According to the chapter titled “Entry into the Realm of Reality” in the Flower Garland sutra, the young pilgrim Sudhana follows the instructions of the bodhisattva Manjushri and journeys to find enlightenment by visiting fifty-three teachers. This Goryeo 고려 高麗 illustration of the Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara represents the twenty-eighth scene: the encounter between Sudhana and the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.

In most aspects, this painting repeats the compositional conventions and decorative patterns associated with Goryeo 고려 高麗 depictions of the Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara. The bodhisattva is located on a rocky outcrop and seated in a half-lotus position. The kundika bottle holding a willow branch is located to the deity’s right, and bamboo stalks appear in the background. However, this painting differs from the standard iconography in two ways: Sudhana is placed beyond the gaze of the bodhisattva, and a group of figures holding offerings is depicted at the bottom of the image. Although there is no concrete textual evidence, some scholars have suggested that the iconography is based on the Naksan 洛山 legend from the third volume of the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms. The only other examples of this iconography appear in works at Daitokuji 大德寺, Kyoto, and a private collection, also in Japan.[1]

The Metropolitan and Daitokuji 大德寺 paintings are almost identical in decorative patterns, including the background motifs on the veil and skirt, as well as their brush work. The only significant difference is that the flesh of the Metropolitan bodhisattva was painted in gold. Further, while the upper portion of the Daitokuji 大德寺 painting features a bird holding a flower in its beak, the painting in the Metropolitan instead portrays the moon containing a hare and a laurel tree. Only three other Goryeo 고려 高麗 Buddhist paintings—ones at Rozanji 盧山寺, Yōjuji 養壽寺, and Chorakuji 長藥寺, all in Japan—include depictions of the moon.[2]

The two works from Daitokuji and the private collection were painted from an identical model. Although the Metropolitan painting also shows remarkable similarities with these two paintings, the representation and composition of motifs lack structure, and the arrangement of the figures is less natural. These factors suggest that the painting was copied from a finished work rather than sharing a common model with the Daitokuji 大德寺 and private collection paintings. Thus, it likely postdates the Daitokuji 大德寺 work and can be assigned to a date after the mid-fourteenth century. Regardless, it is a noteworthy image that makes use of atypical iconography.

—Chung Woothak, Professor Emeritus, Dongguk University, Seoul

Notes:
[1] For images of the Daitokuji 大德寺 painting, see Kikutake Junichi 菊竹淳一 and Chung Woothak 鄭于澤, eds., Kōrai jidai no butsuga 高麗時代の仏画 [The Buddhist paintings of Koryo Dynasty] (Seoul: Sigongsa, 2000), 156–57, pl. 69.

[2] For images of the paintings, see Kikutake Junichi 菊竹淳一 and Chung Woothak 鄭于澤, eds. Kōrai jidai no butsuga 高麗時代の仏画 [The Buddhist paintings of Koryo Dynasty] (Seoul: Sigongsa, 2000), 170–71, pl. 76 (Rozanji 盧山寺), 168–69, pl. 75 (Yōjuji 養壽寺), 196–98, pl. 93 (Chorakuji 長藥寺).