莊子生死觀之現代詮釋

Modern Interpretation of Chung Tzu’s View of‘Life and Death’

廖怡嘉(Yi-Chia Liao)

指導教授 ： 高柏園

共同指導教授 ： 連清吉(Qin-gji Lian)

淡江大學/文學院/中國文學系碩士班/碩士(2010年)

https://doi.org/10.6846/TKU.2010.00517

摘要

莊子是先秦諸子中，首先重視死生問題的哲人，並提出對死生整體觀照的論述。他並非解釋何謂死，何謂生，而是就我們該如何面對生死的態度上，說明什麼是順乎自然的面對方式，並且提出如何學習面對死亡。莊子以變化來說「道」，而未經工夫修養的常人，只停留在「悅生惡死」的層面。真人面對生死的態度，是能夠超越、克服一般人對死亡的畏懼，而達到「不死不生」的境界。死生問題在莊子，不只是自然變化的現象，他是考驗我們是否能夠化解自己的成心、成見，從容地投身變化的關鍵。
莊子透過「心齋」、「坐忘」地解消二分，從分別、執著中回到整體的關照。整體觀照我們的生命，不只是眼前的活著，同時必定包含未來的死，而活著也就是死著。因為感受到瀕死的迫切性，所以我們必須在沉淪(常人)與覺醒(真人)中，作出抉擇。海德格說我們每個人都是「向死亡存在」，而且是活在時間之流當中，充滿了變化與可能性。如何開展我們的可能性，如何詮釋自己究竟「是」什麼？就在於是否能夠願有決斷、願有良知，聆聽存在的召喚。如同莊子說「聽之以氣」，放下自己的心知與欲求，完全讓事物進入我的生命，接納它並且承擔它，如同接納死亡並且願意放下一切。
在莊子，死生是生命最無可奈何的事，而海德格卻說：死是最本己的。因為面對死亡來臨，我們都必須要回應它。而選擇哪一種方式、態度，就決定於平常我們是否承擔自身的存在，是否能夠朝著真人的境界，努力修養並轉化自己，使自己不再如常人般畏懼死亡，而能無畏地投入它。

關鍵字

莊子 ； 生死 ； 物化 ； 坐忘 ； 心齋 ； 向死存在

並列摘要

Among the philosophers in the pre-Qin period , Chung Tzu is the pioneer who acknowledges the importance of death and discusses the recognition of death with profound depth and comprehensive spectrum. Instead of focusing on providing definitions or meanings for life and death, he encourages people to face the death with alternative attitudes and suggests the possible ways to confront it. Furthermore, he proposes that the learning of death is essential.
Chung Tzu begins with the explanation of the uncontrolled nature of infinite and continuous changes of Being (Dao,道), and ‘to embrace life and reject death’ is the common belief of what the ordinary human beings hold. On contrary, people who have cultivated themselves to an ultimate level (真人) have transcended fear and anxiety from death, and eventually achieve the state that accepting death and life equally coexisted, that these are both parts of the constantly changing phenomenon. For Chung Tzu, the fact of death is further elaborated as a challenge for people whether one can discard the ego and the attachments which grow from the self-centered realm; therefore it is regarded as a key to embrace life freely in the ever changing world.
Through cultivating in mindful awareness(xin xhai, 心齋) and ‘practice of detachment’ (zuo wang, 坐忘), one can therefore regain holistic mindfulness from attachments and judgments. The concept of holistic mindfulness consists not only the present moments but also the expected moments of death in the future. Existence of beings means recognition both life and death. Because of the urge and inevitability of dying, one needs to make decision between falling or being enlightened. “Being-toward-death” expressed by Heidegger, is reaffirm the active involvement with death in the existence of time, it is full of possibilities and opportunities in transformations for each individual. Nevertheless, it predominately depends on if one is willing to make determination on following conscience and respond to the calling from Beings. Chung Tzu reminds “to listen to constantly changing (Chi,氣)”, one can let everything take place in life without making judgments with learned knowledge, accordingly acceptance and being responsible are made possible as death is invited to be part of beings.
While Chung Tzu views death is likely the most unforeseen event, Heidegger articulates “death is beings’ ownmost”. Death defines the uniqueness of each individual. Because of the inevitability of death, it allows the anticipation of death by acknowledging the anxiety and taking responsibility for one’s existence, and willing to commit to daily cultivation towards the ultimate level that death then causes no threatening.

並列關鍵字

Chung Tzu(莊子) ； life and death(生死) ； wu hua(物化) ； zuo wang(坐忘) ； xin xhai(心齋) ； being-toward-death (向死存在)

參考文獻

鄭鈞瑋：《《莊子》生死觀研究》，臺灣大學哲學系碩士論文，2004年。

余德慧等著：《臨終心理與陪伴研究》（台北：心靈工坊，2006年6月）

許鶴齡：〈禪道生死之鏡－從哲學諮商方法淺談惠能與莊子之生死觀〉，《哲學論集》第三十八期（2005年7月），頁45~86。

王邦雄：〈《莊子》心齋「氣」觀念的詮釋問題〉，《淡江中文學報》第十四期(2006年6月)，頁15~31。

曾瓊瑤：〈試析莊子論「忘」的多重義蘊〉，《鵝湖月刊》第三十三卷第七期（2008年1月），頁16~26。