In China, there remains a group of Buddha images that have Mount Sumeru Buddhas, bodhisattvas, the six gatis and other small motifs depicted on their bodies or robes. In this article, this type of images is referred to as fajie xiang (法界像, Buddha of Dharmadh?tu). This term indicates the image of Buddha that contains various elements of the world or cosmos in his divine body or robe, and the ‘fajie' in this term indicates the entire world or cosmos. In previous scholarship, the iconography of fajie xiang was regarded to be either Vairocana Buddha as described in the Avatamsaka S?ira, or a cosmic manifestation of S?kyamuni Buddha. This article argues that the iconography of fajie xiang cannot be determined as one of the two interpretations, and that fajie xiang was first made to represent ??kyamuni Buddha and the iconography was later exploited for the images of Vairocana. ??kyamuni was a historic figure who lived and preached dharma as a human being. After his death, the followers of Buddhism wished to have other Buddhas, which resulted in the belief that numerous Buddhas existed in different places. At the same time, Buddhists sought after a universal Buddha who could encompass the numerous Buddhas of distinctive and limited qualities. In an attempt to solve this problem, there appeared a concept of ??kyamuni as a transcendental being. However, as it was difficult to completely discard the human aspect of ??kyamuni, the notion of transcendental Buddha was complemented by that of Lushena Buddha (盧舍那佛, Buddha Vairocana). which was related to the worship of sun and light. The concept of Lushena did not appear suddenly but was a result of gradual systematization of various ideas about ??kyamuni as a cosmic Buddha rose during the development of Mahayana Buddhism. For the notion of transcendental ??kyamuni developed into that of Lushena, it seems reasonable to assume that the iconography of fajie xiang. which was first made for the universal ??kyamuni, also developed into that of Lushena. The notion of a god bearing the entire world in his body originated from the epic poem Mah?bh?rata dated to about the second century B.C. ??kyamuni attained this quality already in the early stage of Buddhism. The image of ??kyamuni as shown in fajie xiang is affirmed by the texts such as Lotus Sutra (法華經). Da fangbian fo baoen jing(大方便佛報恩經), Guan fo sanmei hai jing(觀佛三昧海經), Dasheng ben sheng xindi guan jing(大乘本生心地觀經). On the other hand, the relation between Lushena and fajie xiang is found in Avatamsaka S?tra(華嚴經). There remains no Indian examples of fajie xiang, and it is plausible that the iconography was formulated in Central Asia or China. When considering the extant images, the making of fajie xiang is dated back to the sixth century. Some painted images are found in the murals of the cave shrines of Kizil and Dunhuang. In these sites, the images of fajie xiang appear as part of larger iconographic programs that aimed to glorify ??kyamuni Buddha, and these examples thus can be regarded as ??kyamuni Buddha. Additionally, there is a sculpted image of fajie xiang that represents ??kyamuni, for the life of ??kyamuni and j?taka are illustrated on the surface of the Buddha's robe. It is in China proper that we find the images of fajie xiang as Lushena. The iconography is affirmed by the inscriptions of 'Lushena'. Although the iconography of fajie xiang was established in late sixth century, almost no images remain since then. The notion of Lushena was significant to Chinese Buddhists until the sixth century, but after the eighth century, Lushena Buddha was replaced by Piluzhena Buddha (毘盧遮那佛), who was advocated in Huayen School(華嚴宗). It seems that accordingly the fajie xiang as Lushena lost its place. However, after the tenth century the fajie xiang of Lushena reappeared. Although they do not have any inscription, they have the mudra of two hands bent outward and the lotus throne with small Buddhas images on its petals. The small Buddhas on lotus petals signify the coexistence of the Buddha lands each of which is presided by ??kyamuni. In this context, the Buddhaa on the lotus throne is Lushena Buddha. who embraces the numerous Buddhas. The purpose of this article is to show that the iconography of fajie xiang established for ??kyamuni Buddha was developed into that of Buddha Lushena. The basis for the use of the iconography for Lushena Buddha can be found in Avatamsaka S?tra, in which Lushena was understood as the transcendental form of ??kyamuni Buddha.