The eighth 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 eighth 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 eighth austerity consists in cutting off an arm (Ch. diba shebi 第八捨臂). This is a cluster of five statues. Photo [2] shows Liu Benzun here sitting in a lotus position, about to cut off his arm. The man standing under Liu Benzun is Xie Hong 謝洪, who recounts the act to the King of Shu. The King sent a messenger to reward Liu. The man standing next to Liu Benzun on the left is the envoy of the King of Shu and the man under him is the messenger holding the imperial decree. Photo [4] provides details of the statues of Xie Hong and the messenger. Photo [1] shows that there is also a statue, which is symmetrical with the unidentified statue in the seventh austerity. Photo [3] shows the inscription of the second and eighth austerity. The inscription of the eighth austerity reads as follows: 本尊教主於天福五年在成都玉津道場內，截下一支左臂，經四十八刀方斷，刀刀發願，誓救眾生，以應阿彌陀佛四十八願，頂上百千天樂不鼓自鳴。本界廂吏謝洪具表奏聞，蜀王歎異，遣使褒獎 Transcription based on Liu Changjiu 刘长久. "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]. Sichuan wenwu 四川文物 [Sichuan Cultural Relics] 5 (Oct. 1995):37-43. Metadata created by Longyu Zhang (May 31, 2022).Non UBCUnreviewedAuthor Affiliation: Ghent UniversityFacult