民國三年本《達摩寶傳》所展現之 民間信仰意涵與祖師形象析論=The Significance in Folklore Religion of the 3rd -Year-inRepublican-Era Version of Bodhidharma Baozhuan and an Analysis of Bodhidharma’s Image
Bodhidharma Baozhuan is a scripture in certain religious sects, a.k.a. Baojuan 寶卷. It spread in China in the 20th century. There are many different versions of Bodhidharma Baozhuan. Building on that, this article collected seven of the versions for comparison, and sorted them into three categories: Bodhidharma Baozhuan 達摩寶傳, Bodhidharma Baojuan 達摩寶卷 and Bodhidharma Zujuan 達摩祖卷. The purport among three versions is almost the same, yet there are some discrepancies within these three versions in the plots, especially for Bodhidharma Baozhuan. In general, the motif of Bodhidharma Baozhuan is the Eternal Unborn Mother’s doomsday rescue 無生老母救劫思想, which apparently is the folk religion using Bodhidharma’s story to publicize its doctrine. In view of the above, Bodhidharma becomes a secularized preacher in Bodhidharma Baozhuan: he undertakes the mission of salvation which is appointed by Eternal Unborn Mother. His conversation comes with both Chan spirits 禪意 and secularities. Apart from this, he uses his divine power to guide people to break away from the world of mortals. Comparing with the past, the image of Bodhidharma in Bodhidharma Baozhuan is very distinctive, and this folk text definitely deserves certain attentions.
