never be reborn in the three evil realms. If believers wish a favorable rebirth in the Amitābha’s Pure Land, they should fast and listen to the merits of the vows of Medicine Master Buddha. When they are about to die, the Eight Bodhisattvas will take them to the pure land to be born from lotus flowers.25 If they wish to be reborn in the Tuṣita Heaven of Maitreya, they also should venerate Medicine Master Buddha.26 The text also states that the Buddha assists those who wish to be reborn in various celestial realms and other marvelous Buddha-fields in the ten directions.27 Additionally, Medicine Master Buddha, like Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha (Dizang 地藏), releases 22 T 21. 534a. 23 Ibid. 24 T 21. 535a. 25 T 21. 533b-c. The similar statements also can be found in the other three Chinese translations (T 14. 402c, 406b, and 414b). It seems that the scriptures of Medicine Master Buddha promote the Western Pure Land, which may explain the appearance of Western and Eastern Pure Lands in a pair of the wall paintings of the Tang dynasty at Dunhuang caves no. 92, 154, 159, 180, and 220, to name a few. And the relations between Amitābha and Medicine Master Buddha deserve further study in the future. 26 T 21. 534a. 27 T 21.533c-534a. 7 beings from suffering in hells. When people fall into hells because of their evil deeds and the violation of precepts, Medicine Master Buddha will liberate them if they recite the name of the Buddha.28 The scripture, furthermore, describes the nine kinds of unfortunate death in the human realm and the rites for prolonging human lifespan. The first unfortunate death comes about because of the mishap of illness. The second kind of death is due to quarrels, and the third one entails execution according to the laws of a ruler. The fourth kind of death occurs because one is weak and possessed by evil spirits. The fifth one is being killed by robbers. The sixth kind of death is due to fire and flood, and the seventh one occurs when a victim is devoured by vicious beasts. If one is misled by magical practices and evil spirits, one suffers harm, which is the eighth unfortunate death. The ninth one is caused by illness without taking appropriate medicine, over-applying acupuncture, and the lack of conscientious doctors. If the sick person further believes in harmful heterodox witchcraft and sorcery, he cannot be cured and suffers unfortunate death.29 It should be noted that this scripture stresses that a person should not have faith in demonic and magical power, divination, and sorcery. The scripture, however, provides alternative methods for those who wish to enjoy physical health and longevity. The scripture indicates that a sick person’s relatives and friends should fast for seven days and seven nights, light forty-nine lamps, chant the scripture forty-nine times, place five-colored divine banners, and release forty-nine kinds of living creatures. By the deployment of such ritual procedures, the sick person will be rescued from danger and calamities. Then he will be removed from the grasp of evil demons. Because of the merits of lighting lamps, offering banners, and releasing animals, the life span of the sick person will be prolonged.30 Additionally, if one suffers acute disease, one should make a five-colored knot with one’s name. When the knot is untied, one will recover from disease. Indeed, this scripture denotes a number of tantric ideas and includes tantric practice of spells. 28 T 21.533b-534b. Before the Dizang cult was popular in China, chapter twelve of Guanding jing had shown its concern to liberate beings in hells. According to Zhiru’s study of Dizang cult, the Scripture on the Ten Wheels and the Section on the Sumeru Treasury—the oldest Chinese translations that contributed to the spread of Dizang worship in medieval China—were translated in the second half of the sixth century. In addition, the image-making and veneration of Dizang may not be widespread until the seventh century. See Zhiru, The Making of a Savior Bodhisattva: Dizang in Medieval China, 29-49 and 118-142. 29 T 21. 535c. 30 T 21.535b-536a. 8 It also explicitly points out that those who believe in Medicine Master Buddha will be protected by the twelve great Yakṣa Generals.31 Chapter twelve of the Guanding jing, like the other three later Chinese translations of the Bhaiṣajyaguru-sutra, instructs readers to worship and believe in Medicine Master Buddha. The content of this text has neither sophisticated doctrines nor philosophical thoughts. One of the most distinctive features of the text is its explicit statements of utilitarian concern, which may be the most significant reason for the popularity of the Medicine Master Buddha cult in China. Indeed, the text emphasizes the Buddha’s power of healing, assurance of the safety of the scripture’s possessors, and the rites of prolonging life. It expediently presents the methods to gain welfare and happiness in this present life and well-being in future lives. Worship of Medicine Master Buddha during the Northern Dynasties Although chapter twelve of the Guanding jing clearly states a number of advantages of venerating Medicine Master Buddha, this text did not immediately have a great influence on the cult of Medicine Master Buddha from the fourth to the sixth centuries. In Huijiao’s 慧皎 (497-554 CE ) Gaoseng zhuan 高 僧傳, a hagiography that records two hundred and fifty-seven biographies of prominent monks from the first to the fifth centuries, there is no mention of any monks who worshipped Medicine Master Buddha.32 However, the Gaoseng zhuan includes several monks who believed in Maitreya and Guanyin.33 It seems that the cult of Medicine Master Buddha was not as popular as that of Maitreya and Guanyin by the fifth century. During the fourth and the sixth centuries, China was undergoing significant political and social changes. Non-Chinese people ruled the North and adopted Buddhism as a strategy to break cultural 31 T 21. 536a. 32 For the details, see the Gaoseng zhuan高僧傳, T 50.395b-400c. 33 For example, the Gaoseng zhuan indicates that Daoan道安 (312-385) worshipped Maitreya and vowed to be reborn in the Tuṣita Heaven (T 50. 353b) and Senghu僧護 sponsored for the establishment of Maitreya’s image (T 50. 412a). In addition, the text records a number of monks such as Zhu Fayi竺法義 (T50. 350c), Beidu杯度 (T50. 329a), Daojiong道冏 (T50. 407a), and Bo Faqiao帛法橋 (T50. 413b) who asked Guanyin for blessings. 9 barriers.34 The northern rulers and the upper class patronized construction of Buddhist cave sanctuaries, such as those at Longmen 龍門, located at the south of Luoyang city in Henan province, and Yungang 雲 岡, in the Shanxi province. These archaeological sources of Buddha’s statues, reliefs, shrines, and inscriptions—especially if those sources have information about dates and names of donors—may give us reliable historical evidence of what people were actually doing in the Northern Dynasties. Examining the materials at Yungang, we learn that the central devotional objects venerated by the devotees in fifth-century Yungang were Śākyamuni Buddha and Maitreya. Seiichi Mizuno 水野清一, a Japanese Scholar who specializes in Yungang research, points out that the most popular motif of Yunguang was the relief images that depict legendary biographies of Śākyamuni.35 In addition, the images of the crossed-leg Maitreya, which demonstrated people’s wishes for the coming of future Buddha, were the second most popular statues at Yungang in the fifth century.36 Medicine Master Buddha, however, only has one extant inscriptional record at a small niche without a specific image.37 Similar situation also occurs at Longmen. While Śākyamuni, Vairocana, Amitābha, Maitreya, and Guanyin can be found in many caves of Longmen, we can see only a few images of Medicine Master Buddha in this place.38 One of these rare records of Medicine Master Buddha is the inscription on the southern wall of the Guyang Cave 古陽洞. The Guyang Cave, which consists of several niches on the two side-walls, is one of the earliest caves at Longmen.39 The niche, completed in 525 CE, was dedicated to Maitreya, Guanyin, and Medicine Master Buddha. The inscription states: On the seventeenth day of the seventh month of the first year of the Xianchang era (525 CE), Bhiksuni Seng . . . parted with her cloth . . . of remnants. Reverently praying for the Emperor and next for the monastic teachers, parents, and the fourfold assembly, the donor has respectfully 34 See Kenneth Ch’en, The Chinese Transformation of Buddhism, 65-124, and Buddhism in China, 121-183. 35 Seiichi Mizuno, Unkō sekibutsugun, 114-115. 36 According to Dorothy Wong’s study of steles in the Northern Dynasties, the images of Śākyamuni and Maitreya were the most widespread themes. See Dorothy Wong, 90-179. Seiichi Mizuno regards that Maitreya is the second most popular motif at Yunguang. Seiichi Mizuno, 117. 37 Seiichi Mizuno, 114. 38 McNair, Amy. Donors of Longmen 1-30; 143-156. 39 Dorothy Wong, 54-60. 10