“Mulian Rescues His Mother” was adapted from“The Buddha Speaks The UllambanaSutra” which was translated by Dharmarakṣa and has been circulated among offspring. It is a Sutra that advocates filial piety. To widely preach, Buddhism often transforms difficult Buddhist scriptures into popular forms that can been accepted by people. There are rap and drama performances, or illustrations of murals and scriptures of Dunhuang Grottoes, or even presented in picture books and animations. “Mulian Rescues His Mother” is narrated through common language, words and images. Due to different carriers, the concentration of scenario will be different. The lecturer presented the special plot as an image on a mural or paper in a specific format. The audience could understand the meaning of the story through the concepts presented in the image. This article will focus on the narrative and graphic of “Mulian Rescues His Mother” by the example of “Food Becomes Charcoal Before Eating” and then we can understand the relationship between them and the evolution of the plot.
