南宋晚期柳赵教派在川东地区开展了大规模的造像活动,三类特殊的自创造像——柳本尊像、卷发人像、直发人像广泛分布于柳赵造像系统之中,集中反映出柳赵教派的组织结构。柳本尊像表现为形象固定的居士像,头戴东坡巾,身着交领衣,眇一目,缺一耳,断一臂;卷发人像的共同特征是头披卷发;直发人像则蓄着发丝笔直的齐耳短发。本文通过系统收集、整理和研究这三类造像,认为柳赵教派的构成人员大致可分为三类,至高无上的本尊教主柳居直是教派领袖,精通佛法的高级信徒卷发人作为中坚力量,代表普通信众的直发人是根基所在。在柳赵教派理想的组织结构中,居士信众居于主导地位。柳赵教派在石窟造像中汇集了一批知名居士作为崇拜对象,维摩诘像被供奉于宝顶山小佛湾的佛坛之上,大佛湾、华严洞的重要窟龛分别展示傅大士、李通玄、杨杰的名号、形象和作品,这进一步体现出柳赵一系居士教派的特殊属性。

During the late Southern Song Dynasty, the Liu-Zhao Sect carried out large-scale statue-making activities in eastern Sichuan. Three unique self-created statues—Liu Benzun, Curly-Haired Figures and Straight-Haired Figures—are widely distributed within the sect's iconographic system, collectively reflecting its organizational structure. The statue of Liu Benzun, depicted as a standardized grha-pati (lay Buddhist) figure, wears a Dongpo scarf and a cross-collared garment with only one eye, one ear and one arm. Curly-Haired Figures are characterized by their tightly curly hair, while Straight-Haired Figures feature straight ear-length hair. Through systematic collection, sorting and study of three kinds of statues, it argues that the people composing the Liu-Zhao Sect are divided into three hierarchical categories. Liu Juzhi, the supreme Benzun patriarch, serves as sect's leader. The Curly-Haired Figures, symbolizing senior devotees proficient in Buddhist teachings, form the core. The Straight-Haired Figure who represent the ordinary followers constitute the foundation. In the sect's idealized structure, grha-pati dominates. The sect enshrine a group of well-known grha-pati figures in their grottos. The statue of Vimalakirti is worshipped atop the Buddha altar in the Small Buddha Bay of Baoding Mountain, while important niches and caves of Big Buddha Bay and Huayan Cave display the names, images and works of Fu Dashi, Li Tongxuan, and Yang Jie, further underscoring the special attributes of the Liu-Zhao Sect as a grha-pati-centered religious community.