莫高窟第285窟是北魏末開鑿的禪窟，在它的窟頂四披繪有中國傳說中的神話人物和神獸，與代表印度佛國世界的摩尼珠寶和力士，組成一個中西神、靈共存的天宇。從藝術圖像來看；這是一種中西文化會通的現象，從佛教弘法的過程看，可發現它寓意深遠；一個外來的宗教進入一個擁有悠久文化的中國，必須融入其本土文化的事實。中國原是一個多神信仰的民族；例如對圖騰的崇拜；敬天祀祖的傳統；崇拜宇宙自然的主宰；以及道教神仙思想，都是根深蒂固的。佛教自西漢末傳入中國，自楚王英到桓帝約一百年，始終是以黃老浮屠並稱，至魏晉雖已近五百年，民間信仰仍很難脫離道家追求延壽益算的觀念，直至魏晉西方淨土思想在中國流行，將佛法導向了；明信佛智，作諸功德，可以得到阿彌佛陀的接引，抵達西方淨土世界的信仰，得到很大的迴響。第285窟的開鑿正是屬於這個時期，我們從窟頂天宇的圖像，可看到中國人心目中的淨土世界，仍存在傳統的神靈和神仙，不僅讓我們看到中國人所認同的文化寓涵，也使我們更了解佛教在中國弘道與儒、道會通的過程。

　　　　　The 285th of the Mogo Caves is a Zen cave, excavated in the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, on the overhead of the cave is painted some Chinese mythic figures and animals as well as the mani and malla from the Buddhist world of India, creating a universe of Chinese and Western gods and spirits. In terms of artistic icons, this is an assimilation of Chinese and Western cultures. In terms of the preaching of Buddhism, we can see its profound meaning-the fact that foreign religion has to be assimilated into local culture while entering a country of long culture like China. China is actually a polytheist nation; the traditions to worship totems, gods and nature as well as the Daoist ideas about divines are all deep-rooted. During the first hundred years after Buddhism was spread to China, it's always juxtaposed with the doctrine of doctrine of Lao Zu. Even in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, five hundred years after Buddhism was introduced to China, popular beliefs was still hardly rid of the Daoist pursuits of longevity. But in the same period, the concept of Pure Land directed the Buddhism into a different direction. It was well-accepted that believing in Buddha and doing goods would eventually lead one to the Pure Land, and the 285th cave was excavated exactly at this time. In the icons of the universe overhead, we can see that Chinese image of Pure Land still consists of spirits and gods, which not only show us the cultural implications the Chinese identify with but also make us understand more about how Buddhism was preached in China and assimilated with Confucianism and Daoism.