Medieval Buddhist of the Day

[Twitter 7/1/19] The Medieval Buddhists of the Day are the donors, mostly members of the Wu 吳 family, of a N. Wei stele dedicated in 531 and depicting Sakyamuni and Prabhutaratna in conversation, illustrating the apparition of the miraculous stupa from the Lotus Sutra.

The donors, a mixed group of male and female patrons, take the prize for the longest list of patronage activities I’ve seen so far on a monument, above and beyond the commissioning and dedication of the monument itself. In fact, there is hardly any dedication at all. Instead of containing an apologia for imagemaking and/or an account of their vow(s) and the benefits hoped to accrue from their actions, the inscription (on the back of the stele) basically consists of a date, a list of things they did, and then a list of their names. It’s quite worn so rather than try to transcribe it, I’ll translate it somewhat freely and try to indicate (lacunae) and [comments]. Here’s what the Wu family report having reverently commissioned 敬造:

“One stone figure of Prabhutaratna [and Sakyamuni]; one wooden figure of Sakyamuni; three figures in white marble depicting Prabhutaratna, Maitreya, and (unclear); one gold [gilt-bronze?] figure of Avalokitesvara; three (sandalwood images?); one figure of (unclear); two copies of the Nirvana Sutra; two copies of the Lotus Sutra; one copy of the (unclear) Sutra; one copy of the Karuna-pundarika-sutra 悲華經; one copy of the (unclear) Sutra; one copy of the Golden Light Sutra; one copy of the Diamond Sutra; one copy of the Ten Stages [Dasabhumika] Sutra; one copy of the (unclear) Sutra; one copy of the Amitayus Sutra; one copy of the Avalokitesvara Sutra; one copy of the Teachings of (unclear); and one copy of the (unclear) Sutra.” WHEW! Impressive.

Someone with a better grasp than I have of the titles of the less famous sutras might be able to make better sense of the lacunae, as would someone who’d had the chance to look at the stele in person – I’ve only seen it in books. It’s in the collection of the Henan Provincial Museum in Zhengzhou. Still. Go team Wu.