地藏

Ti-tsang, J. Jizō, Kṣitigarbha, [lang id =1028]乞叉底蘗沙; Earth-store, Earth-treasury, or Earthwomb. One of the group of eight Dhvani- Bodhisattvas. With hints of a feminine origin, he is now the guardian of the earth. Though associated with Yama as overlord, and with the dead and the hells, his role is that of saviour. Depicted with the alarum staff with its six rings, he is accredited with power over the hells and is devoted to the saving of all creatures between the nirvana of Śākyamuni and the advent of Maitreya the fifth century he has been especially considered as the deliverer from the hells. His central place in China is at Chiu-hua-shan, forty li south-west of Ch'ing-yang in Anhui. In Japan he is also the protector of travellers by land and his image accordingly appears on the roads; bereaved parents put stones by his images to seek his aid in relieving the labours of their dead in the task of piling stones on the banks of the Buddhist Styx; he also helps women in labour. He is described as holding a place between the gods and men on the one hand and the hells on the other for saving all in distress; some say he is an incarnation of Yama. At dawn he sits immobile on the earth [lang id =1028]地 and meditates on the myriads of its beings [lang id =1028]藏. When represented as a monk, it may be through the influence of a Korean monk who is considered to be his incarnation, and who came to China in 653 and died in 728 at the age of 99 after residing at Chiu-hua-shan for seventy-five years: his body, not decaying, is said to have been gilded over and became an object of worship. Many have confused [lang id =1028]真羅 part of Korea with [lang id =1028]暹羅 Siam. There are other developments of Ti-tsang, such as the [lang id =1028]六地藏 Six Ti-tsang, i. e. severally converting or transforming those in the hells, (sa) pretas, animals, (sa) asuras, men, and the (sa) devas; these six Ti-tsang have different images and symbols. Ti-tsang has also six messengers [lang id =1028]六使者: Yama for transforming those in hell; the pearl-holder for (sa) pretas; the strong one or animals; the (sa) devīof mercy for (sa) asuras; the (sa) devī of the treasure for human beings; one who has charge of the heavens for the (sa) devas. There is also the [lang id =1028]延命地藏 Yanming Ti-tsang, who controls length of days and who is approached, as also may be P'u-hsien, for that Purpose; his two assistants are the Supervisors of good and evil [lang id =1028]掌善 and [lang id =1028]掌惡. Under another form, as [lang id =1028]勝軍地藏 Ti-tsang is chiefly associated with the esoteric cult. The benefits derived from his worship are many, some say ten, others say twenty-eight. His vows are contained in the [lang id =1028]地藏菩薩本願經. There is also the [lang id =1028]大乘大集地藏十電經 tr. by Xuanzang in 10 (zh) juan in the seventh century, which probably influenced the spread of the Ti-tsang cult.

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菩薩名， 因他安忍不動如大地， 靜慮深密如秘藏， 故名地藏。 此菩薩在釋尊滅度以後， 彌勒未生以前， 擔負救度眾生的重任。 而且常住地獄拔苦， 因有「地獄未空， 誓不成佛」之願， 故以大願著稱。