甘肅省博物館 소장 <佛說報父母恩重經變> 연구

Abstract

The transformation painting of Bulseol-bo-bumo-eunjung-gyeong (佛說報父母恩重經變), kept in Gansu Museum, is highly regarded as a representative work of transformation paintings of Bumo-eunjung-gyeong in the Dunhuang region, because it illustrates the greatest number of iconographies along with accompanying inscription and has a letter of prayer which provides a clear indication of the era when it was produced. This study particularly focuses on the fact that this painting is in the most complete form among existing works of transformation paintings of Bumo-eunjung-gyeong in Dunhuang, and that it depicts a scene which is not found in any other works. The painting is divided into three parts. A painting of Seven Buddhas of the Past (過去七佛) and a transformation painting of Maitreya Sutra (彌勒經變) are illustrated at the top. They are not found in any other works of transformation paintings of Bumo-eunjung-gyeong. This study suggests that the representation of such unique iconographies indicates the donor’s intention to reflect the faith in Maitreya of that era: she wished that her parents would ascend to Tusita(兜率天) where Maitreya lives and then descend to the earth together with Maitreya. At the middle layer, Seolbeop-do (說法圖) is located at the center and transformation paintings of Bumo-eunjung-gyeong on both sides. The transformation paintings have 16 scenes – 15 with iconographies and accompanying inscription and 1 with iconographies only – on which various aspects of human life are depicted, including the mother being pregnant, the parents bringing up the baby, the child serving her parents and disobeying them, the parents relying on each other after the child leaves them, and one of the parents passing away. At the bottom, the bhikkhuni, who is the donor of the transformation painting, is depicted, and “Hoebulmakjingi (繪佛邈眞記),” which is equivalent to a letter of prayer of a transformation painting, is written. According to the record, this painting was produced in May 22, 991 (the second year of Chunhua of the Northern Song Dynasty), and the donor is a bhikkhuni conducting ascetic practice in Mahayana Temple. She had already been dead when the letter of prayer was written. This study assumes that before she died, the donor asked her disciples or relatives to produce this painting for her and her venerable parents. In addition, the fact that the painting inserted a transformation painting of Maitreya Sutra, which reflects the faith in Maitreya of that era, into transformation paintings of Bumo-eunjung-gyeong shows that the donor expressed her gratitude for her parents’ love and wished that her parents would descend to the earth again. This also demonstrates that the donor was a Buddhist monk who had deep knowledge in the Buddhist ideology.