乃琼寺回廊壁画所呈现的藏传佛教护法神体系

The Pantheon of Dharma Protectors in Tibetan Buddhism Exemplified by the Corridor Murals in Gnas chung Monatery

位于拉萨、建成于17世纪的哲蚌寺附属机构——乃琼寺,是一所宁玛派色彩浓厚的寺院。该寺回廊的壁画,呈现出主祀护法神贝哈尔王为主的神灵世界,主要分为三组:三十首领、七十五吉祥怙主或八部鬼神,以及密续所提及的外内密所依。从壁画内容来看,三十首领显示出乃琼寺与宁玛派宗教实践的关联性;七十五吉祥怙主则包括十护方神、八大天、八大龙王、八大曜、二十八星宿、九大怖畏神、四大天王,他们虽是常见于密续文本的神祇组合,然而乃琼寺壁画所呈现出的神灵形象,却有别于其他常见的文本与图像。这些神祇被归类于八部鬼神,构筑起藏传佛教神灵体系中“世间神祇”的主要组成部分。本文试图透过对该寺回廊壁画造像与宗教文本的比对研究,增进对这几组神灵系统的认识,并指出乃琼寺宗教实践中的宗派脉络意涵。

Situated in Lhasa and established in the 17^(th) century, Gnas chung Monastery, i.e. Gnas chung dgon or Gnas chung lcog, is a branch institution of ’Bras spungs monastery of the Dge lugs pa school with strong coloring of the Rnying ma school. The corridor murals in the monastery consists of three major categories of retinue deities of the deity King Pehar;they are: The Thirty Commanders(sde dpon sum bcu), the Seventy-Five Shri-Mahakala-s(dpal mgon bdun bcu rtsa lnga) and the outer, inner and secret supports(phyi nang gsang ba’i rten) commonly mentioned in tantras. Considering the context of these murals, the Thirty Commanders shows the presence of a relationship between Gnas chung and the Rnying ma school regarding religious practices. The Seventy-Five ShriMahakala-s comprise: The Ten Guardians of the Directions(phyogs skyong bcu), the Eight Great Gods(lha chen brgyad), the Eight Great Nāgas(klu chen brgyad), the Eight Great Planets(gza’ chen brgyad), the Twenty-Eight Constellations(rgyu skar nyi shu rtsa brgyad), the Nine Great Destroyers(’jigs byed chen po dgu), and the Four Great Kings(rgyal chen sde bzhi). Though they are commonly seen in tantric texts, their images painted on the murals of Gnas chung differ from those who are depicted in other texts and are different from other images that we have of them. These include the Eight Classes of Gods and Spirits, who are main figures in the system of worldly deities in the pantheon of Tibetan religion. In this essay, I will demonstrate these four categories of deities and spirits and to point out the sectarian characteristic of Gnas chung by comparing the images of its corridor mural to religious scriptures.