The Study On The J(?)taka Stories In Chinese Buddhism

The Buddhist J(?)taka stories give an account of the Buddha and his disciples in a past life.There exist a great variety of The Buddhist J(?)taka stories,each story has its own characteristics and Buddhist theory need to highlight.As the representative of subject "almsgiving" and" filial piety","the J(?)taka of Prince Mahasattva" and" the J(?)taka of (?)y(?)maka" ’s distribution,development and evolution in Chinese Buddhism are worthy of attention and study.As far as we know,"the J(?)taka of (?)y(?)maka" should be introduced into China follow with Sutra on the Collection of the Six Perfections in the Three kingdoms Wu.After Sutra on the Collection of the Six Perfections,many Buddhist scriptures which are translated into Chinese recorded "the J(?)taka of (?)y(?)maka ".The earliest Buddhist scripture which are translated into Chinese recorded" the J(?)taka of Prince Mahasattva" is Sutra on the Collection of the Six Perfections too.In addition,there are a lot of Buddhism embodied in this story,the content is a little different.In some literature handed down from ancient times and Dunhuang manuscripts,also saved on these two stories.From these records,we can comb "the J(?)taka of Prince Mahasattva "and "the J(?)taka of (?)y(?)maka " s development and spresd condition roughly.the J(?)taka stories images from India of the Gandhara and Mathura style to a single diamond lattice which called "The Western Regions style ",and then to the Central Plains region of the picture composition,showing a clear process of absorbing foreign religion.The images preserved in The Dunhuang area is maximum,also have rich type,diverse forms and large time span,they are the most representative.The caves located to the East and the South area of Dunhuang also preserved the images about these two stories,most of them belong to the Northern Wei Dynasty,widely used relief and murals form,there are large,distinctive characteristics typical represent,such as the Maijishan cave 127th,165th cave of Qingyang North cave temple,Yungang Grottoes,Longmen Grottoes etc..In addition to a number of Buddhist sculpture of the two kinds of J(?)taka stories,concise and lively,stick out a mile.J(?)taka images is one of the themes of Theravada Buddhism art,In Qiuci Grottoes which Theravada Buddhism prevailed,central pillar cave is the most representative,the J(?)taka stories Among them coordinate the overall layout and design,emphasized the important position of Shakya Muni Buddha and Maitreya in the future.In the Northern Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty period which“the J(?)taka of Prince Mahasattva" and "the J(?)taka of gyamaka”appeared most frequently,the concept of Buddhas of Three Periods,meditation practice and Mahayana Buddhism theory interact,The Lotus Sutra as to play a guiding role can not be ignored,at the same time,the Vimalakirti Sutra and Mahayana Nirvana Sutra thought also caused some impact on the Buddhist images.After the J(?)taka stories spread to the Han culture area,they have completely become Mahayana,they appear in the cave or on the Buddhist statues,has its unique function,and with other units of the same subject matter together,reflect the Mahayana Buddhism thought above.J(?)taka stories is a part of the Buddhist art,at first,it is to convey the Buddhism thought and connotation,but an important factor in the development of Buddhism is the people as well as the life of the secular society,so these stories must be associated with the social background,historical events,customs and trends.In some large,having special significance Buddhist caves,J(?)taka stories with its distinctive theme,has become an important method of people who build the cave to passing emotion information together with the other content in the same cave.To emphasize the spirit of sacrifice and dedication,"the J(?)taka of Prince Mahasattva "is conflict and contradict with" the J(?)taka of (?)y(?)maka" which emphasize the "filial piety" spirit.In fact,these two J(?)taka stories appeared in the same Buddhist cave or statue frequently.This is not scrape together optionall,but there are deep-seated historical and religious reasons.These two J(?)taka stories have a common theme in addition to their respective main content."Practice" and "filial piety "--Confucianism and Buddhism Ethics achieve mastery through a comprehensive study of the subject in these two kinds of J(?)taka stories ingeniously,add radiance and beauty to each other,they embody the thought connotation together,is any other themes of the J(?)taka stories can not be compared.