According to Buddhist texts,the Buddha has thirty-two main marks and eighty secondary characteristics,among which the topknot on the head,the 卍 design in front of the breast,the thousand-spoked wheel sign on feet and webbed fingers are commonly represented.A study of the 卍 and rosette designs as well as their scriptural sources suggests that the rosette design depicted in the breast of the Buddha statutes in early Dunhuang caves should be regarded as a description of the "heart of the Buddha." It does not belong to the thirty-two major marks and eighty minor characteristics, and it is most closely associated with the Visualizing the Buddha Samadhi Sutra, thus revealing the influence of this sutra on Buddhist statues in early caves.
