Medieval Buddhist of the Day

[Twitter, 6/17/19] Medieval Buddhist of the Day, getting ready to go on vacation edition: Du Shancai 杜善才, who dedicated one of the white marble statues from Quyang, Hebei, in the year 606 (Sui dynasty), in honor of his deceased parents.

His parents must have been Buddhists too, because his name is Sudhana, the short form of Sudhanakumâra 善才童子, the protagonist of the last chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra, who is often depicted as a follower of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Personal names with Buddhist themes are common among sixth- and seventh-century donors, but borrowing the name of an actual character from the sutras is unusual. I’m still trying to remember where I saw a female donor named Shengman 勝鬘 or Śrīmālā, as in the sutra “Lion’s Roar of Queen Śrīmālā.” Now there’s a name.