Reexamining the Murals in the Second-Story Circumambulation Corridor of Shalu Monastery: Political-Religious Imagery and Butön’s Buddhist Vision in 14th-Century Tibetan Art

This study re-examines a previously undocumented mural panel in the second-story circumambulation corridor of Shalu Monastery, Tibet. Challenging conventional dating, it attributes the murals to the expansion under Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1306–1333) rather than a later period. Furthermore, their precise date likely falls after Butön Rinpoche assumed the role of abbort in 1320. The iconographic program, centered on Śākyamuni and Maitreya and flanked by the Thousand Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa, integrates narratives of the Buddha’s life and Maitreya’s descent. The inclusion of Cakravartin ideology reflects the politico-religious ideology of the Yuan era. The analysis argues that the mural design embodies the Buddhist vision of Butön Rinpoche, synthesizing doctrines of prophecy, the integration of the Thousand Buddhas into the Vajraśekhara Maṇḍala system, kingship, etc., and establishes these murals as an influential early paradigm in Tibetan medieval art.