Sutra repository at the Zhihuasi

Description

Showing only a portion of the sutra repository (*jingzang* 經藏) in the Library Hall of the Zhihuasi (Monastery of Salvific Wisdom, dated 1444) in Beijing. The repository is a receptacle of the entire Buddhist canon known as the Tripitaka. This is a rare example where Tibetan-Esoteric iconography (the six animals/human-animal hybrids as the Six Manifestations) entered the design. These figures are arranged along the top and side columns of the octagonal-based bookcase, forming a mandorla. Each of the 360 drawers has a seated miniature Sakyamuni Buddha outside, forming the "Thousand Buddha" motif.