從《華嚴經》初探印度當時對鑽石與黃金的認識

在《華嚴經》中會以金剛（鑽石）與黃金來做比喻探討修行上的諸多意涵，或以此為描述各類世界的華麗莊嚴，今天也可從這些意涵來回推瞭解當時印度人對這兩種物質的認識。本文整理後發現當時印度已可瞭解鑽石的堅固性、硬度大、妙色莊嚴，不溶于水。如果被吞食將不會被消化，也不會被火燒（這是指一般情況，如果現代工業加熱到3500攝氏度以上，鑽石還是會燃燒）。黃金則有妙色莊嚴的特性，可用火、礬石、硨磲來冶煉，增加光度。從中可見古印度在當時對鑽石與黃金的物理特性之認識都相當多，翻譯進入漢地時如何為人所理解，對工藝是否有幫助，這是接下來的問題。

關鍵字

《華嚴經》；金剛石（鑽石）；黃金；印度

並列摘要

The diamond and gold were often used as a metaphor to express the magnificent meanings of the way to Buddha in Huayan Sutra. And today, we may use these meanings as a clue to infer how the ancient India understood the physical properties of the diamond and gold. After analyze these volumes, it was found that at that time, India could understand the firmness, hardness, wonderful color and solemnity of diamonds, and insoluble in water. It will not be digested if swallowed and not be burned with normal fire. Gold has the characteristics of a wonderful color and solemnity, and can be smelted by fire, gravel, and gong to increase the luminosity. It can be seen that ancient India had a lot of knowledge of the physical properties of these two at that time.