Research On The Three Holy Faith In Si Chuan Provincial

Three Hua-yen Saints stems from the Hua-yen scriptures; it is a group of which Vairocana Buddha(also known as Locana Buddha or Sakyamuni Buddha) is the main honorable master, and Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva are the retinues. This thesis focuses on the Belief of Three Hua-yen Saints in Si chuan area, aiming to sort out the development history of Three Hua-yen Saints Belief and the statue building of activities.There are many thoughts and statues of Three Saints group in Chinese Buddhism.This thesis believes that Three Hua-yen Saints was named first.Grottos, Three Hua-yen Saints group is no doubt a milestone. Three Hua-yen Saints is worshipped by the Buddhist in Si chuan, however there are few studies related to this topic. This thesis conducts a systematic study in this area to solve the related problems. Based on the characteristics of Three Hua-yen Saints, and the combination of literatures and antiques,this thesis explores the argumentative philosophy, practice and development history of Three Hua-yen Saints Belief in Si chuan area from following five aspects: Hua-yen Sutra and Three Hua-yen Saints, Hua-yen Father and Three Hua-yen Saints, the propagation of Hua-yen Sutra in Si chuan, statue building of Three Hua-yen Saints and cause analysis of the popularity of Three Hua-yen Saints belief in Si chuan.The main body is divided into five chapters. Chapter One analyzes the development process of Three Hua-yen Saints in Buddhist sutras from the branch sutra, abridged translation and assemblage of Hua-yen Sutra. Chapter Two analyzes the writings of Hua-yen Father to explore the principle of Three Hua-yen Saints.Chapter Three analyzes the propagation of Hua-yen Sutra in Si chuan, and the preaching activity of Buddhist and lay Buddhist, trying to restore the real state of people’s belief at that time.From the aspect of statue building, Chapter Four shows that Three Hua-yen Saints istaken as the center by Buddhists in Si chuan, and illustrates how people realize the belief sustenance by analyzing the statue building description and typical interpretation in the main areas of Si chuan. This thesis also shows the time evolution and geographical distribution of Three Hua-yen Saints statues. Chapter Five analyzes the cause of the popularity and decline of Three Hua-yen Saints relief in Si chuan.This thesis concludes that the belief of Three Hua-yen Saints is a real state belief in certain period. In Tang Dynasty, it was in full bloom with the support of Empress Wu Zetian and the writings of Father. However, due to the difficult theory, tedious description,insufficient theory and guidance for religious practice, it is unattractive to common believers and could not get popularity. With the impact of western pure land thought, it gradually faded out of the history.