Where is the Human Realm? An Examination of Ven. Taixu's 太虛大師 Concept of Renjian 人間 in his Pure Land Writings

人間在哪裡？對於太虛大師在淨土文章中人間概念的考察

周文廣(Charles B. Jones)

《無礙法界．正教弘傳：人間佛教在東亞與東南亞的傳佈》 2020年 (2020/04) Pp. 632-645

摘要

Ven. Taixu ( 太虛大師, 1890~ 1947) is justly credited with initiating the idea of the modern Buddhist movement called renjian fojiao 人間佛教, variously known in English as ＂Humanistic Buddhism,＂ ＂Engaged Buddhism,＂ ＂Earthly Buddhism,＂ and ＂Buddhism for the Human Realm.＂ Scholars and followers of this movement generally understand this as a movement which emphasizes the present life. It seeks to motivate Buddhists to take actions that will promote social welfare and human flourishing while discouraging an excessive ＂other-worldliness＂ (chushi 出世). In other words, Buddhists should strive to improve life here and now and not focus their attention on the afterlife or on other worlds. While Taixu's writings do indeed contain such calls to action, a closer examination of his works dealing with the creation of the ＂Pure Land in the Human Realm＂ (renjian jingtu 人間淨土) reveals his concept of the ＂human realm＂ to be far more complex than this. In addition to calling for concrete actions to educate and uplift people in society, he acknowledges the ongoing reality of death and advises practices aimed at a better afterlife. In addition, in defining the ＂human realm＂ he relies on traditional Buddhist cosmology more than is generally acknowledged. For example, the Buddhist scriptures say that human beings, as one of the six paths of rebirth, are found not only on planet Earth but also in the northern continent of Uttarakuru and in the Pure Land of Amitābha. Thus, translations such as ＂Earthly Pure Land＂ fail to capture his full meaning, and modern interpretations of his ideas on Humanistic Buddhism imagine him as more of a modernizer than he actually is. This paper will look to Taixu's major statement on the Pure Land in the Human Realm, the essay ＂On the Establishment of the Pure Land in the Human Realm＂ (＂Jiànshè rénjiān jìngtǔ lùn ＂ 建設人間淨土論 ) as well as other writings on Pure Land to present the full complexity of Taixu's thought. It will argue that he is more of a transitional figure and less a fully-committed modernizer than has been recognized.

關鍵字

Taixu ； Humanistic Buddhism ； Pure Land ； Human Realm

並列摘要

太虛大師（1890～1947）被譽為現代佛教運動中「人間佛教」思想的發起人，此思想的英文翻譯分別為「人間佛教」（Humanistic Buddhism）、「入世佛教」（Engaged Buddhism）、「地球佛教」（Earthly Buddhism）和「人生佛教」（Buddhism for the Human Realm）。學者和這場運動的追隨者普遍認為這是一場強調當下生活的運動。它旨在鼓勵佛教徒採取行動，提升社會福利及增進人類繁榮，同時阻止過度的「出世」，換言之，佛教徒應該努力改善當下的生活，而不是把注意力集中在來世或其他世界上。太虛大師的著作中確實提出這樣的行動號召，但當仔細研究他有關「人間淨土」的創造的作品時，可以發現他對「人間」的理解遠比這複雜得多。除了呼籲採取具體的行動來教育和振奮社會人士，他還承認死亡是現實進程的一環，並就旨在改善來世的修行提供建議。此外，在界定「人間」概念時，他更多地借鑒傳統的佛教宇宙學，而不是人們普遍公認的宇宙學。例如，佛經上提到居於六道輪迴之一的人類，不僅被發現存在於地球上，北俱盧洲（Uttarakuru）北部和阿彌陀佛淨土（Pure Land of Amitābha）上都發現其存在。因此，諸如「地球上的淨土」（Earthly Pure Land）之類的翻譯，未能充分體現他的思想內涵，而現代對其人間佛教思想的解讀，則把他想像成一個比他實際上更現代化的人。本文將以太虛大師對人間淨土的主要論述———《建設人間淨土論》一文，以及其他有關淨土的著作，來呈現太虛大師思想的複雜性。本文將論述他更是一位過渡性的人物，而不是公認的現代主義者。

並列關鍵字

太虛大師 ； 人間佛教 ； 淨土 ； 人間