CAVE OF TEN THOUSAND BUDDHAS - WANFO DONG

A little further than Binyang, this cubic structure 5,90 m wide, 6,50 m deep and 5,80 m high, built in the 15 000 th century, has more than Buddhist statues. In the centre, the main statue is a 4 m high Amitabha sitting on a pedestal shaped with eight petals (Sumeru), behind which there is a bas-relief representing 54 bodhisattvas seated on lotus leaves. On each side of Buddha, there are four imposing warriors. The walls are covered by miniature representations of the main Buddha. The ceiling is decorated with a lotus flower around which an inscription indicates that the cave would have been completed in 680. The cave at the Ten Thousand Buddhas is the only structure of Longmen with the date of construction, the destination, the names of the benefactors and the masters of work. The cave was once flanked by two "keepers" lions that were stolen.