Open Collections

The ninth austerity in Liu Benzun tableau (Liu Benzun shilian ku 柳本尊十煉窟), Pilu dong 毗廬洞

From the Ground Up: Buddhism & East Asian Religions (FROGBEAR Project)

The cluster of statues and inscriptions depicting Liu Benzun's ninth austerity in the Liu Benzun tableau (Liu Benzun shilian ku 柳本尊十煉窟) in Pilu cave (Pilu dong 毗盧洞), Anyue xian 安岳縣, Sichuan sheng 四川省. The ninth austerity consists in refining the penis by fire (Ch. dijiu lianyin 第九煉陰). This is a cluster of five statues. Photo [2] shows the flame rising from beneath Liu Benzun's upraised knee. Stretching outward above the figure of Liu is the precious canopy that the heavens showered down upon him in admiration. Photo [1] contains the descriptions of the third and ninth austerity. The inscription of the ninth austerity reads as follows: 本尊教主於天福五年前十二月旬，碼頭巷邱紹得病，身死三日，皈依本尊求救。闔家發願：若得再生，剪髮齊眉，終身給侍。本尊具大慈悲心，以香水灑之，邱紹立甦。於是邱紹夫婦二女俱來侍奉，以報恩德，不離左右。閏十二月十五日，本尊用臘布裹陰，經一夜燒煉，以示絕欲，感天降七寶蓋，祥雲瑞霧，捧擁而來。本界騰奏，蜀王歎服 Transcription based on Liu Changjiu 刘长久, 1995: "Yelun Anyue Piludong shiku: jianyu Cao Dan, Zhao Ling erjun shangque 也论安岳毗卢洞石窟——兼与曹丹、赵昤二君商榷" [Research on grottos in Pilu cave in Anyue county: discussion with Cao Dan and Zhao Ling] in Sichuan wenwu 四川文物 [Sichuan Cultural Relics] 5, pp. 37-43. Metadata created by Longyu Zhang (May 31, 2022).

Sichuan Sheng (China); Anyue Xian (China); Yuanjue dong (China); 29.929444; 105.630976

chi

Cluster 3.4: Typologies of Text-Image Relations

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0428597

Non UBC

Faculty

DSpace