White Horse Pagoda, Dunhuang

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Not to be confused with the White Horse Temple in Luoyang.
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White Horse Pagoda.
File:Wall painting and incense brazier.jpg
Wall painting at the pagoda.
File:White Horse Pagoda, Duhuang.jpg
A view of the pagoda and its surroundings.

The White Horse Pagoda (simplified Chinese: 白马寺; traditional Chinese: 白馬寺; pinyin: Báimǎ Sì), in Dunhuang was built to commemorate Tianliu, the white horse of the Buddhist monk Kumārajīva, which carried Buddhist scriptures all the way from Kucha to Dunhuang in China c. 384 CE.[1]

The pagoda is located about 2 km southwest of the centre of Dunhuang city.

Kumārajīva was a revered monk and translator who was born in the oasis city-state of Kucha, the son of a Kuchean princess and a Kashmiri Brahmin.[2] On his journey to China, his horse found passages through high mountains, across raging rivers, and water when needed.

According to legend, when Kumārajīva reached the ancient city of Shazhou (Dunhuang) he stopped for several days at Puguang Temple to preach the scriptures. Just before he was due to leave, Tianliu became sick and died shortly after. He was devastated by the death of his faithful companion and built this unique nine-storied pagoda containing relics of the Buddha:[3]

"Kumārajīva was very sad. He erected a sacrificial altar for the white horse and performed Buddhist rites at it for nine days. In the courtyard of Puguang Temple he built the White Horse Pagoda."[4]

One of the text that Kumārajīva carried with him to China was the Diamond Sutra, which was first translated into Chinese by him in 402.[5] It became "the most widely-read, recited and copied version of the sutra in China, in spite of the fact that later translations were made by several others, including the pilgrim monk Xuanzang." A printed copy of this sutra, found at the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang in 1910, is dated in the year 868 CE, making it the world's oldest dated printed book.[6] It has recently been restored at the British Library.[7][8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Du and Wang (2005), p. 52.
  2. ↑ Du and Wang (2005), p. 52.
  3. ↑ Du and Wang (2005), p. 52.
  4. ↑ Quote from a sign at the site of the pagoda.
  5. ↑ van Schaik (2011-12), p. 12
  6. ↑ Wood and Barnard (2011-12), p. 4
  7. ↑ Wood and Barnard (2011-12), pp. 4-5.
  8. ↑ Wood and Barnard (2010)

References

  • Du and Wang (2005): Dunhuang & Silk Road. Compiled by: Du Doucheng and Wang Shuqing. Sea Sky Publishing House, Shenzhen, China, p. 52.
  • van Schaik (2011–12): "The Diamond Sutra: History and Transmission. Sam van Schaik. IDP News, No. 38, Winter 2011-12. ISSN 1354-5914, pp. 2-3.
  • Wood and Barnard (2010): The Diamond Sutra: The Story of the World's Earliest Printed Book. Francis Wood and Mark Barnard. British Library. ISBN 978-0-7123-5090-7.
  • Wood and Barnard (2011-12): "Restoration of the Diamond Sutra." Francis Wood and Mark Barnard. IDP News, No. 38, Winter 2011-12. ISSN 1354-5914, pp. 4-5.

External links

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