Page 24 - Contenplating the Divie Buddhist Art Christies Hong Kong

in Chinese, the Buddha of the Future, who is shown both 足見其眾。神祇的面孔、手足多於凡人，意味着與僅有一面
as a bodhisattva, when residing in the Tushita Heaven 兜 和四肢者相比，受其救渡者更多。以十一面觀音為例，據說
率天 , where all bodhisattvas currently reside, and also as a 觀音當初為扶危解厄而分身乏術，其臉終裂成十一塊。佛經
Buddha, when preaching in his Ketumati Paradise ( 雞頭摩
or 翅頭末 ), after having descended to earth from the Tushita 提到，阿彌陀佛見其應身苦不堪言，遂賜十一面，助之循聲
Heaven and achieved Buddhahood. 救苦。觀音聞悉娑婆世界的呼叫後，欲向眾人施以援手，誰
知雙臂應聲而碎。阿彌陀佛再度現身，賜之千手，以救萬民
Although they may be presented individually, bodhisattvas
often are presented in pairs and associated with particular 於水火。
Buddhas, in which case the three are featured together in triad 菩薩常持蓮花，如本尊垂放的左手之中，便輕拈一朵蓮苞，
form 三尊 . Thus, Bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara 觀音菩薩 and
Mahasthamaprapta 大勢至菩薩 , or Dashizhi, generally appear 眾所周知，蓮花是佛教象徵，故尤適於進獻佛陀。觀音若手
on either side of the Buddha Amitabha, while Bodhisattvas 持細長的蓮莖，蓮花在左肩附近，則是「波頭摩巴尼」或「蓮
Manjushri 文殊菩薩 , the Bodhisattva of Transcendental 華手菩薩」之造型。有些觀音還會手持拂塵，這個古老的印
Wisdom, and Samantabhadra 普賢菩薩 —Wenshu and Puxian 度法器象徵除盡痴愚貪瞋。觀音、彌勒和別的菩薩有時還會
in Chinese—typically flank the Buddha Sakyamuni. In like 持一淨瓶或寶瓶，內盛淨水。 《妙法蓮華經》在佛家典籍中
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manner Bodhisattvas Suryaprabha日光菩薩and Candraprabha
月光菩薩 —Riguang and Yueguang—stand to the left and right 最為流行，自隋代（公元 581 至 618 年）和唐代（公元 618
of the Medicine Buddha 藥師佛 . 至 907 年）以來，在中國佛教徒之間廣為流傳，經中對觀音
菩薩的描述尤為詳盡，經文指觀音共有三十三應化身，七者
Bodhisattvas often hold a lotus blossom, as this sculpture 為女身。
grasps a lotus bud in the lowered left hand, the lotus a
universal symbol of Buddhism and an appropriate offering 本尊菩薩既無題銘，亦無特定的造像標識，所以其身份難以
for presentation to a Buddha. When holding a long-stemmed
lotus with the blossom itself appearing near the figure’s 定斷。說是觀音固無不可，但此處描寫的可能是其他（或無
left shoulder, Avalokitesvara is known as Padmapani 波頭 尊號）的菩薩。實際上，無名且無造像標識的菩薩，單體成
摩巴尼 , or “He Who Holds the Lotus”. In other instances, 像的機會不大，由此推論，它很可能出自「一鋪三尊」的組
Avalokitesvara might hold a fly whisk, an ancient Indian 合，即另配一名佛陀及菩薩，或屬於鎏金銅神壇的群鋪造像，
symbol representing the “sweeping away” of ignorance 若是後者，也許還會伴有弟子、護法天王，以及類似天使在
and mental afflictions. Avalokitesvara, Maitreya, and other 5
bodhisattvas sometimes also hold a vase or small jar 上方盤旋的飛天。 許多以群鋪式呈現的菩薩，皆無明顯的造
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filled with holy water. In fact, the Lotus Sutra—known in 像特徵，但其寶冠通常像本尊般佩以盤狀飾物，四周環飾連
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Sanskrit as the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra and in Chinese 珠。
as the Miaofa Lianhua Jing 妙 法 蓮 華 經 —which is the best-
known of all Buddhist scriptures, which has been popular 無論是單體式或群鋪式，根據此像足下的凸榫看來，它原先
among Chinese Buddhists since Sui (C.E. 581–618) and 應是足踏蓮座。若是單獨成像，其足下可能是雙層蓮座，與

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