Manuscript cabinet with scenes of the life of the Buddha, and of five Buddhas of the past, present, and future

Cabinets such as this one were often donated to temples and were used to hold Buddhist texts, manuscripts, and ritual implements. Donors chose the decorative themes.

The front doors depict the Buddha sheltered by a mythical serpent (left) and the offering of foods to the Buddha by a monkey and an elephant (right). In the context of Thai Buddhism, these two episodes not only represent two moments in the Buddha's life but also are associated with two of the "Buddhas of the Week": the protecting serpent (naga) for those who were born on Saturday, and the monkey and elephant scene for Wednesday night.

The back panel of the cabinet represents the little known story of the Buddha's conversion of a maneating demon. After trying to unseat the Buddha from his throne with various kinds of magic, the demon was angry and tired. He posed the riddle "Killing what thing benefits the killer?" In reply, the Buddha preached to him about how to overcome his anger: "Killing anger benefits the killer." Here the Buddha is seated in the center. The demon (with a green complexion) listens to the Buddha's teaching.

The side panels each show five Buddhas of the past, present, and future. A part of each Buddha's name in the Pali or Thai language is a pun on the name of the animal depicted before him.