梵天、梵書與梵音：道教靈寶經典中的「梵」觀念

本文從佛道借用轉化的觀點，探討道教經典中「梵」觀念的運用。首先從江南佛教翻譯材料為基礎來檢視「梵」字的使用，觀察在佛教翻譯典籍之中，與「梵」字相關的詞彙所包含的層面，審視「梵」字在佛教文獻當中所包羅的各種不同意函，並進而研究道教經典對「梵」觀念的借用與轉化。從早期佛教翻譯典籍中可看出，「梵」是Brahma的音譯，但是「梵」字很少單獨出現，更多的是與梵字相連結的各種詞彙，這些詞彙各有著不同層面的意義，從天界名相到宗教倫理與修行等諸層面，而「梵」字也因為與其相接的字辭而在內涵上有所不同。江南地區這段時期的佛教翻譯作品對中國宗教經典乃至思想、文學有著深刻的影響，其中與佛教密切相關的靈寶經典更融合了許多佛教術語及觀念。元始系靈寶經大量援用了「梵」的概念，並進而對「梵」觀念進行不同的運用與轉化，尤其是以《元始無量度人上品妙經》為核心的相關經典中對佛教文獻中「梵」觀念的借用，可以看出靈寶經的作者們對「梵」作了某種程度的置換與轉化。這種借用大致可分為作為宇宙天界領域的「梵天」、作為神聖書體的「梵書」以及作為神聖音韻與唱誦的「梵音」等三個部分，這三個層面皆可見之於《元始無量度人上品妙經》以及相關連的靈寶經典之中，並對這三層面的「梵」概念作了轉化並加以重新塑造，例如從佛教與「梵」相關的天界名相當中，靈寶經典提煉出「梵炁」的觀念，成為道的具體化，並成為萬範開張的基礎。透過這種置換以符合道教整體思維，使之看起來像是一個符合流行的新名相與新概念，但在內涵上卻是中國人所熟悉，並透過這種具佛教味道的新詞彙，使靈寶經典看來似乎能融通包攝佛教，並因此吸收更廣的信徒。本文最後探討唐代的《洞玄靈寶度人經大梵隱語疏義》，並分析唐代道教文獻對以上種種「梵」觀念的理解。

關鍵字

梵；梵炁；靈寶經；度人經；道教

並列摘要

This paper focuses on the study of the concept of fan 梵 in the Daoist Ling-bao scriptures of the fifth century. The concept of fan in Ling-bao scriptures was borrowed from translated Buddhist scriptures in the 2(superscript nd)-3(superscript rd) centuries. In Chinese Buddhist literature, the word fan has various meanings, depending on the context. The word was derived from the name ”Brahma,” and was used to refer to celestial heavens, celestial scripts or certain religious practices. During the period of the 4(superscript th)-5(superscript th) century, Buddhism had already been popular among the gentry and the aristocracy of Southern China. Certain terms and notions of Buddhism had impact on Chinese culture and literature. The authors of Ling-bao scriptures not only adopted the idea of fan from the Buddhist contexts, but also modified the concept in order to construct a new model of cosmology. The discussion of the concept of fan in Ling-bao scriptures in this paper will focus on three issues: the Brahma heaven in cosmology, the Brahma script in celestial writing and the sound of Brahma in ritual chanting. For example, according to the Ling-bao tradition, ”Brahman Qi” refers to the ”primal pneuma” which swirled in undifferentiation before the separation of Yin and Yang. In this context, the Brahma was not created by celestial beings but generated spontaneously at the time of cosmogenesis. This research will explore these three issues and explain how the authors of Ling-bao scriptures transformed and reinterpreted the notion in order to constitute a new model of textual exegesis. In this manner, they created a broader and superior worldview, which integrated Buddhist and Chinese elements. This borrowing and transformation of the notion ”Brahma” eventually served its purpose, integrated a new concept into the Daoist context, and attracted more followers.