Studies On The Mandalas’ Disposition And Dharma Dhatu Vagisvara Mandala In The East Celestial Chapel In Zhwalu Monastery

zhwa-lu is one of the monasteries founded by the ca family-a Tubo descendant-at the west bank of Nyang Chu in bTsang region, the early years of the second diffusion of Tibetan Buddhism. It got the worldly fame for its distinctiveness, importance in Tibetan politics and religion during mediaeval times and for the undamaged cultural relics, including murals bearing blended artistic style of Han-China, Tibet, India and Central Asia in early11th century as well as delicate art works attributed to Nepali-Newar style during13th-14th century.The conduct of east celestial chapel was executed under the supervision of Grags pa rgyal mtshan and was funded by Yuan royal from the end of13th century to the very beginning of14th century. The Mandala murals inside were completed during1333to1335with Kun dga’don grub, the descendent of Grags pa rgyal mtshan, as the patron, and with Buton as the designer. This group of Mandala murals can be counted as rare example among existing Yoga Tantric Mandala murals in this period and even in the whole ethnical Tibetan region. They are also bearing vital importance to the lineage of Yoga tantra in Tibet, the Buddhism ideology of Buton and the development of Zhwalu religious teachings. This paper can mainly be divided into two parts. The first part, based on two texts attributed to Buton rin po che, zla lu’i gtshungs lag khang gi gzhal yas khang nub ma byang ma shar ma lha mas mams bzhgs pa7clkyil’khor sogs kyi dkar chag and Dkyil’khor gsal byed nyi ma’lod zer zhe by a ba7skabs dang po las rtsa rgyud de nyid bsdus pa’l dkyil’khor gyi bkod pa bzhugs so, confirm the name and deposition of individual Mandala inside the East Celestial chapel, and make further analysis of their composition. Then in the second part, I stress my attention to two other texts, Gagcmamalasuparisuddhadharmadhatu-jnanagarbha composed by Manjusrikirti and the twenty-first chapter’Dharma-dhatu-vagisvara-mandala’in Nishpannayogavali which was attributed to Abhayakaragupta. Detailed recognition and plane graph of the Dharma-dhatu-vagTsvara-mandala (which is depicted with Manjusrikirti as the central icon and was prevalent in western Tibet during11th to13th century) on the west wail of this chapel would be made to conduct preliminary exploration into its literature as well as the reason why it gains prosperity in Nepal even till nowadays.