Dharma Buddha

[Duobaota Shanye Buddha]

Duobaota Shanye Buddha, Tang Dynasty, 12 cm high and 10.2 cm wide
The central part of the Buddha of Good karma (good karma mud) is a pagoda. The pagoda is divided into three levels, with one Buddha sitting on the upper two floors, and Sakyamuni and Duobao sitting on the bottom. There are ten Buddhas, two Bodhisattvas, and two Tothalis in the picture. The composition is full and symmetrical. The bottom is printed with the words “Koukoukou was worshipped as the parents of the monks of the Emperor Taizong. Ten square masters went to Xiangsi Koujin to build a multi-mouth pagoda with ten thousand mouths”
Although there is no clear time record for this image, it can be seen from the same model of the Buddha with the inscription of the first year of the Yonghui that its manufacturing time is the first year of the Yonghui. The first year of Yonghui is the first year used by Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty after his accession to the throne. The inscription mentioned “for Emperor Taizong” and other contents indicate that the statue is praying for Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. Praying for the statue of Li Shimin is not unique. When Li Shimin was ill at the age of 9, Li Yuan, as an assassin, once made a stone tablet like a shop. After the death of Li Shimin, his 13 sons, Zhao Wangfu, the traveling governor of Qingzhou, and the 21 female Princess Nanping all carved stone statues on the Thousand-Buddha Cliff of the Shentong Temple in Jinan, “praying for the blessing of Emperor Taizongwen”. Zhixiang Temple is not in Chang’an City, nor is it a famous temple. It is obviously of a folk nature to pray for the Emperor Taizong. From one side, it reflects the Buddhist belief and social customs in the early Tang Dynasty.

多宝塔善业佛局部