August 18,1078
I have lived in khotan china my whole life and today is the day i make the journey to dunhuang to search for beliefs….
Because there are no roads or trains to take to the cave, I arrived on a boat filled with . The river I was sailing on had different shades of blue and green. I see everything around reflecting in the water . As the boat approached the edge where the water stops and the concrete meets, I felt the blazing sun on my skin while little droplets of sweat were starting to roll down my forehead. When I look up I see lots of stairs and an enormous statue of buddha. The beautiful scenery sends a tingly feeling down my whole body.
As I was walking I could hear the sounds of the gravel crunching beneath my feet after every step i took. I start Going up the stairs. I feel the rusty handle bar sliding through my fingers. Scanning my surroundings, Most of the ground was very dry and sandy. The sky was empty except for the bright sun in the center. There was a slight wind, but i only could tell because there was faint movement in the tree leaves. Barely making it up the stairs without using all my energy, i came across a sandstone looking bridge. The detail of the bridge rails caught my eye as well as the dome shaped roofs of the buildings on the other side. Instead of an opening for a door, there was a door made out of rusty, black metal pipes. Each bar was spaced widely from each other and at the bottom of the pipes there was an arrowhead shaped detail.
Once i stepped into the cave is was a bit cooler than the outside temperature, but still hot. I see very meticulous art with many colors and shapes. As i walk farther i meet a dead end that is a red square room. There is a life size statue of buddha made out of clay meditating on a stage. There are also people on each side of him forming an arch. 1 woman and 2 men on each side of the buddha. The women are wearing an orange kimono with pink cherry blossoms. Their hair is in a bun with green sticks poking through forming an X. The men are wearing armor that looks very thin and brown. The design on it looks like a mandla. All the people are smiling and have their right hand up. I start reading the drawings on the cave walls. More and more I am interested in adapting to buddhism.