The Mothers of Buddhas [Ch. Fomu] are a particular type of images from Tibetan and Tibetan style Buddhist art. In Buddhism, Buddhas treat the dharma as their master, and Buddhas were born from the dharma. Therefore, the dharma is the mother of Buddhas, and Buddhas reside inside the dharma.1 Nāgārjuna (150-250), an eminent Indian Buddhist logician who was instrumental in the early establishment of Indian Mahāyāna, says that the perfection of wisdom is the mother of Buddhas. Among parents, the achievement of mothers is the most important, and Buddhas treat wisdom as their mother. The cultivation of wisdom can lead one to see the true original nature of the dharma, and it can reach and achieve anything. The merit and virtue of it is great; so it was named Mother of Buddhas.2 Accordingly, the Mothers of Buddhas is a symbolic name for a type of deities who can obtain and use Buddhist wisdom to deliver sentient beings to enlightenment. Such deities should not be understood to be the biological mother of Śākyamuni or other Buddhas. Although both Han Chinese and Tibetan scriptures record many mothers of Buddhas before the Yuan dynasty, their images had not been crafted by Han Buddhists and artists, but preferred by Tibetan people. In the early Yuan period, these images were transmitted into Han Chinese regions from Tibet, and four kinds of Mothers of Buddhas appeared in Feilaifeng images, and they are Uṣṇīṣavijaya, Prajñāpāramitā, Sitātapatra, and Tārā.
目次
Uṣṇīṣavijaya, Honored and Victorious Buddhas’ Mother Coming from the Uṣṇīṣa 104 Prajñāpāramitā, Mother of Buddhas with Transcendent Wisdom 112 Sitātapatra, Mother of Buddhas Holding a Great White Parasol 115 Tārā, Mother of Buddhas from the Eyes of Avalokiteśvara 117
