• Joseon Dynasty, 16th century
• Gold on silk
• Honolulu Academy of Arts, U.S.A.

This painting, rendered in gold ink on brown silk, depicts the scene of Shakyamuni preaching the Lotus Sutra at Vulture Peak in India after his Awakening. The scene of the Buddha’s preaching was frequently depicted in early Joseon since the process of realizing the Buddhist truth and the lessons of the Lotus Sutra received renewed emphasis during the time. The painting also depicts an attendee of the sermon with the back turned towards the viewer. The depiction of crouching bodhisattvas or monks attending the Buddha’s sermon was a pictorial motif that started appearing in sutra illustrations in the fifteenth century and remained popular throughout late Joseon.