?yāmaka Jātaka

The ?yāmaka Jātaka tale is a popular narrative theme in both India and China, appearing in various forms in Indian and Gandhara art, as well as in Chinese caves and stele, typically represented in murals or reliefs. The story originates from ?yāmaka Jātaka, which tells of a boy named ?yāmaka who lives in the mountains with his blind parents, gathering fruits and fetching water to support them. One day, while hunting, the king mistakenly shoots ?yāmaka, who is dressed in a deer skin. The dying ?yāmaka informs the king about his family's ascetic practices. The king, filled with remorse, goes to ?yāmaka's home to notify his parents. Upon arriving at the riverbank, they receive their boy’s body and weep in sorrow. Moved by ?yāmaka’s filial piety, the heavenly deities revive him and restore his parents’ sight.

The Dunhuang Caves feature numerous paintings of the ?yāmaka Jātaka tale from the Northern Zhou to the Sui dynasties, with Cave 299 being a representative work of this theme. The painting comprises six scenes in total, with the narrative starting from both ends and culminating at the center, which serves as both the climax and conclusion of the story.

Another traditional Chinese tale of filial piety, Offering Deer Milk to Parents, tells the story of Tanzi's experience of nearly being killed in the mountains while fetching deer milk for his parents. It combines the protagonist's archetype of the king of the state of Tan from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) with the figure of ?yāmaka as recorded in Buddhist scriptures. As a traditional virtue, filial piety is a recurring theme in China, and the popularity of the ?yāmaka tale reflects how Buddhism, as a foreign religion, adapted to Chinese cultural values.

睒子本生

“睒子本生”是在印度和中國都深受歡迎的故事題材，在印度、犍陀羅地區及中國石窟、造像碑中均有出現，通常以壁畫或浮雕的形式表現。故事來源于《佛說睒子經》，古印度迦夷國中有人名睒子，隨盲父母居于山中，采果汲溪水供養父母。一日，國王射獵時進山誤傷身披鹿皮的睒子，睒子將其一家修行之事告知國王。國王深悔，到睒子家通知其父母，父母來到河邊，見睒子尸，撫尸慟哭。睒子孝感動天，天神使其復活，并使其父母復明。

敦煌石窟從北周至隋代繪有多幅睒子本生故事畫，莫高窟第299窟為這一題材的代表作品。全圖共包括6個情節。整幅畫面的敘事從兩頭開始，畫面中心既是故事的高潮也是故事的結尾。

中國傳統二十四孝故事中的“鹿乳奉親”，講的是郯子為父母入山取鹿奶差點被誤殺的經歷，主人公的原型是中國春秋時期郯國的國君郯子和佛經記載的睒子相結合而成。孝順父母是中國人的傳統美德，睒子故事的流行，充分體現了外來佛教為適應中國本土文化特點，從原來倡導出世離家到更注重孝道的轉變。