試由民俗異變及儒者之排拒重勘漢地佛教「七七」

＂Seven Sevenths＂ in Han Buddhist Funeral: Analyzing the Variations in Common Funeral Practices and the Resistances from the Confucians

彭美玲(Peng, Mei-Ling)

《臺大中文學報》 64期 (2019/03) Pp. 1-54

https://doi.org/10.6281/NTUCL.201903_(64).0001

摘要

佛教倡言新死者處於「中陰」狀態，四十九日內各依願力或業力轉世超生，「做七」則有助亡者滅罪增福，往生淨土。南北朝時，中土已採行「七七」、「百日」，在廣大民間日益替代儒家古禮「虞祭」、「卒哭」，為世俗家人之禮注入出世宗教儀文，改易三年之喪的變除時程與禮俗面貌。尤有甚者，佛教七七蘊含十方法界、輪迴轉世、因果業報及地獄罪罰諸說，展現死後救贖的精神淘洗過程，適足以安頓、處理儒家存而不論的死亡課題，促使中國喪禮文化產生根本性的變革。唐宋以來，民家「治喪用浮屠」，儒者反之，兩者形成鮮明對比。民俗做七往往因人情世故衍生流弊，諸如破財侈費、多焚楮幣明器、濫用歌樂酒肉、人事雜沓、男女混處等；相對則是儒者批判地獄救贖說，反對做七、火葬等「夷狄之法」。而實質上，佛教七七堪為因應死亡事件的重要危機處理，透過宗教儀軌，借助神佛加持，期於死生課題上獲致轉化、超越、提昇。本文分節探討：一、儒禮「虞祭」日益為佛教「七七」替代；二、民家「治喪用浮屠」衍生「七七」異變；三、儒者「治喪不用浮屠」對「七七」有所依違論難；四、就今見佛門儀軌重勘「七七」禮意，期望為傳統喪禮尋求適當的折衷平衡之道。

關鍵字

佛教 ； 喪禮 ； 做七 ； 儒者 ； 民俗

並列摘要

＂Seven Sevenths＂ in Han Buddhism is to benefit and bless those who newly passed on and are stuck in limbo. It is believed that they go through a transition every seven days, and reincarnate within 49 days to other worlds suitable for their karma or level of consciousness. With the offering and effort of ＂doing the Sevenths,＂ the dead will go to a better place. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, ＂Seven Sevenths＂ and ＂Hundredth Day＂ turned into common practices, increasingly replacing ancient Confucian rites Yu Ji (虞祭, a funeral ritual of requiescat) and Zu Ku (卒哭, a funeral ritual that abolishes untimed crying). As the result, these new rites greatly changed the Chinese ancient funeral that usually lasted three years and thus brought spiritual and religious ceremonies into ordinary family rituals. Most importantly, through ＂Seven Sevenths,＂ the Buddhist theories such as ＂ten dharma-worlds,＂ reincarnation, cause and effect, retribution, and punishment in hell, teach the process of soul purifying through postmortem redemption. This is vastly different from Confucian's silence on the topics of death. In this way, Buddhism fundamentally changed ancient Chinese funeral practice. Since the Tang and the Song Dynasties, there is apparent contrast between traditional Confucians and commoners in their funeral practice. Most of ordinary families do the Sevenths in funeral but lose the seriousness of religious ceremony. On the contrary, traditional Confucians regard Buddhist funeral and cremation as foreign and barbaric. Secularization, socialization and entertainment are integrated into the common rites, while traditional Confucians insist and preserve the old rites. In fact, ＂Seven Sevenths＂ are similar to the daily recitation rituals routine in Buddhist temple, especially the evening ritual. By means of ＂doing the Sevenths,＂ the soul can be saved and purified in order to reach peaceful and immense Buddha land. For the living, the series of rituals also serve to heal the pain and shock of great loss during the very difficult time. To sum up, this article discusses about the following topics: 1. Confucius ancient funeral Yu Ji is increasingly replaced by Buddhist ＂Seven Sevenths＂ as common practice. 2. Over time, ＂Seven Sevenths＂ diverts from a serious religious ritual, turning into events with social and entertaining functions. 3. Some Confucians resist the new rites, while some are more tolerant towards them. 4. Elements of ＂Seven Sevenths＂ are similar to the daily recitation rituals routine in Buddhist temple. With the above discussion, this article aims to shed some light on the evolution of Chinese traditional funeral rites, especially concerning about Confucianism, Buddhism, and folklore. It would provide implications for ritual practice and further studies.

並列關鍵字

Buddhism ； funeral ； doing the Sevenths ； Confucian ； folklore

參考文獻

彭美玲：〈凶事禮哭──中國古代儒式喪禮中的哭泣儀式及後世的傳承演變〉，《成大中文學報》第39期（2012年12月）。

彭美玲：〈立主與懸影──中國傳統家祭祀先象神樣式之源流抉探〉，《臺大中文學報》第51期（2015年12月）。

莊明興：《中國中古的地藏信仰》，臺北：臺灣大學出版委員會，1999年。