The Role and Significance of Korean Son in the Study of East Asian Buddhism

韓國禪在東亞佛教研究裡的角色與地位

藍卡斯特(Lewis R. Lancaster)

《中華佛學學報》 13期(下) (2000/05) Pp. 300-320

https://doi.org/10.6986/CHBJ.200005.0300

摘要

學界對於韓國禪（Son）的研究，始終不及中國禪（Ch'an）與日本禪（Zen）。這項忽略令人遺憾，因為韓國的禪宗史對於理解東亞佛教發展的全貌非常重要。韓國禪提供了一個檢視八至十世紀中國修行與研究方法的獨特視野。西元784～911 年不斷地有重要的韓國禪師到中國接受訓練。他們回到韓國後，帶回重禪輕經的訊息。這段時間中國佛教迥異前期，793～983年間，沒有任何梵文經典被翻譯成中文，在這段朝廷停止翻譯的特殊時期，韓國法師們被教導不須研究經典。北宋立國後，於984年又開始翻譯，於是情況有了轉變；其後隨著印刷術的發明，書籍的方便保存與傳佈更進一步增加了經典的重要性。十至十三世紀間對翻譯與印刷的新興趣，也反映在韓國法師從中國帶回來的教法裡。在這段時期，韓國法師不再拒絕經典研究，他們轉而尋求禪修與讀經並重之道。但是隨著局勢的轉變，經典研究的情況又有了新的變化。崇儒的李朝（Choson Dynasty）興起後，佛教開始受到壓抑。十五世紀起，朝廷禁止印刷佛書，拒絕佛教傳法，並否認它的學術地位。於是韓國禪宗為了生存，再度回到重禪輕經的傳統教法。這種輕視經典的情況，到了二十世紀佛教重回韓國主流地位後才又轉變。當代佛教對一切僧眾開放教育，經典研究再度受到肯定。從上述對經典研究態度轉變的情況可以看出：韓國禪不僅呈現了中國唐代禪宗的情況；同時也反映出韓國本身社會及政治的變遷。

關鍵字

韓國禪 ； 佛經

並列摘要

The study of Korean Son Buddhism has not been as developed as that directed toward the Ch'an tradition in China or the Zen developments of Japan. This neglect is unfortunate since the history of the Son Buddhists in Korea is essential for an adequate picture of East Asian Buddhism. Korean Son offers us a unique glimpse into the methods of training and study for China in the 8~10th Centuries. From 784~911 a steady stream of important Korean Son masters went to China for training. When they returned to Korea, they brought the message that meditation was primary and textual study secondary. These decades were quite different than the previous history of Buddhism in China. For the years of 798~983, no new translations were made from Sanskrit into Chinese. Thus the rejection of textual study being taught to the Korean masters came at a particular time when work on texts had been suspended by the courts. The situation shifted after the establishment of the Northern Sung and by 984 translations started again. The importance of the texts was further emphasized when the new technology of printing was used to preserve and disseminate copies. From the 10th to the 13th Century the new interest in translating and printing was reflected in the teachings which Korean monks brought back from China. During these centuries, rather than rejecting textual study, Korean monks sought to harmonize textual work with meditation. However, the local situation in Korea once again changed the attitude toward study of texts. When the Confucian based Choson Dynasty came to power, Buddhism was suppressed. By the 15th century the government stopped printing Buddhist books, rejected Buddhism and denied it a place in the world of learning. As a result, Son Buddhism survived by returning to the ancient teaching of focus on meditation rather than text study. This turn against texts has in the 20th Century began to shift once again as the religion regains a primary position in Korean life. In contemporary Buddhism, education is open to all monastics and textual study is once again accepted as important. From this review of the changing attitudes toward textual study, we can see that Korean Son gives us both a view of Chinese Ch'an in the Tang as well as reflecting the social and political changes in Korea itself.

並列關鍵字

Korean Son ； Buddhist Canon

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