劉智《天方性理》對宗教“他者”的建構

本論文的主要問題意識發端於對奧托將神視為「全然他者」之論述的反思，認為其理論要跨越東、西方宗教經驗的鴻溝有其困難，反而是彰顯了亞伯拉罕一神教傳統的獨特性，故要發展比較宗教研究的理論架構，恐怕需要更為辯證性的思維。這個想法引導筆者去探討中國伊斯蘭傳統，去思考東、西方兩種不同神觀會通的可能性。劉智足堪為前無古人的跨宗教傳統的代表性思想家，本文企圖以此一具體的歷史範例來發掘比較宗教與宗教對話的新基礎。本論文第一節先以《古蘭經》的神觀來印證奧托的理論，並作為詮釋劉智思想的宗教背景；第二節則簡述劉智的生平與學術背景，特別強調其經堂教育及蘇非思想的要素；第三節討論《天方性理》的「真一」論，強調劉智同時包含了神人二元論及一元論的內容，其分別淵源於伊斯蘭傳統的兩種神學觀點：遜尼派正統信條及蘇非密契主義，主要是後者使劉智得以將伊斯蘭教和中國三教思想做比較與會通；第四節討論《天方性理》的先知形上學，由於先知的「至聖性」之本體論位階，使其成為神人交會之總樞紐，人類通往救贖之道的最高典範。

關鍵字

全然他者；亞伯拉罕一神教；古蘭經；真一；至聖性

並列摘要

The main theme of this article arises from a critical reflection on Rudolf Otto's discourse of God as the ”wholly Other.” Otto's idea, instead of developing a theoretical framework of bridging the gap between the Western and Eastern religions, illuminates the uniqueness of the Abrahamic monotheism. It requires a more dialectical way of thinking to develop such a comparative framework. This reflection leads the author to investigate the Chinese Muslim tradition in order to open another possibility to compare between the Western and Eastern ideas of divinity. Liu Zhi (1660?-1730?), the most prolific Chinese Muslim scholar in the Ming-Qing era, is an unprecedented cross-traditional thinker. His works provide the rich sources to search for the new ground of both the study of comparative religion and inter-faith dialogue. The first section quotes from the Qur‘ān to illustrate Otto's ”wholly Other” and to base Liu Zhi's philosophy upon the Islamic tradition; the second describes Liu's life and intellectual background, in which the Jingtang education and Sufism are emphasized; the third elaborates the ”True One” in Liu's Tianfang Xingli (The Islamic Philosophy of Nature and Principle) and traces the two views of divinity in Liu's work, dualism and holism, toward the two intellectual traditions of Islam, Sunni theology and Sufi mysticism; the latter plays a significant role for Liu to develop a theoretical framework of comparing Islam and the three Chinese teachings; the last discusses the metaphysical implication of prophethood in Tianfang Xingli and how the Prophet Muhammad owns the ”Ultimate Sainthood” which stands at the intermediate position between the sacred and the secular, the Creator and the created world, and would be the perfect model for humankind to achieve redemption.