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觀音菩薩像的故事
為什麼觀音菩薩有如此多形象？《觀無量壽佛經》中，佛陀告訴弟子，觀音菩薩的真實色身相：「眾好具足，與佛無異」、「頭戴天冠，冠中有化佛」。而觀音菩薩的種種形象，是為慈悲濟世，應身化現。《法華經》說觀音菩薩：「以種種形，遊諸國土，度脫眾生。」《楞嚴經》說：「與佛如來同慈力故，令我身成三十二應。」二經並列舉三十餘種應化之相。又如《千手千眼觀世音經》說，觀音菩薩變化出分身以及多頭、多臂，以回應無邊世界眾生祈願。經文闡述觀音菩薩「善能應化」的特質，藝匠據此發揮想像空間，塑造聖像及其居處。依據經文、感應故事、民間文學，創造出各種應化觀音、變化觀音像，以及水月觀音、送子觀音等像。讓觀音菩薩在神聖莊嚴的意義之外，加添許多格外親切的形象。
Guanyin’s multitudinous appearances
Why is Guanyin Bodhisattva portrayed in so many different ways?
In the Amitāyus Buddha-mindfulness Sūtra (Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra) it is stated that Shakyamuni Buddha told his disciples that Guanyin’s appearance “possesses all of the splendid attributes, and is no different from the Buddha’s.” It also states, “On Guanyin’s head sits a heavenly crown, and upon this crown there is a manifestation of a Buddha.”
All depictions of Guanyin Bodhisattva show the various manifestations of her nirmāṇakāya or “form body,” to which she compassionately gives form in order to benefit the beings of the world. The Lotus Sutra (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra) states that Guanyin “uses all manner of appearances and travels amid all nations in order to deliver myriad sentient beings.” The Śūraṅgama Sūtra Guanyin says, “Because the strength of my compassion is the same as the Buddha’s, I respond by with thirty-two physical manifestations.” Both of these sutras list examples of more than thirty of Guanyin’s different appearances. Likewise, the Thousand-Handed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva Sūtra (Nīlakaṇṭhaka Sūtra) states that Guanyin’s transformations include bodies with numerous heads and arms that allow her to fulfill the prayers of infinite beings throughout the boundless universe.
The sutras’ descriptions of a Guanyin Bodhisattva who is “adept at transforming in response to circumstances” inspired artists and artisans to give free reign to their imaginations as they created images of Guanyin’s appearance and her abodes. Using sutras, legends of Guanyin’s interventions on behalf of mortals, and folk literature as their basis, artists created numerous images of Guanyin appearing in response to prayers. Depictions such as Water-Moon Guanyin and Child-bestowing Guanyin give this deity a sense of intimacy and approachability alongside the holiness attributed to her in the sutras.
出沒任真同水月──水月觀音
據唐代張彥遠（815-907）《歷代名畫記》載，當時著名人物畫家周昉(約8世紀)，「妙創水月之體」。因菩薩臨泉而坐，襯著身後圓滿光相，似靜觀水中月影，故有「水月觀音」之稱。
「水月觀音像」的創造出現，與唐代推崇《華嚴經》有關，《華嚴經·入法界品》中言，善財童子到南海上「普陀洛迦山」，參禮觀音菩薩。在遍布華果樹林、泉流池沼的巖谷，尋得觀音菩薩坐於金剛寶石上。藝匠由此創作出姿態安閑，又極富美感的水月觀音像。
Appearing and disappearing as freely the moon’s reflection upon a pond—Water-Moon Guanyin
Appearing and disappearing as freely the moon’s reflection upon a pond—Water-Moon Guanyin
According to Li Dai Ming Hua Ji (Famous Paintings Throughout the Ages) written by Zhang Yanyuan during the Tang dynasty, a renowned portrait artist named Zhou Fang (fl. ca. 8th century CE) produced a marvelous image of Guanyin “with a body like a moon reflected upon water.” In this image Guanyin sits near a spring with her body in contrast to the bright, full moon behind her. The way she seems to raptly observe the moon’s reflection on the surface of the spring water earned this image the appellation “Water-Moon Guanyin.”
The development of “Water-moon Guanyin” likely coincides with the popularity of the Flower Garland Sūtra (Avataṃsaka Sūtra) during the Tang dynasty. The thirty-ninth chapter in this sutra, “Entering the Dharma Realm,” states that the Buddha’s disciple Sudhanakumāra visited Mount Potalaka in the Southern Ocean in order to pay respects to Bodhisattva Guanyin. He found her in a valley in forest of trees lushly laden with flowers and fruit, seated upon a massive precious stone, surrounded by ponds and springs. Artists based their portrayals of a serene, restful Guanyin on this description, creating the extraordinarily beautiful Water-moon Guanyin.
廣嗣唯願多忠孝──送子觀音
《法華經·普門品》云：「禮拜供養觀世音菩薩，便生福德智慧之男；設欲求女，便生端正有相之女。」使觀音菩薩很早就受到重視子孫綿延的人們敬拜。南北朝（420-589）時已有禮拜觀音，懇禱求嗣的記載。隨著觀音信仰深入於民間，同時也出現漢地纂集的求子經咒，更以人們熟悉的白衣觀音等，結合童子，造出送子觀音像。這些造像，往往未見於佛典記載，帶有濃厚中國風貌與民俗色彩。
The wish for numerous loyal descendants—Child-bestowing Guanyin
The wish for numerous loyal descendants—Child-bestowing Guanyin
The chapter of the Lotus Sutra entitled “The Universal Gate” states, “If you bow before Guanyin Bodhisattva and make offerings, you will bear a fortunate, virtuous, and wise son. If you wish for a daughter, she will be a woman who is righteous and beautiful.” This statement led the ancient Chinese, for whom producing descendants was of great importance, to begin worshipping Guanyin Bodhisattva centuries ago. There are records of prayers for offspring being submitted to Guanyin as early as the Northern and Southern dynasties (420-589 CE).
As belief in Guanyin seeped ever more deeply into the hearts of the people, there appeared mantras for praying for descendants that were created in ethnically Han regions. During the same period, the familiar image of a Guanyin who helps couples conceive, clad in white robes and accompanied by a child also appeared. Such a depiction was not recorded in Buddhism’s original Indian sutras, and rather reflects the strong influence of Chinese folk art and customs.
應緣如響化群情──應化觀音
觀音菩薩為應接祈願者的不同祈求，化現各種身相。如〈普門品〉所說諸佛聖眾、梵王帝釋、宰官乃至童男童女等。以經典思想為基礎，民間衍生出寶卷、話本、傳奇等，並依此創造種種觀音菩薩像。
較為人熟悉的如白衣觀音、魚籃觀音、南海觀音等。明代（1368-1644）彙集當時流行的圖像，將之與經典所列身相對照，遂有「三十三觀音像」或「觀音三十二應身像」之說。
Responding to those who call as surely as an echo—Guanyin’s responsive transformations
Responding to those who call as surely as an echo—Guanyin’s responsive transformations
Guanyin Bodhisattva manifests all manner of physical forms in order to respond to people’s wide variety of prayers. Guanyin’s forms described in the “The Universal Gate” chapter in the Lotus Sutra include Buddhas and saints, Śakras and Brahmas, government officials, and even children. Using Buddhist scriptures as a basis, laypeople expanded Guanyin-related lore through “precious scrolls” that acted as scripts for performances and group chanting, vernacular novels, and legendary sagas. These non-canonical stories in turn inspired even more new visual depictions of Guanyin.
Familiar portrayals of Guanyin inspired by apocryphal sources show her wearing white robes, holding a basket of fish, or surveying the Southern Ocean. During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), treasuries comparing then-popular depictions of Guanyin with Buddhist sutras were compiled and given titles like Thirty-three Portraits of Guanyin and Thirty-two of Guanyin’s Manifestations.
能變所變體一如──變化觀音
佛經記載，觀音菩薩變化出多面多臂，隨著所拿的法器，展現不同能力。《楞嚴經》亦云：「若末世人願立道場……應於當陽張盧舍那、釋迦、彌勒、阿閦、彌陀、諸大變化觀音形像。」
唐代(618-917)以來密法盛行，多面多臂觀音像隨之流傳。其中，十一面觀音，具有護國息災的特性，千手千眼觀音，總攝觀音菩薩的圓通變化，皆受到世人推崇。其他常見的還有如意輪觀音、準提觀音等。
A master of shape shifting—Guanyin’s manifold manifestations
A master of shape shifting—Guanyin’s manifold manifestations
According Buddhist sutras, some of Bodhisattva Guanyin’s manifestations bear multiple faces and arms. The hands of each arm clutch empowered objects that represent the bodhisattva’s vast range of capabilities. There is a passage in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra which states, “Should people in the Dharma-ending age wish to establish temples… in a sunlit space array of images of Vairocana, Shakyamuni, Maitreya, Akshobhya, Amitabha, and Guanyin in all of her glorious manifestations.”
When tantric Buddhism was widely practiced during the Tang dynasty (618-917), depictions of Guanyin with numerous heads and arms were widespread. The public especially embraced an image of an eleven-faced Guanyin said to protect the country and alleviate disasters, as well as a Guanyin whose one thousand hands and one thousand eyes represent her infinite transformative abilities. Other popular depictions included Cintāmaṇicakra Guanyin and Cundī Guanyin.
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