散文佳作108篇 第47期:五臺(tái)名剎畫滄桑 The Famous Monastery Witnesses Vicissitudes

五臺(tái)名剎畫滄桑

The Famous Monastery Witnesses Vicissitudes

常書鴻 李承仙

Chang Shuhong& Li Chengxian

1985年7月24日至10月30日，我和李成仙為完成日本東京棗寺前住持管原惠慶長(zhǎng)老之遺愿，應(yīng)邀為該寺繪制《玄中寺組畫》。

At the invitation of the Buddhist abbot of the Date Monastery in Tokyo, Japan, Li Chengxianand I did a set of mural paintings of the Xuanzhong Monastery—Monastery of Mystery for theDate Monastery from July 24 to October 30, 1985, thus carrying out the behest of KeikyoSugehara, the late abbot of the well-known Japanese Buddhist temple.

玄中寺位于距山西省太原市60公里的呂梁山脈的石壁山中。據(jù)記載，寺為北魏延興二年(公園472年)由高僧云鸞大師所建。云鸞研究佛學(xué)，專修凈土，先后撰寫了《凈土十二偈》、《續(xù)龍樹偈》、《調(diào)氣論》、《往生論注》等著作，得到北魏孝文帝的尊重，賜號(hào)“神云”，故常推為凈土教的始祖。

The Mystery Monastery is located in the Lvliang Mountains, 60km from Taiyuan in ShanxiProvince, China. Records show that the temple was built by an eminent monk named Tanluan inthe 2nd year of Yanxing (472) of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386—534). Master Tanluan was aBuddhist scholar, specializing in the Sukhavati Sect. He wrote The Twelve Gathas of theSukhavati and some other important works. He won the respect of Emperor Xiaowen, whogranted him the title of “Tan, the Immortal”. That is why Master Tanluan is commonly regardedas the founder of the Sukhavati Sect.

至隋唐時(shí)代，高僧道綽，善導(dǎo)都先后在玄中寺住持、探討、研究?jī)敉练饘W(xué)，講經(jīng)說法。玄中寺成為我國(guó)佛教凈土宗的祖廟和中國(guó)北方的主要道場(chǎng)，在中國(guó)佛教史上有十分重要的地位。因此，唐代之后，隨迭遭兵亂，但屢毀屢建，以至保存到現(xiàn)在。

In the Sui (581一618) and Tang (618—907) Dynasties, eminent monks like Daochuo andShandao became abbots of the temple successively, where they distinguished themselves inthe study of the doctrine of the Sukhavati Sect. The Mystery Monastery is the first temple ofthe Sukhavati Sect and a principal Buddhist temple in Northern China. Obviously, the Monasteryoccupies an important position in the history of Buddhism in China. Although it was destroyedmany times during dynastic wars, it was rebuilt time and again so that it is now preserved asbefore.

從唐代以來，以云鸞、道綽、善導(dǎo)所創(chuàng)立的凈土法門體系傳到日本后，日本高僧法然和親鸞，先后以三位大師著作為依據(jù)，立教開宗，建立了日本佛教凈土宗和凈土真宗。自此，與玄中寺一脈相承的凈土宗教義在日本廣為流傳。

Since the Tang Dynasty, the doctrine of the Sukhavati Sect originated by Tanluan, Daochuoand Shandao has been passed on to Japan, where Japanese eminent monks like Horan andQinluan founded the Sukhavati Sect in Japan on the basis of the Buddhist works by the above-mentioned three Chinese masters. That is how the doctrine of the Sukhavati Sect, whichoriginated in the Mystery Monastery in China, has been wide spread in Japan.

1920年12月27日，日本常盤大定博士歷盡千辛萬(wàn)苦尋訪了山西玄中寺，并著書立說，玄中寺即被尊為日本佛教凈土宗的祖庭。1942年秋，日本佛教界著名人士常盤大定博士、管原惠慶長(zhǎng)老等專程前來玄中寺舉行了紀(jì)念云鸞大師圓寂一千四百年奉贊會(huì)。當(dāng)時(shí)管原惠慶長(zhǎng)老懷著對(duì)祖庭的崇高敬意，從寺中摘了一把棗子帶回日本，經(jīng)過精心培育，長(zhǎng)成了一棵棗樹。長(zhǎng)老遂把自己住持的寺院更名為棗寺。

On December 27, 1920, Dr. Daitei Tokiwa, having gone through all kinds of hardships anddifficulties, reached the Mystery Monastery in Shanxi Province. He wrote many books to confirmthe fact that the Japanese Sukhavati Sect of Buddhism originated in the Mystery Monastery ofChina. In the fall of 1942, Dr. Daitei Tokiwa and Master Keikyo Sugehara made a special trip tothe Mystery Monastery and held a ceremony there in commemoration of the 1,400thanniversary of the death of Master Tanluan. Having a deep respect for the founder, MasterSugehara picked a handful of dates from the date tree in the Monastery and took them toJapan. He planted the seed in his monastery, where, with the meticulous care, it has growninto a big date tree. So Master Sugehara named his temple “The Date Monastery”.

日本佛教界朋友們?cè)趹?zhàn)后非常困難的情況下，為促進(jìn)中日友誼作了大量工作。1953年大谷螢潤(rùn)、管原惠慶等收集了戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中在日本殉難的七千余中國(guó)烈士之遺骨送還中國(guó)。周恩來總理生前曾以“飲水不忘掘井人”來贊揚(yáng)日本朋友們，肯定了他們對(duì)中日關(guān)系正常化所起的作用。

After World War II, friends in the Japanese Buddhist world did a lot to promote the friendshipbetween Japan and China under most difficult conditions In 1953, Eyun Otani, Keikyo Sugeharaand others gathered remains of over 7,000 Chinese prisoners of war who died in Japan duringthe war, and sent them back to China. In high praise of the Japanese friends for theircontributions to the normalization of relationship between the two countries, the late PremierZhou Enlai said: “Don't forget the well-diggers when you drink from the well.”

1977年日本佛教界朋友成立了“日中友好凈土宗協(xié)會(huì)”。管原惠慶長(zhǎng)老不遺余力，在他84歲高齡時(shí)，還創(chuàng)辦了《玄中一派》的期刊，致力于日本中國(guó)友好的宣傳。

In 1977, friends in the Japanese Buddhist world set up the Japan-China Friendship Associationof the Sukhavati Sect. Master Keikyo Sugehara in spite of his advanced age of 84, started thepublication of the magazine True Disciples of the Mystery Monastery, thus making fresh effortsto promote the friendship between the Japanese and Chinese peoples.

早在1958年我們第一次在日本舉辦敦煌藝術(shù)展覽時(shí)，管原惠慶長(zhǎng)老曾邀請(qǐng)我們?yōu)樗乃略豪L制五臺(tái)山壁畫。但因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)敦煌百?gòu)U待舉工作繁重，無法承擔(dān)。管原惠慶長(zhǎng)老于1982年2月仙逝。棗寺繼承人為完成管原惠慶長(zhǎng)老熱心中日友好和文化交流的遺愿，正式邀請(qǐng)我和李承仙東渡日本在新落成的棗寺正殿繪制壁畫。我們受文化部和中國(guó)佛教協(xié)會(huì)的委派，與1985年繪制了《玄中寺組畫》。

As early as 1958，the year when the Dunhnang Murals Exhibition was held first time in Japan,Master Keikyo Sugehara invited Li Chengxian and me to do paintings of Wutai Mountain for hismonastery. As that was the time when we were busy restoring the Dunhuang Murals, we couldfind no time for that task. In February, 1982, Master Sugehara passed away. To carry out hislast wish and promote the friendship and cultural exchange between Japan and China, thepresent abbot of the Date Monastery sent us an official invitation to paint murals in the newlyconstructed Main Hall of his monastery. In 1985, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and theChina Buddhist Association entrusted us with the responsibity for the work.

《玄中寺組畫》的創(chuàng)作構(gòu)思和繪制技法，是我們本著對(duì)敦煌藝術(shù)臨摹和研究40多年的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，主要繼承中華民族遺產(chǎn)的風(fēng)格，吸取了敦煌唐宋時(shí)代壁畫法華經(jīng)《化城喻品》等藝術(shù)風(fēng)格形成的。我們?cè)诋嫹邪凑掌涞乩憝h(huán)境和內(nèi)容，標(biāo)出15個(gè)榜題，即：山西五臺(tái)山、掛山古松、太原雙塔、文水之渡、玄津石橋、秋容勝境、永寧禪寺、大玄中之寺、象離大和尚之塔、管原惠慶長(zhǎng)老之塔、中日友誼之樹、大祖師之殿、俱會(huì)一處之冢、西方圣境、大千佛之閣。在畫幅上部七身奏樂飛天配以隨風(fēng)飄動(dòng)的七種樂器，以表現(xiàn)天上、人間、中日深厚的友情。

As Li Chengxian and I had engaged in the study and copying of the Dunhuang Murals for 40-odd years, we did the set of mural paintings of the Mystery Monastery after the techniques andstyle of the Dunhuang art. The murals are composed of 15 paintings, each presenting adifferent location or content: Wutai Mountain in Shanxi, Old Pines on Gua Hill, Twin Pagodas inTaiyuan, China-Japan Friendship trees, the Pure Land, to name just a few.

這是我們?cè)谌毡緰|京一百個(gè)日日夜夜勞苦工作的結(jié)晶，用心血譜寫出來的中日友情。愿中日兩國(guó)人民像飛翔在天上的香音神那樣，世世代代友好，愿中日友好文化交流萬(wàn)古長(zhǎng)青!

We worked hard day and night for over three months. The paintings symbolize our efforts tocontribute to the friendship between the Chinese and Japanese peoples. May the culturalexchange be everlasting between China and Japan.