禪宗雖然強調覺性與生理性別無關,但禪門史料中對女性禪修者的書寫比起男性禪師所佔比重仍差距懸殊。本文從整理宋代禪門筆記和燈錄中所收錄的女性禪修者,來了解當時宗門內禪修女性的樣貌。宋代禪門筆記和燈錄加起來所收錄的禪修女性共有二十二位,其中女性禪師有十五位,在家女性有七位。相對於燈錄側重於禪師的禪機對話,禪門筆記有更多關於傳主的生平細節描述;將筆記和燈錄做對照,有助於拼湊出更清晰的宋代禪修女性身影。經本文研究可知,相較於唐代禪門女性只是零星出現在燈錄中,作為禪師悟道過程的配角,宋代修禪女性上自後宮,中者官宦世家,下至勞動婦女如俞道婆等,展現超越性別外相的智慧形象,她們多是在生前即已獲得禪師的印可,在燈錄譜系中有明確的傳承法系位置和傳文,可視為對禪修女姓地位的肯定和推進。
Although Zen Buddhism emphasizes that awareness is not related to biological sex, historical sources of the Zen school still show that the number of writings on female Zen practitioners bears a significant difference compared to male Zen masters. This study compiled the Zen sketches and records of the lamp on female practitioners in the Song Dynasty to understand the development of female practitioners in the Zen Buddhism at the time. The Zen sketches and the records of the lamp have a total of 22 meditation women in the Song Dynasty, including 15 female zen master and 7 women practicing at home. In comparison with the records of the lamp, which focused on conversations of Zen wisdom between masters, Zen sketches focused more on the descriptions of the subjects' biographical details. Zen sketches and records of the lamp in the Song Dynasty could help piece together a more clear portrayal of female Zen practitioners in the Song Dynasty. Compared to female Zen practitioners in the Tang Dynasty, who only appeared in the records of the lamp sporadically as minor parts in the Zen masters' process of reaching enlightenment, female Zen practitioners in the Song Dynasty came from different backgrounds, including the imperial harem, political families, and down to working-class women such as Yu Dao Po. Most of them gained the Zen master's recognition before their death, with clear lineage and transmission in the lineage charts of the records of the lamp, showing an image of wisdom beyond gender appearance.