關於禪宗牧牛圖的兩個問題──從《增一阿含經》〈牧牛品〉說起

《增一阿含經》之〈牧牛品〉與《遺教經》，主在教人如何對治六根或五根，所牧之牛，即是指六根、或五根；而宋、明以來之禪宗牧牛圖頌所根據之經典，是《遺教經》，本經只教人修五根，所牧之牛即是五根，但宋、明之禪師所對治者都是六根，所牧之牛即是六根，之所以有如此之錯置，其原因可能是禪宗不重經卷而重師承，所以佛陀之《遺教經》更能受到禪宗的重視。其次、宋代禪師之牧牛圖頌，特重行菩薩道；而明後代之禪師之牧牛圖頌只重禪思、禪行與禪證，可惜終至流於文彩爭妍。此一現象應是與宋、明理學、禪宗之發展與興衰是息息相關的。

關鍵字

牧牛圖；《佛說放牛經》；《增一阿含經》；袾宏；普明；雲菴

並列摘要

The ＂Ox-herding＂ chapter in the Ekottara Agama as well as the Yijiao jing 遺教經 both teach people how to deal with the five or six sense bases. In this context, the ox represents the sense bases. The Chan school's ox-herding pictures of the Song dynasty are derived from the Yijiao jing, which provides instruction in the practice of the five bases. However, the Chan masters in the Song and Ming were concerned with dealing with all six bases. The reason for this difference may be found in the fact that the Chan school values lineage [and sutras] over Chan texts, and so likewise the Yijiao jing received more attention. The ox-herding verses of the Song dynasty emphasize practice on the bodhisattva-path. But beginning in the Ming dynasty, ox-herding verses written by Chan masters only valued Chan thought, Chan practice, and Chan attainments. In the end, however, this degenerated to the point where they simply tried to outdo one another in literary flourish. This phenomenon may be related to Song and Ming Neo-Confucianism and the Chan school's development, rise, and decline.