本幅繡像為普門觀音。﹝法華經﹞普門觀音「弘誓深如海,梵音海潮音」,以其普渡衆生,無處不可化現,是以西天南海,無所分疏。 本幅亦為楊柳觀音,亦名藥王觀音。密教經典﹝大悲心陀羅尼﹞等記載觀音以拔濟衆生疾病為本誓,「為身上種種病難,故手持楊柳枝」。 本幅亦為白衣觀音。﹝大日經疏﹞謂「白即菩提心。白衣觀音母即蓮華部之主」。白衣觀音能為人息災延命,密教有白衣觀音法門。 &* The Bodhisattva Kuan-yin is depicted in this embroidered silk tapestry. According to the Lotus Sûtra, Kuan-yin’s vow to help all sentient beings is “as vast as the sound of the waves.” There is no place where Kuan-yin cannot appear, and her mercy is all-encompassing. This particular Kuan-yin is also called the “Kuan-yin with the Willow Branch (Dantakâstaha)” or the “Healing Kuan-yin.” In Esoteric Buddhist texts, Kuan-yin vows to relieve the suffering of all those who are afflicted with illnesses and thus holds a willow branch. This Kuan-yin is also called Pâņdaravâsinī, the White-robed Kuan-yin. White represents the Bodhi nature, and the White-robed Kuan-yin is the ruler of Padma-śûla, a region in the Womb World in Esoteric Buddhism. Pâņdarâvasinī is able to stop calamities and increase one’s longevity. &*1.葛婉章,〈清人繡觀音大士像〉,收入葛婉章編,《妙法蓮華經圖錄》(臺北:國立故宮博物院,1995年初版),頁122。