beings in action, the Ajantastyle “cosmologizes” land-
scapes and beings. It thus expresses the simultaneously
transcendental and imitable nature of the Buddha per-
forming his wondrous deeds.
See also:Jataka, Illustrations of; Relics and Relics Cults
Bibliography
Dehejia, Vidya. Discourse in Early Buddhist Art: Visual Narra-
tives of India.New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1997.
Kramrisch, Stella. “Ajanta.” In Exploring India’s Sacred Art: Se-
lected Writings of Stella Kramrisch,ed. Barbara Stoler Miller.
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983.
Parimoo, Ratan, et al., eds. The Art of Ajanta: New Perspectives.
New Delhi: Books and Books, 1991.
Schlingloff, Dieter. Studies in the AjantaPaintings: Identifica-
tions and Interpretations.Delhi: AjantaPublications, 1987.
Schlingloff, Dieter. Guide to the AjantaPaintings: Narrative Wall
Paintings.New Delhi: Munsiram Manoharlal, 1999.
Spink, Walter. “Ajanta’s Chronology: Cave 1’s Patronage.” In
Chhavi II: Rai Krishnadasa Felicitation Volume.Benares, In-
dia: Bharat Kala Bhavan, 1981.
Spink, Walter. “The Achievement of Ajanta.” In The Age of the
Vakatakas,ed. A. M. Shastri. New Delhi: Harman, 1992.
Spink, Walter. “The Archaeology of Ajanta.” Ars Orientalis 21
(1992): 67–94.
Spink, Walter. “Before the Fall: Pride and Piety at Ajanta.” In
The Powers of Art: Patronage in Indian Culture,ed. Barbara
Stoler Miller. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Yazdani, Ghulam. Ajanta: The Color and Monochrome Repro-
ductions of the AjantaFrescoes Based on Photography,4 vols.
London: Oxford University Press, 1930.
LEELAADITIWOODAKSOBHYA
One of a large number of so-called celestial buddhas
known to MAHAYANABuddhists in India during the
first millennium, Aksobhya was believed to inhabit a
paradise-like world system far to the east, known as
Abhirati (extreme delight). Bodhisattvas reborn there
could make rapid progress toward buddhahood, while
s ́ravakas could achieve arhatship within a single life.
Belief in Aksobhya appears to have emerged in India
around the beginning of the first millennium C.E. and
spread widely in Buddhist communities before being
eclipsed by the growing popularity of AMITABHA. To-
day Aksobhya is known mainly as one of the five di-
rectional buddhas who appear in tantric ritual texts.Bibliography
Chang, Garma C. C., ed. The Dharma-Door of Praising
Tathagata Aksobhya’s Merits(partial translation of the
Aksobhyavyuha). In A Treasury of Mahayana Sutras: Selec-
tions from the Maharatnakuta Sutra,tr. Buddhist Associa-
tion of the United States. University Park and London:
Pennsylvania State University Press, 1983.
Dantinne, Jean, trans. La splendeur de l’inébranlable(Aksob-
hyavyuha). Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium: Institut Oriental-
iste, 1983.
Nattier, Jan. “The Realm of Aksobhya: A Missing Piece in the
History of Pure Land Buddhism.” Journal of the International
Association of Buddhist Studies23, no. 1 (2000): 71–102.JANNATTIERALAYAVIJÑANAThe alayavijñana (storehouse consciousness) is the
most fundamental of the eight consciousnesses rec-
ognized in the VIJN
ANAVADAschool of thought. It is
said to contain all the “seeds” for the “consciousness-
moments” or “consciousness-events” that people gen-
erally call reality.See also:Consciousness, Theories of; PsychologyJOHNS. STRONGALCHIThe small village of Alchi (A lci), located about sev-
enty kilometers west of Leh in Ladakh on an alluvial
terrace on the left bank of the river Indus, has as its
center an ancient religious area (chos ’khor). Alchi’s re-
ligious area is composed of a large STUPA, a three-
storied temple (Gsum brtsegs), a congregation hall (’dus
khang), two small chapels, and a later building, the so-
called New Temple (Lha khang gsar ma). The site’s
thick white-washed walls of mud and stone follow the
Tibetan tradition of architecture; the wooden facades
and the beams and pillars of the interior structures are
clearly Kashmiri in style.
The congregation hall, which dates to the late
eleventh or early twelfth century, is the oldest building
in the complex; the hall includes a Sarvavid-VairocanaALCHI