The third austerity in Liu Benzun tableau (Liu Benzun shilian ku 柳本尊十煉窟), Pilu dong 毗廬洞

The cluster of statues and inscriptions depicting Liu Benzun's third austerity in the Liu Benzun tableau (Liu Benzun shilian ku 柳本尊十煉窟) in Pilu cave (Pilu dong 毗盧洞), Anyue xian 安岳縣, Sichuan sheng 四川省. The third austerity consists in refining an ankle by fire (Ch. disan lianhuai 第三煉踝). Photo [1] shows the cluster of five statues. The statue in the middle is Liu Benzun sitting in meditation, a flame rising from his left ankle. Four celestial kings surround and witness Liu Benzun undergoing the austerity. Photo [2] shows the inscriptions of both the third and ninth austerity. The content of the third austerity is recorded as follows: 本尊教主宴坐峨眉，歷時已久，忽睹僧謂曰：“居士止此山中有何利益？不如往九州十縣救療病苦眾生。”便辭山而去。于天福二年正月十八日，本尊將檀香一兩為一炷，於左腳踝上燒煉，供養諸佛。愿共一切眾生舉足下足皆遇道場，永不踐邪諂之地，感四天王為作證明 Transcription based on Liu Changjiu 刘长久, 1995: "Yelun Anyue Piludong shiku: jianyu Cao Dan, Zhao Ling erjun shangque 也论安岳毗卢洞石窟——兼与曹丹、赵昤二君商榷" [Research on grottos in Pilu cave in Anyue county: discussion with Cao Dan and Zhao Ling] in Sichuan wenwu 四川文物 [Sichuan Cultural Relics] 5, pp. 37-43. Metadata created by Longyu Zhang (May 31, 2022).Non UBCUnreviewedAuthor Affiliation: Ghent UniversityFacult