The White Path Between Two Rivers
1204
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1204
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The White Path Between Two Rivers is a 1204 unspecified by Unknown, depicting Kamakura Period, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a narrow white path winding between two rivers—one of fire, one of water—while tiny figures walk toward a golden Buddha at the top. This painting isn’t just a scene. It’s a map of a Buddhist story about choosing the hard but right way to escape endless rebirth. The rivers stand for anger and desire, and the path is the only way out. The artist never signed it, so we don’t know who made it or what paint they used. To see more art like this, look up japan, kamakura period (1185–1333).
This painting is a visual presentation of a teaching ascribed to the Chinese Buddhist monk Shandao (善導) (613–681). It describes a challenging journey to the land of the Buddha Amida along a narrow path between a river of fire and a river of water. The story is about escaping the six paths of reincarnation—the heavens and hells, as well as the realms of humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and fierce beings. The Buddha Amida appears at the top in his Pure Land, or Western Paradise.
The Six Realms of Transmigration are the: heavenly realm, hells, human realm, animal realm, realm of hungry ghosts, and realm of fierce beings.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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