《淨土聖賢錄》的夢研究

The Study of Dreams in The Record of Pure Land Saints

傅楠梓(Nan-Tzu Fu)

《玄奘佛學研究》 15期 (2011/03) Pp. 199-245

https://doi.org/10.29955/HCJBS.201103.0006

摘要

彭希涑編撰的《淨土聖賢錄》九卷，是一部歷代往生聖者的傳記總集，記錄了淨土行者由凡入聖的歷程，著重往生事件的描寫，展現淨土行者的生命精神。爲了證明淨土實有，真實不虛；念佛修淨，必生西方，本錄描述了許多行者神祕的宗教體驗，以突顯信仰的真實靈驗。其中有不少篇章，採用夢的形式來表現靈應經驗，共有一百二十個之多，足見夢是往生傳記的重要情節之一。因此本文即以《淨土聖賢錄》的夢境情節爲討論範圍，依傳中夢的內容予以歸類，考察夢境如何呈現，以及宗教體驗之於淨土行者的影響與意義。 《淨土聖賢錄》的夢是多樣的，有胎夢，有見佛與聖眾、淨土的夢，見佛來迎的夢，遊淨土、遊冥界的夢，還有往生者示現、預知時至、見往生瑞相的夢。做夢者有傳主，也有親人朋友，乃至陌生人，甚至有多人同做一夢的盛況。傳中的夢多爲祥瑞徵兆，預示或印證傳主修行有成，當來往生爲淨土聖賢；或是藉由夢境來引導信眾修行，勸信眾生。夢境是實相的揭露，佛菩薩的願力顯現，夢中情節延伸至夢外，又有眾人共見共證，一方面強調神聖體驗的真實，也強調深刻信心、專一誠敬的必要。

關鍵字

淨土 ； 夢 ； 往生傳 ； 宗教經驗

並列摘要

Peng Hsi-Su wrote nine volumes of The Record of Pure Land Saints, which is a collection of biographies about various Pure Land sages from all the past dynasties. It records the progress of how these practitioners journey from mortal life to sacred realm, emphasizes the descriptions of their rebirth, and demonstrates the life spirits of these voyagers of the Pure Land. In order to prove that the Pure Land does exist, that it is real, that by being mindful of the Buddha and cultivating pure religious practices, one shall be reborn in the western realm of the Buddha, The Record describes many mystical religious experiences of Pure Land practitioners so as to prove the genuineness and efficaciousness of their practices. Among all descriptions of these miraculous experiences, we can find that many of them are represented with the form of dreams. There are all together 120 such passages in The Record; hence, it can be said that the dream is an important scenario in the biography. Therefore, in this paper I shall focus on presentations of dreams in The Record of Pure Land Saints, classify them according to their contents, investigate how dreams are represented, and study the influence and significance of religious experiences for the Pure Land practitioners.
There are various kinds of dreams in The Record of Pure Land Saints, such as embryo dreams, dreams where practitioners see the Buddha and sages, dreams with visions of the Pure Land, dreams where the Buddha greets and welcomes the practitioners, dreams about journeys in the Pure Land, and journeys through the underworld. There are also dreams where those who are reborn in the Pure Land reveal themselves, predicting the time of their rebirth, and dreams with auspicious signs about the rebirth. The dreamers include the sages, their relatives, friends and even strangers; and there are even records of many people having the same dream. Most of the dreams in The Record are dreams with auspicious signs indicating or verifying that the deceased biographees have been so well-cultivated that they shall be reborn as sages in the Pure Land. Dreams in The Record may also be used to guide the practices of religious followers and strengthen their faith. Dreams are disclosures of authentic reality and manifestations of the great vows of the Buddha and Bodhisattva. The scenario in the dreams is extended to the waking life and verified with joint testimonies of the assembly. Dreams in The Record not only highlight the validity of the practitioners' sacred religious experiences, but also emphasize the necessity of profound faith and single-minded sincerity.

並列關鍵字

pure land ； dream ； Pure Land Buddhist biography ； religious experiences

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