Emanated Buddhas in the aureole of Buddhist images from India, Central Asia, and China

"Very often in Buddhist art, especially Buddhist art of ancient China, one can see small figures, mostly Buddhas, depicted in the halo and/or aureole of a Buddha image, and, less often, of a bodhisattva image (figure 1). What does this mean? Despite the prevalence of this motif, its meaning and its significance in Buddhist history are poorly understood, if understood at all. In fact, emanating other Buddhas is associated with the fundamental nature of the Buddha and the mechanism of how the Buddha functions to spread Buddhist teachings to every corner in the cosmic world. In this regard, the study of this motif--the most immediate purpose of this book--is not only a study of a specific iconographic convention in Buddhist art; it is a study of the revolutionary change in the way Buddha was represented-- a geographical and temporal development that reflected the change of Buddha's nature in the eyes of his followers. This study also involves and sheds light on a number of important iconographies in Buddhist art"--