印度阿旃陀生死轮图与尼泊尔马头观音之间的联系

The Relationship between Samsāravakra in India and Hayagrīva Loke vra in Nepal

目前仅知古印度唯一的生死轮图保存于阿旃陀石窟,表现五趣轮回,与《根本说一切有部毗奈耶》的记载基本对应,表明当地流行小乘有部教派。后来的中国等地更加流行的是基于犊子部的六道轮回,新增加了阿修罗道,而其源头仍然可以追溯到一切有部。大乘佛教兴起,改变了小乘佛教的自我解脱,转向他力信仰,使得众生脱离轮回苦的救度行为越来越多地归结为观世音菩萨,以六观音分别救度六道;再后来兴起的地藏信仰,以六地藏代替六观音,多流行于中韩等东亚地区。在印度,仍然以观音救度为主,不断演进的最终形式表现为尼泊尔百八观音之一的马头观音。这种马头观音类似于生死轮图,以观音统摄六佛,不同于中印各地的马首人身或冠部饰有马像的马头观音,表明观音超越十方诸佛,上升为宇宙至尊神的神格地位,与中国曾经流行的卢舍那佛遥相呼应。

The only known image of ancient Indian Samsaravakra in the Aja.nt.a Grottoes exhibits paficaga.n.d aka samsara philosophy and roughly corresponds to the Malasan,＆tivSdavinaya, suggesting that Hinayna sarvstivada was popular in the region of the grottoes. The even more populara.dga.n.daka found later in China and other areas, which was based on vtsiputrya with newly added elements ofasura-gati, takes its source from sarvstivda. The rise of Mahgtyfma Buddhism marked a shift from the self-deliverance of Hinay^na Buddhism to belief in deliverance by other worldly powers by attributin practices of hieration from samsara to Avalokitesvara,a change observable in six images of Avalokite^vara rescuing the .sa.d-gati. Later, the newly emerging K.sitigarbha belief replaced the six Avalokitegvara with six images of Kitigarbha and became popular in East Asia regions including China and Korea. In India, Avalokite,{vara was dominant, the final form of being represented by HayagrTva Loke,{vra, one of the 108 Lokevraas of Nepal. Hayagriva Lokegvra was similar to San.as^ravakra in that Avalokitegvara governed the six Buddhas, and differed from the horse-headed and human-bodied Avalokite,~ vara or the Avalokite,{vara whose crown was decorated with horses found in China and India. These changes indicate that Avalokitegvara had transcended other Buddhas in status to become the Cosmological Buddha, echoing exactly the belief in Vairocana once popular in China.