關於中史 大雁塔的傳說

Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Originally built in 652 during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), it functioned to collect Buddhist materials that were taken from India by the hierarch Xuanzang.

Xuanzang started off from Chang'an (the ancient Xian), along the Silk Road and through deserts, finally arriving in India, the cradle of Buddhism. Enduring 17 years and traversing 100 countries, he obtained Buddha figures, 657 kinds of sutras, and several Buddha relics. Having gotten the permission of Emperor Gaozong (628-683), Xuanzang, as the first abbot of Da Ci'en Temple, supervised the building of a pagoda inside it. With the support of royalty, he asked 50 hierarchs into the temple to translate Sanskrit in sutras into Chinese, totaling 1,335 volumes, which heralded a new era in the history of translation. Based on the journey to India, he also wrote a book entitled 'Pilgrimage to the West' in the Tang Dynasty, to which scholars attached great importance.

First built to a height of 60 meters (197 feet) with five stories, it is now 64.5 meters (211.6 feet) high with an additional two stories. It was said that after that addition came the saying-'Saving a life exceeds building a seven-storied pagoda'. Externally it looks like a square cone, simple but grand and it is a masterpiece of Buddhist construction. Built of brick, its structure is very firm. Inside the pagoda, stairs twist up so that visitors can climb and overlook the panorama of Xian City from the arch-shaped doors on four sides of each storey. On the walls are engraved fine statues of Buddha by the renowned artist Yan Liben of the Tang Dynasty. Steles by noted calligraphers also grace the pagoda.



2008-05-16 22:35:22 補充：
As for the reason why it is called Big Wild Goose Pagoda, there is a legend. According to ancient stories of Buddhists, there were two branches, for one of which eating meat was not a taboo. One day, they couldn't find meat to buy.

2008-05-16 22:35:34 補充：
Upon seeing a group of big wild geese flying by, a monk said to himself: 'Today we have no meat. I hope the merciful Bodhisattva will give us some.' At that very moment, the leading wild goose broke its wings and fell to the ground.

2008-05-16 22:35:42 補充：
All the monks were startled and believed that Bodhisattva showed his spirit to order them to be more pious. They established a pagoda where the wild goose fell and stopped eating meat. Hence it got the name 'Big Wild Goose Pagoda'.

建於一千多年前的唐塔，經過人為的破壞以及風霜雨露雷電地震甚至鳥獸蟲蟻的侵襲，能夠存留至今的為數不多，其中最有名的便是古城西安的精神標誌─「大雁塔」。

塔勢如湧出，孤高聳天宮，登臨 出世界，蹬道盤虛空。突兀壓神州，崢嶸如鬼工，四角礙白日，七層摩蒼穹；下窺指高鳥，俯聽聞驚風……。
─唐‧岑參〈與高適薛據同登慈恩寺浮圖〉-
唐太宗貞觀二十二年（648）六月，太子李治（以後的高宗）為追報亡母長孫皇后養育恩德，在長安城東南晉昌坊，名勝曲江池的西北，隋代靜覺寺遺址上營建大型寺院，名為大慈恩寺，有房舍1897間，可見其規模之宏偉。大慈恩寺西北，有「虹梁藻井」、「并加殊麗」，特別為玄奘法師翻譯佛經而建造的「翻經院」，此後玄奘法師即長期在此主持譯經大業。

　　高宗永徽三年（652）三月，玄奘為了妥善存放他由印度帶回來的梵文佛經原本及佛像，打算修建一座石塔，但是高宗考慮工程浩大恐怕難以速成，命他改用磚造，於是在玄奘親自設計及主持下，建成磚表土心（外磚內土），高180尺的五層佛塔；可惜因為施工及建材等問題，逐漸頹毀。
　　武后長安年間（701-704），遂改建為七級磚塔；其後又經玄宗天寶朝（742-756）、後唐明宗長興年間（930-933）等幾度整修，屹立中華大地已近一千三百年。

　　大雁塔為典型樓閣式錐狀方形土級空心磚塔，基座高4公尺，通高63.25公尺。塔身以磚築成，底層每邊25公尺，向上逐級遞減（收分）；每層四壁中間均開券拱門，壁面上樸實無華，僅以磚砌成突出的扁柱，有如木造梁柱，將壁面分隔成若干開間，第一、二層為十柱九開間，三、四層八柱七間，五至七層為六柱五間，整體造型穩重，結構堅固，氣派非凡，堪稱此類型唐塔的代表之作。

　　塔身底層門楣與門框上，均有精美的線刻畫，為唐代藝術精品，尤以西邊門楣上相傳出自唐代大畫家閻立本手筆的阿彌陀佛說法圖最為精彩。南門兩側龕內有太宗李世民「大唐三藏聖教序」及高宗「大唐三藏聖教序記」兩塊石碑，為大書法家褚遂良真跡，價值亦高。大雁塔內部中空，有梯道相通，盤旋而上，四周風光盡收眼底，成為文人騷客最喜愛的賦詩吟哦之地，留下了許多千古絕唱，下引一首，以資談助。

十層突兀在虛空，四十門開面面風；卻怪鳥飛平地上，自驚人語半天中。迴梯暗踏如穿洞，絕頂初攀似出籠；落日鳳城佳氣合，滿城春樹雨濛濛。

─唐‧章八元〈題慈恩寺塔〉

由前引岑參及章八元的詩，可以知道大雁塔原名「慈恩寺浮圖」或「慈恩寺塔」；那麼大雁塔之名由何而來？其實，它是源自於佛教「瘥雁建塔」的傳說；玄奘大師在《大唐西域記》卷九，曾經詳細記載了這個典故。

　　據說在古印度因陀羅勢羅訶山（帝釋窟）的東峰有座寺院，裡面的僧人信奉小乘佛教，是允許吃肉的。某一天，有個比丘在散步時，看見群雁飛翔，便開玩笑說：「如今肉食不夠，菩薩應該知道啊！」話才剛說完，一隻大雁忽然飛了回來，撞地自殺，似乎是要殉身以獻；比丘將此情此景告訴同伴，大夥相當悲傷，感念到這是如來命此雁垂誡；於是改奉大乘，並建窣堵波，將大雁埋在其下，以彰顯如來的教化之德；以後雁塔就成為對佛塔的泛稱。在慈恩寺塔建成後，一般便俗稱它為「雁塔」；後來荐福寺的塔也被叫做雁塔，為了區別，遂有大小之分。由唐中宗神龍年間（705-707）開始，進士科放榜後，同年們先在大慈恩寺附近的曲江舉行宴會，即「曲江宴」；而後到寺中將新科進士的大名刻在塔磚上，這是文人們最光榮的時刻，稱為「雁塔題名」；大雁塔以此典故，更是名垂千古了！

　　慈恩寺後院有歷代高僧的墓塔多座，形態各異，頗有可觀，今選錄幾座，以饗讀者。

值得注意的是，大雁塔與其它的古塔等古建築都遭遇到一個嚴重的問題，就是植物的附生對塔或古建築的致命性威脅。

　　由於建築材料中所附著的灰沙泥土，以及風沙帶來的塵埃，為植物在塔上生長帶來理想的條件；偏偏此類植物大都屬於多年生耐旱型，根系發達，往往深入塔身，不但造成塔壁的破壞，更容易引起塔內的漏雨及木材的腐朽。例如大雁塔塔頂上就曾經長了十多種雜草以及一棵三公尺高的榆樹，樹根沿著塔簷生長，竟然長達16公尺；在第二層的塔簷裡也有4根長達2公尺，周長40公分的樹根；這些植物的根系不僅根壓極大，往往造成塔體破損移位，更可怕的是會分泌多種具有強烈腐蝕作用的有機酸，將導致磚石酥化，強度減低。

　　此外，植物又會引來鳥類與昆蟲，前者築巢，排泄糞便，帶來新的植物種子；後者可能不斷鑽洞營穴，威脅性不下於天然災害，例如大雁塔塔頂的塔磚下，就曾發現數以億萬計的黑螞蟻。這些都是古塔古建維護人員揮之不去的夢魘！雖然每年都要加以清理，然而收效甚微。大陸有關專家現在已經正視此一問題，並積極謀求對策保護古建當中！希望他們順利成功。