Sisyphus Myth Seen from Buddhist Perspective

Sisyphus myth is the paradigm of a meaningless life with the features of pointlessness and futility. He is condemned to roll a huge stone to the top of a hill in the underworld. Upon reaching the top, the stone immediately rolls down to the bottom and thus he must repeat the labor endlessly. Pathetic as his eternal punishment is, it reflects the fundamental question of life meaning and thus evokes nonstop philosophical discussions and literary interpretations. This study aims to examine this timeless myth through the Buddhist perspective. Sisyphus’ endless task of stone rolling represents a samsaric existence deprived of freedom and autonomy. Yet, there exists the hope of liberation in the bondage of repetitious labor. The contents of this study are divided into two parts. The first part analyzes Sisyphus myth as a manifestation of samsara and karma. The second part provides his predicament with the solution of Zen insight. While Sisyphus myth is generally recognized as a metaphor of existential absurdity, Dharma offers the spiritual remedy to give the seemingly doomed karmic recompense a positive twist.

關鍵字

Sisyphus ； Buddhist ； samsara ； karma ； Zen

並列摘要

西賽佛斯神話凸顯生命之無目的及徒勞無功，是無意義生活的典型。他受詛咒於冥界推巨石上山，到山頂石頭便又滾落原點。此無盡的懲罰雖然悲情，卻反應生命意義的根本問題，在哲學及文學中激盪出無數的省思。本文旨在以佛法的角度，檢視這則亙古的神話。西賽佛斯代表眾生，輪迴於無止盡的勞役中。其生命雖無法自主，但蘊含解脫之可能。本文分二部分。第一部分以佛法之輪迴及業果分析此神話。第二部分探討禪理如何為其困境提供解脫之道。雖然此神話普遍被認為是荒謬的生命隱喻，佛法可提供心靈解藥，扭轉看似命定的惡果，賦予其正向意涵。