Buddhism believes that the sufferings and troubles of all beings are varied, and the needs and desires of all beings are also different. So there must be a lot of infinite magic and wisdom to help all beings. According to the records in the Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes Avalokitesvara Mahayana Sutra, Avalokitesvara said that when listening to the Avalokitesvara Mahayana Sutra told by Wang, Avalokitesvara was for the benefit of all sentient beings. "I swear at once that if anyone who can benefit all sentient beings comes, I will arm thousands of hands and thousands of eyes" and "I swear, I will prepare thousands of hands and thousands of eyes". Whether all beings want to be greedy for money or avoid disasters and diseases, avalokitesvara can be merciful, relieve all kinds of sufferings and give all kinds of benefits. In Buddhism's view, as long as you truly believe in avalokitesvara, there are four benefits: eliminating disasters, gaining enlightenment, loving Taoism and surrendering.
The original artistic form of Avalokitesvara with a Thousand Hands is based on Avalokitesvara with a Thousand Hands and Eyes, which is called Avalokitesvara with a Thousand Hands and Eyes. Although its scriptures and images were brought to China by Indian preachers in the early Tang Dynasty, they took root in China after many twists and turns. Even so. In the temple murals and cave temples in the Tang and Song Dynasties, such themes are still rare. At present, the earliest recorded painting history may have been made by Zuo Quan, a famous Sichuan painter, in the Manjusri Pavilion of the Third Hospital of Chengdu during the Tang Bao calendar year (825-826), but now it has disappeared. Some experts believe that before the discovery of earlier image data, the changes of thousands of hands in Dunhuang grottoes such as 79, 1 13 and 148 in the Tang Dynasty can be considered as the earliest existing images of thousands of hands in China.
There are many well-preserved Guanyin statues in Sichuan Grottoes. The Sleeping Buddha Gully and Thousand Buddha Villages in Anyue, the Luohan Cave in Fushun, the Chonglong Mountain in Zizi, the Thousand Buddha Rock in Jiajiang, the Guanyin Stone Carvings in Dazu Baoding and Beishan are all fine works. Among them, the caves No.9 and No.273 in Dazu Beishan Grottoes and No.8 in Baoding Grottoes are more representative.
The statue of Guanyin with a thousand hands in Cave 9 of Fowan Grottoes in Beishan was unearthed in the late Tang Dynasty. The niche is 2.9 meters high, 2.8 meters wide and 0.9 meters deep. On the main wall of the niche, Guanyin wears a corolla, and a Buddha is crowned. There are two beams of light on me, which hit the top of the niche from left to right and flew for two days. Badge wreaths all, dressed in heavenly clothes, with feet on the lotus, sitting on a diamond seat, square, with a height of 1. 1, a width of 1.5 and a thickness of 0.5m.. Use 40 second-hand (multi-disabled) hands to hold a Buddha on the crown, put your hands together on your chest, put your hands under your abdomen a little, put your hands on your knees and seal them quietly, and hold bottles, bells, wheels, mirrors, bows, fangs, shields and other instruments in the other hand. The peach-shaped lamp is supported on the back, and the outer edge is engraved with flame patterns, and many arms are engraved inside to show thousands of hands. Take a look at each palm and show dry eyes. On the right side of Guanyin, an old man was kneeling, bony, with a pocket in his hand, begging for something. Kneeling on the left is a hungry ghost, holding a bowl in both hands and begging.
There are three statues on the left and right walls of the niche. Inside the upper layer, five buddhas stand in the clouds, that is, ten buddhas. Raytheon carved a sheep's head, the rain master held the Buddha's dust, the wind god held the wind bag, and Dian Mu hung a mirror. The middle layer is Manjusri riding on the back of a green lion, Pu Xian riding on the back of a white elephant, Luo and Kuma Luo Tian riding on the back of a cow. Carve a bodhisattva, two waiters and two king kong statues on the lower floor.
No.273 niche of Fowan in Beishan Grottoes was carved in the Five Dynasties. The niche is 1.5 1m high, 1. 1m wide and 0.73m deep. The main statue of avalokitesvara in the shrine is basically the same as that in the ninth shrine mentioned above. The difference is that the statues on the left and right walls of this niche are far less abundant than those on the No.9 niche, and only one waiter and one waitress are carved on each side. The waitress stood with something. The waiter is a Persian fairy, with a height of 0.45 meters and a shoulder width of 0. 13 meters. High nose, deep eyes, long beard, slim figure and beautiful appearance. Hold a long stick in your left hand and a bead in your right. On the top wall of another niche, there is a flying sky on the left and right of the flat lotus-shaped treasure cover, which is beautiful.
Avalokitesvara with a thousand hands in the No.8 niche of the Giant Buddha Bay in Baoding Grottoes is covered in the "Great Compassion Pavilion" at the eastern end of Nanyan. It was carved in the Southern Song Dynasty and is the pinnacle of its kind.
This niche is a cliff niche with a large oval shape on the left and right sides. The height of the niche is 7.2m, the width is12.5m, and the cliff surface is 88m. Lord Guanyin, dry hand, 3 meters high, meditation. The seat is in the shape of King Kong Sumeru, with a height of 0.7 meters. Si Lishi lifted the seat from left to right, Guanyin's forehead stood upright, and the crown was decorated with eight small buddhas. On the crown, two streamers were hung to the shoulders, and the eight hands were folded on the chest, or printed, or caressed the knees. Looking down at the dark wisdom, there is a face of Zhang Shanliang and a compassionate heart to save all beings from suffering.
On the left side of Guanyin, there is a male figure, wearing a long gown with wide sleeves and a square towel. On the left is a female image, wearing a crown, a pig's head, a round neck and a Confucian costume. There is a female figure on the right side of Guanyin, holding something in her hand and wearing a long skirt with round neck and wide sleeves. There is a woman with an elephant head on the right. In the lower left corner of the niche, an old man knelt on the ground, carrying a pocket, and Guanyin held copper coins in one hand. In the lower right corner, a hungry ghost kneels with both hands holding a bowl, and Guanyin gives food with one hand.
The most striking thing is that on the left and right sides of Guanyin and above the head, seemingly countless "golden" hands are proudly embossed like peacocks. Each hand has an eye and each hand has an object. Its posture is stretched, bent, straight or sideways, round and colorful, resplendent and magnificent, giving people a sense of dazzling.
So, how many hands does this Guanyin have?
It is said that someone wanted to solve this mystery a long time ago. But after counting, the distribution of hands is too complicated and has never been clear. Therefore, counting hands has become a difficult problem. In the Qing Dynasty, a clever monk took advantage of the opportunity of sticking gold foil to stick a hand to represent a number, and finally solved the mystery: Guanyin in Fowan, Baoding Mountain has 1007 hands and 1007 eyes. Because avalokitesvara is generally shaped like two eyes and two hands, with twenty hands and eyes on each side. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to call it the only true Guanyin statue with thousands of hands and dry eyes in Buddhist art in China.
There is a touching story about the origin of Guanyin. Legend has it that King Miao Zhuang of ancient India had three beautiful princesses. The eldest daughter Jin Miao, the second daughter Miao Yin and the youngest daughter Miaoshan. Jin Miao and Miao Yin both serve their parents at home, while Miao Shan was a devout Buddhist since childhood and later became a nun. King Miao Zhuang tried to persuade her to return to the palace, but she refused. In a rage, King Miao Zhuang ordered people to tear down temples and drive away monks and nuns. I didn't know it was the fault of the gods, so that King Miao Zhuang had 500 large abscesses all over his body, which could not be cured for a long time. Later, a doctor said that this disease can only be cured by the combination of hand and eye. So Wang asked for help, but neither princess would help. When Yincui gorge found out outside, she resolutely offered her hands and eyes to cure her father with medicine. Sure enough, Wang recovered soon. This incident not only made Wang deeply educated, but also touched Sakyamuni. He gave Princess Miaoshan thousands of hands and eyes so that she could save the suffering beings forever. Since then, Princess Miaoshan has become a goddess of mercy with thousands of eyes.
According to textual research, this story comes from Guan Daosheng, the wife of Zhao in Yuan Dynasty. Therefore, Guanyin with a thousand hands in Baoding Grottoes never originated from this story, but was still created according to Buddhist scriptures.
Compared with the above statues, it is not difficult to see that the ninth niche of Fowan Grottoes in Beishan, regardless of the limitation of space in the niche, focuses on the faithfulness and strictness of Buddhist scriptures, and abides by the rituals stipulated by Buddhist scriptures, basically showing the contents of the Compassion of a Thousand Hands, which can be called the most complete Guanyin Sutra in Sichuan Grottoes. On the premise of strictly observing the basic contents of Buddhist scriptures, the 273rd niche deleted some contents according to the actual situation of the space in the niche. The eighth niche of the Giant Buddha Bay Grottoes in Baoding is different. Fully rendered and displayed the dry eyes of thousands of hands and the various instruments held in their hands, and put the expression of Buddhist scriptures in a secondary position. This reflects that from the middle and late Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, the Avalokitesvara statue in Dazu Grottoes experienced a historical process from Ke Yan's adherence to Buddhist rituals to simplification of Buddhist scriptures.