《佛說無常經》的傳譯與喪葬禮儀

本文在處理《無常經》的傳譯與喪葬禮儀。唐武后大足元年九月二十三日，義淨在洛陽大福先寺譯出《無常經》後，不久即傳入日、韓，隨後並有注疏之作，成為東亞佛教的一部送葬經典。全經旨在論說「老、病、死」之無常與不可避免，這與南傳《相應部‧蘊品》中的《無常經》、《苦經》、《無我經》是雷同的。試觀史實，佛陀之所以傳授《無常經》，旨在教導弟子及時人，若遇生死大事，儘管放下此身，積極精進，清淨修行，一心不輟，勿執著於世俗的邪見或喪葬儀式。然佛陀般涅槃後，弟子們較側重於《無常經》的諷誦儀式，儀式化遂變成定律。二世紀中葉，馬鳴將送葬儀式稍作調整，改成寺僧每日「讚歎三尊」→「諷誦本經」→「迴向發願」的「三啟」儀制，這已由小乘進入大乘，由一般喪葬變成大乘修行。《無常經》被譯入中土，很快的與中國傳統厚葬禮儀合一，喪禮遂蛻變成經懺法事，漸失本來面貌，真正認識《無常經》義理的人，寥寥無幾。在二十一世紀的民主時代，國人宜對它作正確的認識與理解，調整傳統的厚葬禮儀與經懺法事，在生命的緣起歷程中體念無常無我之理，依教奉行為是。

關鍵字

無常經；喪葬禮儀；經懺法事；三啟；義淨

並列摘要

This article deals with the Chinese translation of the Sutra of Impermanence (Foshuo wuchang jing 佛說無常經) and its relation to funeral rituals. Yijing translated this sutra on the 23rd day of the 9th month of 701 (during the reign of Empress Wu of the Tang Dynasty) at Dafuxian Monastery in Luoyang. Soon after, it was transmitted to Japan and Korea, where new commentaries were written. It also became a scripture for Buddhist funeral processions in East Asia. The sutra discusses impermanence and the inevitability of aging, illness, and death. It is very similar to Anicca-sutta, Dukkha-sutta, and Anatta-sutta found in the Samyuttanikaya of the Pali canon. Thus there is no doubt about the historical authenticity of the Sutra of Impermanence, which carries the message to the Buddha's disciples and people of the time that when facing significant occasions such as birth and death, they should not hesitate to put aside their bodies, go forward with energy, and practice Buddhist rules peacefully and wholeheartedly, and should not indulge in evil thoughts or funeral rituals. However, after the nirvana of Buddha, his disciples laid emphasis on the chanting ritual of the Sutra of Impermanence, thus altering the ritual into a law. In the mid-second century, Bodhisattva Aśvaghosa slightly altered the funeral rituals and changed them into a ritual system of ＂three awakenings＂: ＂praising the Buddhas in three worlds,＂＂chanting the principal sutra,＂ and ＂merit-dedication and vow-making＂ by monks in the monastery every day. At this time, Hinayana had advanced to Mahayana and the common funeral rituals had become a form of Mahayana cultivation. After the Sutra of Impermanence was translated and brought into China, it quickly merged with the Chinese traditional solemn funeral rituals, and funerals became highly ritualized Buddhist ceremonies, gradually losing their original features. There are now very few people who genuinely understand the doctrine of the Sutra of Impermanence. In this democratic age of the 21 st century, we should understand it correctly, make adjustments in the traditional funeral rituals and Buddhist funeral rituals and, in the course of the conditioned origination of life, perceive the principles of impermanence and selflessness and act accordingly.