There are 8 sutra illustrations in Late Tang dynasty cave 12 at Mogao. Among them the Avatamsaka sutra illustration is very well preserved. An examination of the contents of the sutra illustration suggests that it was painted according to the Buddhāvatamsaka-mahāvaipulya-sūtra by Siksananda. This paper also presents a study on the images of the 53 Pilgrimages of Sudhana painted in the screen-paintings found in cave 12 and identifies the scriptural sources of many of the depicted scenes.
