Language and Logic in the Lotus Sutra: A Hermeneutical Exploration of Philosophical Underpinnings

許多世紀以來，《法華經》在眾多佛教文獻中一直被譽為是最具影響力的作品之一。在最常被被閱讀與念誦的經典當中，它一直是世界各地佛教徒日常修行的焦點。但是，它的哲學深度大家又真正瞭解了多少呢？經義是否在一片反覆讀誦的熱情中被清楚掌握了呢？抑或是大家根本就誤解了《法華經》的形式與內涵了呢？要回答這些問題，本文嘗試以詮釋學的角度來探索《法華經》。筆者認為此經的作者或作者們對原始佛教思想做出了「批判的繼承與創造的發展」，這是五階段的「創造性詮釋學」（Creative Hermeneutics）任務。為了證成上述觀點，試分別論述：(1)《法華經》在佛教哲學中的地位；(2)「創造性詮釋學」與原始佛教：階段一～三；(3)作為「創造性詮釋學」作品的《法華經》：階段四與五；(4)無相、空、無願「三門」（Three Gates）的邏輯；(5)《法華經》之外的佛教。

關鍵字

創造性詮釋學；《法華經》；語言；邏輯；方便

並列摘要

Over many centuries, the Lotus Sutra has been hailed as one of the most seminal texts in the voluminous catalogue of Buddhist literature. Among the most read and most frequently recited of all the Sutras, it is the focus of daily practice for Buddhists around the world. Yet how much of its philosophical profundity is truly understood? Is the message of the text being heard clearly amid the fervor of prosaic study and rote chanting? Or has there been a fundamental misapprehension of both the form and content of the Lotus Sutra? To answer these questions, the following discussion adopts a hermeneutical approach to the Lotus Sutra. I suggest that the author or authors of the Lotus Sutra set themselves the fifth stage task of Creative Hermeneutics in ＂critically inheriting and creatively developing＂ the message of primal Buddhism. To justify that claim our ensuing discussion addresses (I) the place of the Lotus Sutra within Buddhist philosophy; (II) Creative Hermeneutics and primal Buddhism: stages 1 through 3; (III) the Lotus Sutra as a work of Creative Hermeneutics: stages 4 and 5; (IV) the logic of the Three Gates, and (V) Buddhism beyond the Lotus Sutra.