Repository for the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra

This repository was created to house nearly 300 sutras, or religious scrolls. On the inside of the doors, fierce figures dressed in elaborate armor and decorated with gold and silver foil served as guardians for the scrolls. On the back wall, there are two stylized Sanskrit names: Shaka, the historical Buddha, on the left, and Amida, the Buddha of the Western Paradise, on the right. The whole structure is on a base of two lotuses, symbols of purity. One of a pair of known surviving repositories, these incredibly fine luxury objects might have been commissioned as a way of gaining religious merit during uncertain times.

Credit: John L. Severance Fund