敦煌藏经洞《引路菩萨图》及手持长柄香炉的宗教意义

On the Guiding(Yinlu)Bodhisattva Paintings from Cave 17 of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang and Religious Thoughts of the Held Incense Burner

敦煌藏经洞画作中有数幅描绘单尊菩萨接引往生者内容的《引路菩萨图》。但目前学术界对于该图的整理有所遗漏,本文在对其断代的基础上进行了补遗。并且,关于《引路菩萨图》产生的原因一直未有定论,基于图像与文献,笔者认为《引路菩萨图》的产生与敦煌的观音信仰、中阴思想,以及世俗个人的需求有关。此外,本文对敦煌藏经洞所出《引路菩萨图》中菩萨手持之物——长柄香炉的宗教含义进行了探讨,认为图中长柄香炉是构筑西方极乐净土之无量宝香的一个载体,是佛经中“异香来迎”的具象化表现,同时也是佛教世俗化的一种体现。

Some paintings of Guiding(Yinlu)Bodhisattva,which portray a Bodhisattva guiding a dead to the Western Paradise,are discovered from Cave 17 of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang.This article tries to re-study and date these paintings.Based on the images and historical texts,the creation of these painlings could be related to the belief of Guanyin,the conception of Antarabhava(intermediate existence),and worshipers'demands in Dunhuang.Moreover,the authors discussed the religious thought of the incense burner that is held by the Bodhisattva in these paintings.The authors realized that the incense burner is the carrier of the incense from the Pure Land,and it symbolizes that the incense guides the dead to the Pure Land,recorded in Buddhist texts.In addition,the incense burner also is a Buddhist object that could be used by Buddhist believers in any rituals.