ABCs of Longmen: Amitābha with his fifty-two attendant Bodhisattvas

Updated: 2015-10-20

A distant view of the Longmen Grottoes [Photo / Longmen Grottoes on WeChat]

The image of Amitābha with his fifty-two attendant Bodhisattvas and Buddha refers to the Buddhism presentation of 50 Bodhisattvas sitting on the tree-like lotus branches coming up from the seat of Amitābha, the main Buddha, plus the two standing Buddha on his two sides. The number of Buddha in existing statues is slightly more or less due to reasons such as the size of the walls. But the character of Buddha sitting on the lotus is universal.

The image of Amitābha with his fifty-two attendant Bodhisattvas and Buddha in Wanfo Cave, Longmen Grottoes [Photo / Longmen Grottoes on WeChat]

According to historical records, the image of Amitābha with his fifty-two attendant Bodhisattvas and Buddha were probably created during the Northern Qi Dynasty (AD 550-577) when the Buddhism was thriving. The earliest such statues in exist could be dated back to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and are mainly located at grottoes in Sichuan, Dunhuang and Henan province.

Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan have the most of the Amitābha with his fifty-two attendant Bodhisattvas and Buddha images. There are altogether 10 of them, located in caves such as the Jingshansi Cave, the Wanfo Cave and the Leigutai North Cave. Among them, only the Wanfo Cave version has a specific date, the First Year of Yonglong's reign during Tang (AD 680).

The Amitābha with attendant Bodhisattvas image in Jingshan Cave, Longmen Grottoes [Photo / Longmen Grottoes on WeChat]