秘殿珠林續編(乾清宮),頁185&*故宮書畫錄(卷八),第四冊,頁89&*故宮書畫圖錄,第九冊,頁241-242&* 如來佛是釋迦牟尼佛的十號之一,「如」也稱「如實」,即「眞如」,指佛所說的絕對眞理,沿此眞理行事便可達到佛的境內外界。中國佛教徒尊其為最高神祇。 在《西遊記》中,當眾天將制服不了孫悟空時,玉帝傳旨部眾上西方請如來佛降伏。他不但降伏了孫悟空,還安排了觀音去尋訪取經人,並曾在急難中給予孫悟空啟示,最後將佛經傳給取經人。整個取經活動可說都是在如來佛的掌控之下。 &* Tathagata is one of the 10 powers of Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha. “Tatha” means “as real” of “true likeness”, indicates he truth of the Buddha’s sayings. One, by following it in action, can achieve the entire Buddhist realm. Revered above all in Chinese Buddhism, in Journey to the West, when the heavenly generals failed to subdue the Monkey King, the Jade Emperor summoned Tathagata in the west to suppress him. He not only defeated the Monkey King, but also arranged Kuan-yin to find the monk searching for scriptures. Kuan-yin hinted to the Monkey King about how to solve his problem and ultimately gave scriptures to the one searching for them. The entire process of getting sutras can be said to have been guided by Tathagata Buddha.