Medieval Buddhist of the Day

[Twitter, 8/7/19] Medieval Buddhists of the Day: Yao Renhui 姚仁惠 and his wife Lady Wang 王氏 – a tragedy in 35 characters. Their undated inscription appears in a small cave (no 1410) at Longmen, among others dated to the early Tang and the reign of Empress Wu, so probably near them in date. They write: 佛弟子姚仁惠及妻王氏為子鳳兒患疾造官音一軀，更為亡 ▢ 子造世至一軀，願同斯福。There are some odd substitutions in the names of bodhisattvas here (官音 for 觀音 and 世至 for 勢至) – homonyms that suggest someone who had heard the names but not seen them written.

Thus: “The Buddhist disciple Yao Renhui and his wife, Lady Wang, commissioned a figure of Avalokitesvara for the illness of their son, Feng’er; they further commissioned a figure of Mahasthamaprapta for their late son, and hope [themselves] to share in the same benefit.” It’s been at least 1300 years, but as a parent, this still makes my heart ache.