釋氏要覽 2.298

2.298

大乘造像功德經云。優陀延王雕像。始夜自思惟。但其像為坐為立。時有智臣白王。當作坐像。何以故。一切諸佛得大菩提。乃至轉法輪。現神變。皆悉坐故。是故應作師子座結加之像。王雕像訖。以頂戴像至如來所白佛言。如來最上微妙之身。無與等。我所造像。不似於佛。竊自思惟。深為過咎。佛告王言非為過咎。汝已作無量利益。更無與汝等者。汝今於佛法中。初為軌則未來世中。有信之人。皆因王故造佛形像而獲大福○佛在金棺敬福經云。造經像主莫論雇匠。匠人不得飲酒食肉。不依聖教。雖造經像。其福甚少。若匠人造像。不具相好者。五百萬世。諸根不具○五百問經云。治生破戒得財造佛。尚不免地獄。何況得福○罪福決疑經云。僧尼白衣。或自財或勸化得財擬作佛像用經久將此錢造作鳥獸形安佛盤上計損五錢犯逆罪究竟不還一劫墮阿鼻地獄若用贖香油供養者不犯○宣律師云。造像梵相。宋齊間皆唇厚鼻隆目長頥豐。挺然丈夫之相。自唐來筆工皆端嚴柔弱似妓女之貌。故今人誇宮娃如菩薩也。又云今人隨情而造。不追本實。得在信敬。失在法式。但論尺寸長短。不問耳目全具。或爭價利。計供厚薄。酒肉餉遺。身無潔淨。致使尊像雖樹。無復威靈。乃至抄寫經卷。惟務賤得。弱筆麄紙。使前工無敬。自心有慢。彼此通賤。法儀減矣。若使道俗存法。造得真儀鳥獸尚不敢污。何況人乎（鈔文多。但撮要言。故不次第焉）。

The Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Merits of Making Images says: When King Udayana carved the image, on the first night he reflected to himself: should the image be seated or standing? At that time, a wise minister said to the king: "It should be made as a seated image. Why? Because all Buddhas attain great bodhi, turn the wheel of Dharma, and display divine transformations all while seated. Therefore, it should be made as an image seated in the cross-legged posture on a lion seat." When the king finished carving the image, carrying it on his head, he went to the Tathāgata's place and said to the Buddha: "The Tathāgata's supreme and wondrous body is incomparable. The image I made does not resemble the Buddha. I privately reflect that this is a grave fault." The Buddha told the king: "It is not a fault. You have already created immeasurable benefit, and none is equal to you. Now, within the Buddha's Dharma, you have been the first to establish a model. In future ages, people of faith will all, on account of you, make images of the Buddha and obtain great blessings."\n\nThe Fo zai jinguang jingfu jing says: The donor making scriptures and images must not haggle with the artisans. The artisans must not drink alcohol or eat meat. If they do not accord with the sacred teachings, even though they make scriptures and images, their merit will be very slight. If an artisan makes an image that lacks the physical marks and signs, for five million lifetimes his faculties will be deficient.\n\nThe Wubaiwen jing says: If one trades and breaks the precepts to obtain wealth to make a Buddha image, one will not even escape hell, let alone obtain blessings.\n\nThe Zuifu jueyi jing says: If monks, nuns, or laypeople, using their own wealth or soliciting donations to obtain wealth intended for making a Buddha image, after a long time use this money to make shapes of birds and beasts and place them on the Buddha's pedestal, if they calculate a damage of five coins, they commit a cardinal crime; if ultimately they do not return it, for one kalpa they will fall into the Avīci Hell. If it is used to buy fragrant oil for offerings, they commit no violation.\n\nVinaya Master Daoxuan says: Regarding the Indian forms in image-making, during the Song and Qi periods they all had thick lips, high noses, long eyes, and full chins, with the stalwart appearance of a manly person. Since the Tang, artists have made them dignified, gentle, and delicate, resembling the appearance of courtesans; hence today people praise palace maids as looking like bodhisattvas. He also says: People of today make images according to their personal whims and do not pursue the original reality; their success lies in faith and reverence, but their failing lies in the ritual standards. They only discuss the measurements and length, but do not ask whether the ears and eyes are fully complete. Or they dispute prices and profit, calculate whether offerings are lavish or meager, send gifts of alcohol and meat, and their bodies are not clean and pure; this causes the venerated images, though erected, to have no further divine efficacy. Even down to copying sūtra scrolls, they only strive for cheapness, using weak brushes and coarse paper, causing the workers to lack reverence and their own minds to have arrogance; both sides mutually treat it as cheap, and the ritual standards decline. If monastics and laypeople were to preserve the Dharma and craft true forms, even birds and beasts would not dare defile them, let alone human beings! (The text of the commentary is extensive; only the essential points are summarized here, hence it is not presented sequentially).