Religious Section 宗教篇

Part Twenty 第二十部分

🌷The Buddhas of the Three Ages
三世佛

A Collection of Choice Specimens from Chinese Culture 《中国文化集锦》

Seventy Years of Deep Affection of Knowledge about the English Language 英语七十载厚重岁月情缘

With utter devotion to the country and without any thought of oneself.
心有大我，至诚报国

There is no shortage of hard-working people in the world, but of those who work hard to the end. 世上从不缺少努力的人，缺的是努力到底的人！

The true meaning of life lies in the fact that: “To be an upright person dependably, to handle affairs seriously.” 人生的真谛是：“老老实实做人，踏踏实实做事。”

The Three Buddhas of the Three
三世佛

丛三世佛（）
* 丛三世佛（时间维度）： 过去佛（Buddha Dipamkara 燃灯佛）、现在佛（Sakyamuni释迦牟尼）、未来佛（The Coming One弥勒佛）可用：Three Buddhas of the Three Times (Past, Present, and Future
* 横三世佛(空间维度）“Three Buddhas of the Three Directions (East, Center, and West) Three 世佛（Three Periods of Buddha）：Sakyamuni in the middle， 中央释迦牟尼、the Buddha of Pharmacy in the east东方药师佛and Amitabha (Amituofo) in the west阿彌陀佛在的右邊西方。The Buddha of the Three Ages refers in general to過去佛,寺院塑像一般特指燃燈佛 (梵文Buddha Dipamkara意譯，一譯“錠光”), Sakyamuni釋迦牟尼（現在佛）, and Maitreya彌勒佛（Maitreya or The Coming One未來佛）.
Sakyamuni, the Buddha of the Present 現在佛 (also called Gautama Buddha) was the founder of Buddhism, and teacher of the present Buddhism religion. This image represents the divine spirit that continues to inspire people in the present and to remind people that what the sacred texts can be realized here and now, as in the days of Sakyamuni. Sakyamuni is usually depicted sitting in meditation or sometimes in a recumbent position signifying his entrance into Nirvana. He is often shown as the central figure in one of several trinities.
The Kasyapa (Jiayefo) 迦葉佛（過去佛）represents the divine spirit that moved the Buddha on enlightened ones of the past.
Maitreya（Milefo）彌勒佛 or The Coming One未來佛stands for a symbol to remind everyone that in every human heart there is the potential to be enlightened. This Buddha, on his way to Buddha-hood, sends rays of love into the world of darkness.
The above-mentioned Buddha figures are called the Buddha of the Three Ages in vertical order, representing the concept of cosmic time sequence (代表宇宙時間概念) 豎三世佛.
The second trinity第二個三尊 often found in Dhyana (Chan or Zen in Japanese spelling) sect 禪宗temples is formed with Sakyamuni in the middle, Amitabha (Amituofo) in the west阿彌陀佛在佛祖釋迦牟尼的右邊and Bhaisajya-guru in the east釋迦牟尼的左邊的是“東方琉璃世界教主藥師琉璃光如來佛”，一般簡稱為“藥師佛”(the Buddha of Pharmacy / the God of Medicine---to ward off calamities and prolong life, and specialize in curing the diseases of human beings. 藥師佛專醫人間疾病，消災延壽。
A third trinity第三個三尊 has Sakyamuni flanked by Vairocana 毗盧遮那 (Piluzhena---literally, the illuminator. He is regarded by many Mahayana Buddhist sects as the supreme Buddha. In monuments, he is always represented in the center of the other Buddha figures.) representing the law 法 or doctrine and Rocana 盧舍那 (Lushena) representing the priesthood 僧侶. “毗盧遮那”和“盧舍那” 都是梵文Vairocana的譯音，後者是前者的簡稱。The later is the abbreviation of the former one.
The Three Buddhas of the World Buddhism三個佛世界的佛 refer to the Buddhas of Pharmacy in the Eastern Pure Glazed World東方淨琉璃世界藥師佛， Sakyamuni of the Saha World娑（音唆）婆世界, and the Maitreya of the Western Paradise西方極樂世界阿彌陀佛. These Buddhas are called Three Horizontal Buddhas standing for the concept of outer space points of the compass（代表宇宙空間方位概念）橫三世佛 That is: The Buddhas of middle, east and west in the different worlds即中、東、西三方不同世界之佛. 三世佛 ⑴ 指過去、現在、未來三世之佛，亦稱“豎三世佛”。過去佛為迦葉諸佛，寺院塑像一般特指燃燈佛，現在佛為釋迦牟尼，未來佛為彌勒佛。②指三個佛的世界之佛，亦稱“橫三世佛”。即東方淨琉璃世界藥師佛、娑（音唆）婆世界釋迦牟尼佛、西方極樂世界阿彌陀佛。