《莊子》的死生隱喻與自然變化

Natural Change and Metaphors of Life and Death in the Zhuangzi

《莊子》到處出現死亡場景的描述，如何坦然面對死亡幾乎是一再重複的主旋律，而道家描述其人的基本配備則是「入於不死不生」、「死生無變於己」。若從冥契主義的角度看，體道的身心情狀通常會出現超越死亡的永恆、寧靜、幸福感，而做為冥契體驗的類型之一，《莊子》文獻亦多有類似描述。總之，對《莊子》的死亡議題之探討，將打開道家的終極關懷之詮釋空間。然本文特別指出，《莊子》對死亡的超克並非採取一般宗教式的彼岸追求，尤其是逃避死亡而去尋求永不變動的超越樂園，《莊子》顯然認為必須接納死亡，因為生和死共構為自然變化之整體，肯定變化就必得肯定死亡，然後在「死生一條」、「死生一貫」的整體觀之下，超越「悅生／惡死」的二元論困境。本叉的探討方式，特別從隱喻的描述來考察，一方面分析《莊子》在描述與反省死亡時，採取了那些隱喻，另一方面也從生與死的隱喻中發現它們和「自然變化」這一主題的連結性。總之，本文認為《莊子》透過死、生之多重隱喻，一再讓我們從「自然變化」這一宏觀視域來調整觀照態度，以超脫死亡的桂桔。最役，本文也分析了《莊子》和神話兩種面對死亡的細微而重要之別異。

Death and how to calmly face it is a major theme in the Zhuangzi 莊子. In philosophical Daoism, the Genuine Man (真人zhenren) ”enters where there is no life and no death” and ”is unchanged by life and death. ”Daoism describes mystical experiences of eternity, tranquility and happiness that transcend death, and these are also frequently described in the Zhuangzi. Thus, exploring the subject of death in the Zhuangzi allows us to examine the ultimate concerns of Daoism This study suggests that in the Zhuangz, transcending death neither has religious meaning, nor means escaping death and searching for a permanent paradise The Zhuangzi suggests that it is necessary to accept death, since life and death constitute the whole of natural change; if we accept change then we must accept death. Then taking the holistic view of ”death and life as a single strand 死生一條” enables us to transcend the dualistic difficulty of favoring life/detesting death. This paper analyzes the use of metaphor in the Zhuangzi when describing and pondering death, and identifies the connections between these metaphors and natural change This study suggests that, through its metaphors of life and death, the Zhuangzi adjusts our attitude of contemplation via the macroscopic viewpoint of natural change to break free of death. Finally, the subtle and important differences between the Zhuangzi and myth regarding death are highlighted.