돈황석굴 普門品變相의 전개와 鳩摩羅什(344 ~ 413)譯 <妙法蓮華經>의 영향

Abstract

In Dunhuang敦煌, Gansusheng甘肅省, China are Mogao莫高 Caves that well illustrate the prototype of the Buddhist Art transmitted to China from India through the countries bordering Western China and its development. The Buddhist sculptures and mural paintings created on Mogao caves from the mid-fourth century to the 14th century show the historical and political changes in Dunhuang area along with its religious changes. I intended to review how the illustrations of the Chapter of Universal Gateway普門品, one of the chapters in the Lotus Sutra and the basis of the belief in Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva觀世音菩薩, had emerged and changed; particularly, I focused on what sutra had been the authority for the illustrations of the Chapter of Universal Gateway which appear on the No. 217 and the No. 45 caves that were created during the Chinese Tang Dynasty. The Lotus Sutra was translated in Chinese six times in all and three versions among them are extant: they are the ten­volume­and­27­chapter Lotus Sutra of the Correct Law正法華經 translated by Darmaraksa竺法護(231~308?) of the Chinese Jin Dynasty, the seven ­volume­and­28­chapter Saddharma Pundarika Sutra妙法蓮華經 translated by Kumarajiva鳩摩羅什(344~413) and the seven­volume­and­27­chapter Supplemented Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law co-translated by Jñānagupta闍那崛多(523~600) and Dharmagupta達磨笈多(?~619). Among them, the Supplemented Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law co­translated by Jñānagupta and Dharmagupta is said to have been completed by comparing and reviewing the two versions by Darmaraksa and Kumarajiva, and it is more similar to the Kumarajiva version. The first time when the illustration of the Chapter of Universal Gateway was visualized in the mural paintings on Mogao Caves was during the Chinese Sui Dynasty; at that time, it was painted as a part of the illustration of the Lotus Sutra. However, in the Chinese Tang Dynasty, especially during its high times, the illustration of the Chapter of Universal Gateway was painted independently from the illustration of the Lotus Sutra; such cases are identified at the No. 217 cave and the No. 45 cave. Among these two caves, the No. 217 cave is known as one sponsored by the Yin Household陰家, a prestigious family in Dunhuang area; it is presented as the proof which shows the reception of the newest trend of the temples in the Chinese central districts because of its similarity to the arrangement of the mural painting at the Qingaisi Temple慶愛寺 in such districts. I have noted that the scene of the savings from all disasters by Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva illustrated on the No. 217 cave does not appear in the Chapter of Universal Gateway of the Lotus Sutra of the Correct Law translated by Darmaraksa, but appears in the Buddhist chant that is included only in the Chapter of Universal Gateway of the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra translated by Kumarajiva. In other words, this is the material that shows the illustration of the Chapter of Universal Gateway during the prosperous Chinese Tang Dynasty was on the authority of the Chapter of Universal Gateway by Kumarajiva. At the No. 45 cave, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is emphasized with its vast arrangement in the center; around him are the illustrations of the scenes of the diverse existences of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva to save all living things and the scenes of his savings them from all disasters. In particular, the scene of the savings from all disasters by Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva illustrates that same scene as in the above­mentioned Buddhist chant as well as that in the Chapter of Universal Gateway of the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra; also, it is noticeable that we can infer the social aspect of that times from the figure of a Sogd merchant or a Tang woman. After the prosperous Chinese Tang Dynasty, the illustration of the Chapter of Universal Gateway appeared as a part of the illustration of the Lotus Sutra again and the scene of the savings from all disasters by Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva has been contracted; therefore, we can tell that the illustration of the Chapter of Universal Gateway was the most independently pictorialized during the prosperous Chinese Tang Dynasty, and this is proved the best with the examples of the No. 217 cave and the No. 45 cave. It is a well­known fact that the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra translated in Chinese by Kumarajiva has been in the greatest fashion among the Chinese translations of the Lotus Sutra with its excellent literary value. That the mural paintings on Mogao Caves were pictorialized on the authority of the Kumarajiva version among the Chinese translations of the Lotus Sutra is the material that confirms the close connection between the Sutra in vogue and the Buddhist iconography.