下圖人物的身份?

01-12

跟哪一宗教/教派有關?

在緬甸，他們被稱為「隱士」、「仙人」、「聖仙」、「智者」或是「先知」。巴利語稱其為 isi。佛陀時代以及之前，便存在這一類出家修行者，大多秉持婆羅門教義，受持吠陀學說，修習種種禪定，或也有涉獵咒術變化。上世紀初期的緬甸，有知名隱士 U Khandi。

這類緬甸特色的隱士，也是出家之人，大多散居，也像上座部僧人一樣依靠托缽為生。會看到他們挑著扁擔，前後各有一筐，穿行在俗家村落之中，從在家人那裡獲取生活所需。

悉達多太子出生時，為其看相的阿私陀（Isi Asita）便是一位「仙人」。仙人阿私陀成就了無色禪定，且具足天眼智等神通。當他在三十三天界（Tāvatimsa），見到諸天歡欣雀躍，且以天眼智觀察到空中有很多天人往人間的釋迦國的王城嘎比拉瓦土飛去，便詢問緣由。天人們告知他，菩薩降生了。抵達王城進入王宮，看相的過程中，仙人阿私陀先笑後哭，原因是，為此王子今生將得到的成就而高興，而為自己不久將投生無色天難以聆聽教誨而難過。

當時的仙人們大多致力於成就至上的禪定，且多有成就。後來悉達多太子出家後，也先後跟隨幾位仙人學習過禪定，並一一成就之。然而這些仙人，其知識領域涉及禪定，對緣起法則難以了解。所以他們堅定的認為，他們死後將投生到今生證得的最高層次的禪定對應的梵天界。又恰巧，他們成就的最高禪定都是無色界定，於是他們認為自己死後都必然投生無色界天，成為沒有物質肉體，只有精神的生命體。當然，後來悉達多太子證悟後發現，依據緣起法，縱然成就的最高禪定是無色界定，但依舊可以因為干預緣起法中結生的五要素，而避免投生到無色界天。倘若有強有力的業作為支持，配合以對應善趣的無明、愛、取、行，就可以了。

仙人大致有三種，是以生命形式而分：天人中的仙人、人類婆羅門出身的仙人和剎帝利出身的仙人。欲界天人並非都沉醉於感官之樂的享受，也有離群索居的「欲界天人仙人」；而梵天人則因為遠離諸欲樂不善，多沉浸於禪定，也會有成為仙人的。他們中的一些，其過去生或就是人間的仙人，由於修習禪定成就色界定，而在死後投生梵天界。人間的仙人中，婆羅門種姓的稱為 brahmisi，姑且譯作「梵仙人」，而剎帝利種姓則稱為 rajisi，raja 是指「王」，所以 rajisi 就是「王仙人」。

此處出現的「仙人」二字，並非中國傳統文化中指的神仙，而是指一種出家的修道者。

在此摘錄仙人阿私陀的相關介紹：

Asita. Often called the Buddhist Simeon, though the comparison is not quite correct. He was a sage and the chaplain of Sīhahanu, father of Suddhodana. He was the teacher of the Suddhodana, and later his chaplain. He came morning and evening to see the king, Suddhodana, who showed him as great respect as he had while yet his pupil; this, we are told, is a characteristic of Sākiyan kings.
With the king"s leave, Asita renounced the world and lived in the king"s pleasance. In due course he developed various iddhi powers. Thenceforward he would often spend the day in the deva worlds. Once, while in Tāvatimsa, he saw the whole city decked with splendour and the gods engaged in great rejoicing. On inquiry he learnt that Siddhattha Gotama, destined to become the Buddha, had been born. Immediately he went to Suddhodana"s home and asked to see the babe. From the auspicious marks on its body he knew that it would become the Enlightened One and was greatly overjoyed, but realising that he himself would, by then, be born in an Arūpa world and would not therefore be able to hear the Buddha preach, he wept and was sad. Having reassured the king regarding the babe"s future, Asita sought his sister"s son, Nalaka, and ordained him that he might be ready to benefit by the Buddha"s teaching when the time came. Later Asita was born in the Arūpa world (Sn., pp.131-36; SnA.ii.483ff.; J.i.54f).
According to Buddhaghosa (SnA.ii.483), Asita was so-called because of his dark complexion. He also had a second name, Kanha Devala (SnA.ii.487). Other names for him were Kanha Siri (Sn.v.689), Siri Kanha (SnA.487) and Kāla Devala (J.i.54).

He is evidently to be distinguished from Asita Devala, also called Kāla Devala. The Lalita Vistara has two versions of Asita"s prophecy, one in prose and one in verse, which, in their chief details, differ but slightly from the Pāli version. In the former his nephew is called Naradatta, and Asita himself is represented as being a great sage dwelling in the Himālaya but unknown to Suddhodana.
Here is evidently a confusion of his story with that of Asita Devala. In the Mahāvastu version (ii.30f) he is spoken of as the son of a brahmin of Ujjeni, and he lives in a hermitage in the Vindhyā mountains. It is noteworthy that in the Jātaka version he is called, not an isi, but a tāpasa, an ascetic practising austerities. And there we are told that when the king brought the boy, the future Buddha, and prepared to make him do reverence to the ascetic, the babe"s feet turned up and placed themselves on the ascetic"s head. For there is no one fit to be reverenced by a Bodhisatta, and had they put the babe"s head at the feet of the ascetic, the ascetic"s head would have split into seven pieces.
The tāpasa could see forty kappas into the past and forty kappas into the future. J.i.54-5. See Thomas, op. cit., pp. 38 ff., on the growth of the Asita legend.

這是緬甸當地的隱士，挑的籃子用來盛放信眾供養的物品。平時行走在村裡鄉間，敲打幾下，叮叮噹噹，大家就知道隱士來化緣了（也有部分佛教僧眾外出托缽時派遣小沙彌在前方敲打通知）。

隱士不是佛教出家人，但是持守佛教的八戒。能拿錢，所以來去比持戒嚴謹的佛教僧人更自由（有小部分持戒比較松的佛教僧侶抽煙拿錢吃晚飯）。也有說隱士化緣所得的錢財多用來維護修葺當地的佛教景觀。

雖然不在佛門，但隱士大都修習佛法，止業處均與僧人所學無二。可能是比較喜歡這種無拘無束的生活方式，所以選擇成為隱士。

隱士沒有寺院，很多住在森林裡，遠離人群。有的住山洞，有的有個小屋子，有的像流浪漢一樣搭個小篷子。他們頗受當地人敬重，民間也有不少關於隱士的傳說。

緬甸三大國寶之一的大金石，其由來就與隱士有關。據說佛陀將一根頭髮贈予隱士Taik Tha，隱士將之帶回緬甸，獻給國王。國王將頭髮珍藏於一顆巨大的漂礫下方（傳說由龍王從海中運至山頂），從此便有了Kyaiktiyo大金石。而其上的佛塔有說是之後11世紀緬甸的Tissa王加蓋的。Kyaik在當地孟族人的語言中，意思是「佛塔」，Yo在孟族語中意思是「用頭頂著」（東南亞一帶習慣於用頭頂著物品運送），Ithi在巴利語中意思是「仙人」、「隱士」。Kyaik-Thi-Yo合起來就成了Kyaiktiyo，意思是「隱士頭頂著的佛塔」。

下圖是在大金石半山腰拍的隱士照片，當時非化緣時間。