經幢的形制、性質和來源──經幢研究之二

The Form, Nature, and Origins of Dharani Pillars Studies on Dharani Pillars, Part II

本文是筆者第二篇有關經幢的論文，主要包括兩個部分：一是詳細而精確地描述經幢這種石刻，二是探討經幢的性質。首先，分別從經幢的外形、上面所鐫刻的佛經與文字、樹立的地點以及它的變體等方面，逐一詳述，以建構經幢具體而完整的圖像。次則，先前有學者以為經幢是刻經的一種，本文則辨明經幢不是刻經，而另外採取多方面的証據，証明經幢的性質是塔──一種法身塔。更確實地說，經幢是揉合了刻經和塔所衍生出來一種特殊的塔。

This paper represents the second in a series of studies about Buddhist dharani pillars (ching-ch'uang 經幢) in T'ang China. Such pillars derived from the stone stupas of the Northern Liang, as well as the octagonal pillars of the medieval era. The paper is divided into two parts. Part I provides a detailed description of the main iconographic characteristics of these monuments, particularly their shape, their location, and the Buddhist sutras, dharani, and other texts which were carved on them. Variations and transformations of dharani pillars are also discussed. Part II explores the nature of these monuments. While traditional scholarship has claimed that dharani pillars represented a type of ''inscribed scripture'' (k'o-ching 刻經), I argue that this was not the case. Instead, I use a variety of sources to show that such pillars were in fact a type of stupa in which Buddhist texts could be placed (fa-shen t'a 法身塔). I therefore conclude that dharani pillars combine characteristics of inscribed scriptures and stupas to form a new type of stupa which appeared in medieval China.