Digital Dictionary of Buddhism
地獄變
Pronunciations[py]dìyù biàn
[wg]ti-yü pien
[hg]지옥변
[mc]jiok byeon
[mr]chiok pyŏn
[kk]ジゴクヘン
[hb]jigoku hen
[qn]địa ngục biến
Basic Meaning: depiction of hell
Senses:
A pictorial representation of existence of living beings in hell, more fully written as 地獄變相. Also 地獄繪 and 地獄圖. The logograph 變 in this case implies manifestation, appearance 變現. The point of such paintings is to show how denizens of hell undergo interminable and unintermitting suffering. These are included with paintings of heavens, as well as the experience of the remainder of the ten realms 十界 and six destinies 六道. The earliest pictures of this sort are found in the Indian stone caves at Ajanta, and the practice was subsequently repeated in China, Korea, and Japan. Reference works on the Buddhist art traditions of each of these three East Asian countries provide further detail. For Japan, see the Iwanami dictionary, and for China, see the Fo Guang Dictionary. [Charles Muller; source(s): FGD, Nakamura]
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[Dictionary References]
Bukkyō jiten (Ui) 731
Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura) 563c
Fo Guang Dictionary 2313
Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki) (v.1-6)3580b
Bukkyō daijiten (Oda) 1217-2
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Entry created: 2008-04-20
Updated: 2010-07-13