“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.
overall view, front and side. Outside each drawer is a carved image of a seated Shakyamuni Buddha on the lotus throne with the “earth witness (bhūmisparśa)” mudra (left hand placed on the crossed legs and right hand touching the earth). The matrix of the many Shakyamunis on lotuses here, together with the single wooden statue of Vairocana Buddha on top of the repository (also seated on a lotus throne, but with a hand gesture interpreted as the bodhyangi or “fist of wisdom”–right hand making a fist holding the upright index finger of the left hand–which is a signature of Vairocana), could be a representation of the idea of the “lotus world (lianhuazang shijie).”