CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Origins of the Mogao Grottoes

The Story of Sakyamuni

The Buddha with Two Heads

The Bodhi Trees

The Lotus Girl

Unicom Immortal

Little Sramanera, the Devout Monk

King Pilengjieli Suffered a Thousand Nails in

His Body

The Resurrection of Shanzi

Moonlight King Donates His Head

Jataka of Prince Sudana and the Tigers

The Deer of Nine Colors

Prince Sudana Granted the White Elephant

The Sufferings of Patacara the Bhiksuni

The Misadventures of Tan Niqi

King Bimbisara Prayed for a Son and Incurred

III Will

The Colossus, Asural Holding Sun and Moon

The Hawk, the Dove and the King Sivi

The Golden-Maned Lion

How Five Hundred Bandits Become Buddhists

The Island of Treasures

Introduction

The Origins ofthe Mogao Grottoes

Dunhuang lies at the west end of the Hexi Corri-

dor in Gansu Province. The Dunhuang area extends for

over 31,000 square kilometers and is home to approxi-

mately 100,000. Once known as Shazhou, the Dunhuang

Prefecture was established by Han Dynasty Emperor Wu

Di in the sixth year ofhis reign (111 B.C.). This 2,000-

year-old town was once an important caravan stop along

the famous Silk Road, which fostered a mingling of

Eastem and Westem cultures and religions through the

trading of goods. Today, people from all over the world

come to Dunhuang to visit the Mogao Grottoes, which

contain a priceless collection of Buddhist mural art.

The Mogao Grottoes are located 25 kilometers

southeast of Dunhuang City in a river valley between

Sanwei and Mingsha (Singing Sands) mountains. The

origins ofthe grottoes have been lost in the shifting sands

of time. There is a story passed down by generations

that tells of Le Zun, the legendary founder of the grot-

toes. The story involves Sanwei Mountain, Mingsha

Mountain, and the Crescent Moon Spring.

Sanwei Mountain

The majestic, craggy Sanwei Mountain lies to the

east of Dunhuang. Its precipitous peak towers over the

land: it is one of the eight notable natural sights in

Dunhuang. In the Yu Gong, the earliest book of geogra-

phy, it is recorded that the "Sanmiao nationality was

exiled to Sanwei Mountain." The reference is definitely

to this mountain.

This mountain also has two other names. Since one

may gaze into the distance from its peak and gain a pan-

oramic view of the oasis and the surrounding desert, it

is called "Look-out Mountain." And because it is bar-

ren, without even one blade ofgrass, and appears at noon

each day as if it had been bumed by a raging fire, it is

also called "Flaming Mountain."

Although the mountain is high and steep, the

people have endured many hardships to build temples

here. Among the notable and well-preserved temples are

Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy) Well, the Chamber of the

Empress of the West, Sanwei Chamber, the Old Mon-

arch Hall, and the South Heavenly Gate. Many ancient

and mysterious stories are connected with the temples

on Sanwei Mountain.

There is an exquisite little temple beside a wooden

building on the highest peak of Sanwei Mountain called

the Chamber of the Empress of the West. According to

legend, the Empress of the West lived for a time in this

humble dwelling with a bird named "Three-Black Bird."

Later they left Sanwei Mountain and moved to Yaochi.