PACIFIC WORLD - The Institute of Buddhist Studies

134Pacific Worldwhich describes a demon that withdraws when his identity is revealed.These agreements, to my mind, strongly suggest close ties between theToyok caves and the visualization texts with which we are concerned.However, we should note that it is not the Visualization S¥tra per se thatexplains these paintings. We must consult the entire body of relevantmeditation manuals for a likely explanation.b. Burning HouseThere is a painting of a burning house in Cave 42 (I.4). See Figure 9.I.4Figure 9 46This is a curious scene, and we wonder what is intended here. InBuddhism in general, the most famous source of the scene of a burninghouse would be the “Chapter on a Simile,” (Aupamyaparivarta ) ofthe Lotus S¥tra, 47 but in this particular cave, there is no other element thatsuggests specific ties to the Lotus S¥tra. I believe we should look for anexplanation in meditation texts, and the following passage might be a goodcandidate (Secret Essentials, in Taishø, vol. 15, p. 266a18–22):Visualization of the fire element is as follows: One visualizes theinside of the body. At the tip of the flower tree of the heart, amongthe flowers and leaves, there are minute flames just like the goldenlight that is emitted from the tip of [the flower tree] of the heart.[The flames] fill the body and go out through the pores. [Then the