Abstract
The statues of the Pilu Cave at Xiaofowan of the Baodingshan Rock Carvings in Dazu forms a simplified and transformed Vajradhātu Mahā Maṇḍala. The inner court of the Pilu Cave is inhabited by nine deities, including the Five Tathāgatas and the Four Pāramitā Bodhisattvas, which are consistent with statues of Tibetan Buddhist temples and grottoes in the late Tang, the Song and the Yuan dynasties, and of the Xixia caves at Dunhuang. Different from both, there are two Bodhisattvas added to the upper left and right of Vairocana. The outer court of the Pilu Cave is inhabited by Liu Benzun's ten bodies of ascetic practices, the Eight Sacred Witnesses and the Eight Mahā-Vidyarājas. Among them, the eight bodies of Liu Benzun symbolizing the Eight Offering Bodhisattvas, and the Eight Sacred Witnesses jointly constitute the sixteen deities, which are distributed in four directions and equal to the Sixteen Great Bodhisattvas. The other two Liu Benzun's bodies of ascetic practices occupy the upper left and right of the outer court, corresponding to two additionally-added Bodhisattvas in the inner court. Along the lowermost of the outer court are standing the Eight Mahā-Vidyarājas, including the Four Deities Guarding Four Directions and the Four Deities Protecting Four Corners and representing the Eight Guardian Deities. The statues along the gateway, roof and outside walls of the cave constitute the Outer Vajradhātu. The upper 145 seated statues represent the Thousand Buddhas of Bhadrakalpa, the lower 20 devarajās and vidyarajās symbolize the deities of the ten directions who haven't got the name of Vajra and the empowerment granted by Vairocana. The statues involving Vajradhātu Maṇḍala in the Pilu Cave at Xiaofowan of the Baodingshan Rock Carvings in Dazu illustrate Zhao Zhifeng's ascetic practices, offering to Buddhism, attaining enlightenment and becoming Buddha, which reflects the doctrine of Vajrayāna and the manner of Sichuan Esoteric Buddhism and is a typical case of making Buddhism Chinese.
Key words
Dazu Rock Carvings /
Pilu Cave /
Mandala /
Vajradhātu /
Zhao Zhifeng
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LYU Jianfu.
A Tentative Analysis of Maṇḍala Statues of the Pilu Cave at Xiaofowan of the Baodingshan Rock Carvings in Dazu[J]. Studies In Dazu Rock Carvings. 2024(1): 58-76
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