This thesis explores the original meaning and the function of Dunhuang (敦煌) Mogao cave (莫高窟) 285 at the time of its foundation. Cave 285 is the first clearly identifiable and firmly dated (538, 539 C.E.) cave from the Beichao (北朝) period: the date of its foundation is revealed by well-preserved inscriptions of the mural depicting the Buddha’s preaching (佛說法圖 fo shuo fa tu) on the north wall, and thus it has been used as the basis to establish the chronological order of the other caves assumed to have been built in the period here considered. Moreover, the inscriptions in the cave also reveal the noteworthy facts that this cave was sponsored by Yuan Rong (元榮, r. 525-542), the prince of Dong Yang (東陽王), who was the provincial governor of Guazhou (瓜州刺史) at that time. However, in the study of this cave, there have been not great progress behind the widely accepted opinion that it is somehow related with Buddhist meditation practices (修禪 xiu chan). As many scholars previously pointed out, this cave has several visual features related with meditation. Firstly, the cave is assumed to be modeled after Indian vihāra caves. In addition to this, there are statues depicting monks in meditation (禪定比丘坐像 chan ding bi qiu zuo xiang) enshrined in both niches on the west wall. On top of that, in the lower limit of the ceiling there are also 35 paintings portraying monks in meditation (禪定比丘圖 chan ding bi qiu tu). Due to these elements, it has been widely assumed that cave 285 was a space for meditation. Unlike their Indian counterparts, however, the side cells of cave 285 are apparently too small to be used for meditation or as a dwelling space. Furthermore, the interior of the cave is highly decorated, a feature that fits more with ritual practices then with a calm meditative state. Other elements including squared platform (方形壇 fang xing tan) installed in the central hall, the motif of a canopy (華蓋 hua gai) ornamented on truncated pyramid ceiling, and the curtain (帷幕 wei mu) image painted on the top side of the walls also suggest the possibility that the cave was originally intended as a ritual place. The shape and structure of cave 285 totally differs from those in Dunhuang and in Central Asia. Instead, it shares several common points with Indian vihāra caves constructed after the 5th century. Most essentially, cave 285 consists of a square-based main hall with side cells lined on the both sides of the hall. Moreover, there is a holy place in the middle of a back wall, built to enshrine a statue of Buddha. Given that late Indian vihāra caves were not places for living or meditating but were mainly used for rituals, cave 285 might have been constructed in order to perform ceremonies, following the Indian models. Still, there are some particular differences between cave 285 and the late Indian vihāra caves. In contrast with vihāra caves, the large entrance of the side cells is equal in size with the interior of the cells, instead of being in the shape of a corridor. A Buddhist shrine was constructed not as an independent cell but as a Buddhist altar on the west wall, which shows a distinction from the late Indian vihāra caves. In other words, the boundaries distinguishing the main hall, side cells and Buddhist shrine became so blurred that none of these spaces can perform its own function independently. The overall structure of cave 285, therefore, was intended to make the main hall, and especially its square platform, to be the most important space on which all attention is focused on. The difference between the monks in meditation found in Mogao cave 285 and those in Central Asian caves is remarkable. The monks, shown sitting on lotus pedestals (蓮花坐 lian hua zuo) with circular nimbuses (圓形頭光 yuan xing tou guang), and flames emerging from their shoulders (焰肩 yan jian), might be regarded as Buddhist saints (聖僧 sheng seng). Those unique motifs, expressed in an exaggerated way, might be intended as means to emphasize the sanctity of the monks. Intriguingly, design of the side cells is structurally analogous to the caitya arch of niches on the west wall as well as that of the thatched huts (草廬 cao lu) housing the monks on the ceiling. The background landscape of the thatched hut is similarly painted along a rim of the caitya arch of the side cells. The caitya arch of the side cells is also ornamented hierarchically, seemingly based on the design of the caitya arch of the niches on the west wall. It is, therefore, highly probable that the monks using these side cells would be made equal with the several Buddhist saints depicted in cave 285.Cave 285 is suitable for performing ordination (受戒 shou jie) and repentance (懺悔 chan hui) ceremony. In medieval Chinese Buddhism, both the ceremony itself and the place where the ceremony was performed had to be purified area where a person can make interact with holy beings. Furthermore, it was necessary for meditation practices to accompany ordination and repentance ceremony to approach the path to liberation. Indeed, the ordination platform (戒壇 jie tan) is the main space devised to perform aforementioned ceremonies. The existence of ordination platform in Mogao cave, i.e. cave 285, might also be understood in the historical context of the period. The late Beiwei (北魏) period, was chaotic period for Buddhism, as most of the monks and nuns were violating precepts and regulations (戒律 jie lu). Thus, it seems reasonable to assume that an ordination platform was needed in the monastic community of Mogao at that time: the community’s will to renovate the precepts in also shown by texts such as Dunhuang Manuscript Titled Regulations for the Local Religious Body (敦煌本敎團制規 Dunhuang ben jiao tuan zhi gui). The shape and structure of cave 285 are much like those of the ordination platform which Yijing (義淨, 635-713) saw at Nālandā Mahāvihāra in the 7th century. As its Indian counterpart, the side cells of cave 285 functioned as seats for the pure monks (淸淨僧 qing jing seng) as witnesses during the ordination or repentance ceremony. The squared platform might have been used as the base for seats for the person who applied for the rituals. Being related to the contents of the Buddhist precepts, the hunting motifs on the ceiling and on the south wall as well as Buddhist narrative paintings (佛敎說話圖 fo jiao shuo hua tu) on the south wall are well fit with the ordination and repentance ceremony.The significance of this study lies in the following two points. First, by considering the overall structure of the cave, it offers a new view that surpasses previous opinions that see cave 285 as dual functioning space. Second, this study is the first case-study that relates cave 285 not simply with meditation but with ordination and repentance ceremonies closely linked to meditation.
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