中國最早的無量壽經變 -- 讀支道林《阿彌陀佛像贊并序》有感=The earliest illustrations to Amitāyus-vyūha sūtra found in China:Notes on reading the annotation and laudatory to the Amitāyur Buddha by Zhi Daolin
支道林=ZHI Daolin; 東晉=The Eastern Jin Dynasty; 阿彌陀佛像贊=The annotation and laudatory to the Amitayur Buddha; 中國最早=The earliest One in China; 無量壽經變=Illustrations to Amitayus
ZHI Dun(314-366),another well-known name was Daolin,a famous scholar and eminent monk of the Buddhist Doctrine.A meticulous researcher of prajna who has introduced idea of emptiness of the matter and had a refined understanding of "cause and effect" and "the middle path";Besides all those contributions to Chinese Buddhism,he made a diligent study on the works of Laozi and Zhuangzi and had a great contribution into metaphysics.He had amount of poems and works published and the work of Encomium of a Portrait"were handed down. Preface to Encomium of Amitabha was a praise verse of contemporary illustrations to The Western Pure Land. There he gave an overall description to Anyang Wondering Land, the paradise of the Western Pure Land, it could be considered to be The earliest illustrations to Amitāyus-vyūha sūtra by its contents from his port raying of the grandeur of the Western Pure Land. Therefor e w e could draw a conclusion that this particular the annotation and laudatory to the Amitay ur Buddha by Zhi Daolin should be the earliest illustrations to Amitāyus-vyūha sūtra in China.
