“Revolving Sutra Cabinet” (zhuanlun jingzang) is an octagonal sutra cabinet. It has a stone plinth supporting the wooden cabinets and does not revolve. A Vairocana Buddha seated on a lotus is positioned right at the center on top of the sutra cabinet. The off-center position of the sutra cabinet turns out to be a calculated decision, as it creates enough space and angle for a visitor to see the Vairocana Buddha right before s/he enters the hall.
close view, Vairocana Buddha on the crown of the repository. Vairocana Buddha sitting on top of the repository. Above the Buddha there is a small, but elaborately constructed coffered ceiling with a central painted mandala, a tantric Buddhist ritual diagram. The artistic configuration of the Vairocana Buddha, and the scriptures housed in the precious cabinet and brings into close juxtaposition the concepts of Buddha dharma as the teachings, as objects of veneration, and as the essential dharmakaya.