Taima Mandala

The Taima Mandala (當麻曼荼羅,綴織当麻曼荼羅図) is a mandala in Japanese Pure Land Buddhism. The original copy of the mandala is still housed in the Taima-dera temple in Nara, Japan, and was woven approximately around 763. The mandala is appointed as a national treasure of Japan on April 27, 1961. Many copies have been made since, and the original work has degraded considerably. According to popular legend, Chūjō-hime witnessed the creation of the mandala, crafted from fibers of lotus stems by two nuns who were thought to be Amida Buddha and Kannon Bodhisattva. The imagery of the Mandala is based mostly on the Sutra of the Contemplation of Amitayus 観無量寿経, and has been the subject of several doctrinal commentaries in Japanese Buddhism.

The central image is the Pure Land itself, while on the margins there are images related to different sections of the Contemplation Sutra.

See also

• List of National Treasures of Japan (paintings)
• List of National Treasures of Japan (crafts-others)

References

• Amida Net - Breakdown of the Mandala and its pictures.
• Taima-dera's Homepage on the Mandala - Japanese language only
• English translation of the Contemplation Sutra
• 綴織当麻曼荼羅図 The Agency for Cultural Affairs