大足石刻《牧牛图》艺术的美与宗教义理的结合

The Combination of Artistic Beauty and Religious Implication in the Stone Carving Entitled Cattle Herding

位于宝顶山大佛湾的大足石刻《牧牛图》,是笔者在国内所见石刻、木雕、壁画等同类题材保存最为完好而时代最早(南宋孝宗淳熙六年至理宗淳佑九年,即1179-1249年)、最为精细、最为完整的一幅作品。该图涉及版本的认定,佛教、儒教与道教的理论以及该图艺术美与宗教内涵的结合等问题。限于篇幅,本文仅就最后一个问题予以简论。 《牧牛图》是在宝顶山大佛湾南岩近乎曲尺形展开的摩崖雕刻,崖面最高处宽4.55米,最低处宽2.9米,长32.5米(包括序、图颂、结尾语的“了字偈”)。

Cattle Herding, in the shape of something almost like a bevel gauge, is the inscriptions on precipices at Nanyan, Dafowan, Baoding Mountain. The top of the precipice is 4.55 m wide, while the bottom is 2.9 m wide and 32.5 m long. Stretching and undulating, the surface of the precipice goes along with the lie of the mountain. With each drawing accompanied by a poem, the whole picture consists of ten sections, which, together with the Chan messages and poems, fully reflect the following characteristics of the work:1. The Southern Chan School in China not only retains the special features of Buddhism, but also upholds the idea of 'self-moksa' and 'no alien Buddha in mind'. There is no Buddha or Bodhisattva in the whole picture.2. The mystery of religion is replaced by idea that 'Chan is all around at any time and at any place'. The ten pictures all feature the common people who are walking, resting, sitting or lying rather than those sitting in meditation.3. The work of Cattle Herding is placed at the left side of the gate to the monastery. This shows an ingenuity based on a good knowledge of Buddhism and the necessity of aesthetic illusion and imagination.4. Through an unparalleled integration of form and content, artistic beauty and religious implication, the work gives people a sense of beauty characterized by simplicity and naturalness.