Monju Dressed in a Robe of Braided Grass (Nawa Monju)  1415

The earthly abode of Monju, the bodhisattva of wisdom, was thought to be on Mount Wutai in Shanxi province, China. At this site, pilgrims reported seeing the deity in a variety of more humble manifestations. In an account by the 11th-century scholar Lu Huiqing, Monju appeared as a strangely clad boy, advising Lu that the Buddha’s teachings were simple and clear despite the...