千手眼大悲像的初步考察——以大足宝顶为例

Bodhisattva of Great Compassion

大足宝顶'千手观音像',是中国现存最大的一身集雕刻、彩绘、贴金于一体的同类摩崖石刻。唐贞观中,沙门智通译《千臂千眼经》(经题《千眼千臂观世音菩萨陀罗尼神睨经》)堪称千手观音法之初出,自此中国始有千手眼大悲信仰。武周时,乌仗那高僧达摩战陀于妙氎上画一千臂菩萨像进献武则天,神皇令宫女绣成或使匠人画出流布天下。这应是迄今所知中土最早的千手菩萨像。此后各地雕塑或绘制的千手眼像,在达摩战陀所制祖本的基础上,主要依据伽梵达摩译《千手千眼大悲心经》(经题《千手千眼观世音菩萨广大圆满无碍大悲心陀罗尼经》)创作。智通译本所据梵本原名疑为Nilakantha,意为孔雀;伽梵达摩译本依据另一梵文原本五Aryanilakantha nama dharani迻译,其中Arya-nilakantha,意为圣孔雀。现存千手眼大悲像整体造型如孔雀开屏之状,疑达摩战陀所创祖本与梵本原始经名有关。武周沙门波仑曰:'千手千眼菩萨者,即观世音之变现,伏魔怨之神迹也。'北宋文人黄庭坚认为:'千手眼大悲菩萨者,观世音之化相也。'换言之,千手眼菩萨与一般观音不能等同,大悲像乃观世音所放'神通之相'。故此,中土现存这种画塑应称'千手眼大悲像'为妥,简作'大悲像'。

The image of so-called Sahasra-Bhuja-Avalokitesvara at Dazu is the largest rock-cut figure of the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion(Mahakaruna-Bodhisattva)with a thousand arms and a thousand eyes,ever found in China.Version of Qianbi qianyan jing/千臂千眼经,an abbreviation of Qianyan qianbi guanshiyin pusa tuoluoni shenzhou jing/千眼千臂观世音菩萨罗尼神器呪经translated by monk Zhitong/智通in the middle of the Zhen’guan period(627~649 A.D.)of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was a milestone of the Chinese Buddhism,and belief of the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion with a thousand arms started to be spread in China henceforth.Sometime after 691 A.D.,Dharmacandra/达摩战陀who came from Udyana drew a Bodhisattva figure with a thousand arms on white gonika(a kind of woolen cloth)and respectfully presented it to Empress Wu Zetian/武则天,who instructed maids in the imperial palace to embroider or artists to paint from the figure as models,and then issued an imperial edict that the copied-models must be circulated all over the country.This was the first figure of the Bodhisattva with a thousand arms appeared in China.On the basis of Dharmacandra’s model,the figure or image of the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion with a thousand arms and a thousand eyes,in painting or in sculpture,were made thereafter according to the version of Qianshou qianyan dabeixin jing/千手千眼大悲心经,an abbreviation of Qianshou qianyan guanshiyin pusa guangda yuanman wuai dabeixin tuoluoni jing/千手千眼观世音菩萨广大圆满无碍大悲心陀罗尼经recited or translated by Bhagavatdharma/伽梵达摩.The name of the original Sanskrit sutra translated by monk Zhitong was probably restored to Nilakantha,which means a peacock,and name of the original Sanskrit sutra recited or translated by Bhagavatdharma was probably restored to Arya-nilakantha nama dharani,which has a key word Aryanilakantha meaning a respectable peacock.The figures of the Bodhisattva with a thousand arms and a thousand eyes survived all over China do look like a peacock that spreads its tail.For this reason,creation of the original figure of the Bodhisattva with a thousand arms by Dharmacandra should relate to the name of the original Sanskrit sutra.According to monk Bolun/波仑,"the Bodhisattva with a thousand arms and a thousand eyes was a mutation or transformation of Avalokitesvara,a supernatural miracle to subdue Mara enmity."Moreover,Huang Tingjian/黄庭坚told us that"the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion with a thousand arms and a thousand eyes was a transformation form of Avalokitesvara."In other words,the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion with a thousand arms and a thousand eyes differs from traditional Avalokitesvara,the figure of the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion was a ubiquitously supernatural form mutated or transformed by Avalokitesvara.Therefore,such a figure should be better called Qianshouyan dabei[千手眼大悲The Bodhisattva of Great Compassion with a thousand arms and a thousand eyes],or simply Dabei[大悲The Bodhisattva of Great Compassion].