Statue of a seated Buddha

Tang dynasty, 690-704 AD
Kanjing Si, Longmen Caves

The outstanding feature of this late cave, on the East bank of the river, is the procession of life-sized arhats carved in relief along the base of all three sides. Arhats were disciples of the historical buddha, or disciples of those disciples, etc., with magical powers not unlike the Daoist Immortals. Their job was to protect and preserve the Dharma until the coming of Maitreya, the future Buddha. As such, the Arhats were identified with the patriarchs of several doctrinal lineages, including Chan (Zen).

The cave was commissioned late in the reign of Wu Zetian. According to Huntington, the central figure is Vairocana.

Reference for names: Chinese Deities