無情説法誰人説──禪宗無情教義文本的作者、敘述者、讀者與解讀機制

Who Preaches the Dharma Preached by Insentient Beings?: Understanding the Author, Narrator, Reader, and Mechanisms within Texts Pertaining to the Doctrine of Insentient Beings According to Chan Buddhism

從敦煌文獻的重新發現以來，吾人可以發現歷史文獻學進路的禪宗研究，對於追尋文本的真實「作者」有著相當的熱情，比方《壇經》與六祖慧能之間的文獻考據問題。然而，卻鮮少人去考察「作者」在禪宗文本中到底是何種概念，相關的問題包括「作者」為何重要、「作者」與文本的關係、「作者」與知識權威的關聯等等。實則，若考察從八到十二世紀禪宗的代表性文本，如《楞伽師資記》、《絕觀論》、《祖堂集》、《景德傳燈錄》與《碧巖錄》，就可以發現背後關涉了「作者」所扮演的角色、知識權威的象徵、文本意義的生成與閱讀機制等等議題，並在禪宗發展的不同階段中有著微妙的變化。並且，這些既是禪宗文本在解讀上的方法論議題，亦是禪修者的修道論與詮釋學問題－這不僅牽涉到作為讀者的古代禪門弟子如何看待這些文本，以及如何藉著這些文本參悟某種悟境，其實也關乎同時是讀者的研究者（亦即吾人），要如何處理自身與這些禪宗文本間的關係。而在上述文獻中都曾顯露蹤影的「無情教義」－本文對草木、瓦石等無情物具有佛性、可成佛（或已經成佛）或可以說法等三個概念的總稱，其內容、形式、旨趣以及不同的展演方式，提供了一個可參考的線索。

Since the finding of the Dunhuang 敦煌 Buddhist manuscripts, scholars have been enthusiastically attempting to discover the real ''author'' of the text, exemplified by philological questions concerning the Platform Sutra 壇經 and Huineng 慧能, regarded as the Sixth Patriarch of Chan lineage. Very few people, however, have tried to investigate the concept of ''author'' within the contexts of Chan Buddhist writings, such as why and/or how is the ''author'' important? Or, what is the relevance between ''author,'' text, and authority of knowledge? In fact, we are able to discover the role of the ''author,'' symbols of authority of knowledge, the production of textual meanings, mechanisms of reading and understanding, and other related matters as well as subtle shifts in the different stages of developments in Chan Buddhism by deciphering representative Chan Buddhist texts from the 8^(th) to 12^(th) century: the Record of the Masters and Disciples of the Lankāvatāra Sūtra 楞伽師資記, Treatise on the Transcendence of Cognition 絕觀論, Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall 祖堂集, Record of the Transmission of the Lamp [Compiled During the] Jingde [Period] 景德傳燈錄, and Blue-Cliff Record 碧巖錄. Moreover, these are not merely methodological issues, but are also directly related to the monasticism of Chan Buddhist practitioners and hermeneutics. They specifically concern how ancient Chan Buddhist disciples read these texts and derived significance or even enlightenment therefrom, as well as how researchers-namely ourselves-deal with the relationship between us as reader and the text. The above texts also reveal traces of the ''doctrine of insentient beings,'' a term which I use to refer to three specific notions: the possession of Buddha-nature by insentient beings, being able to reach Buddhahood, and being capable of preaching Dharma. Finally, the content, form, and manner of display or performance of the ''doctrine of insentient beings'' as well as Chan Buddhist texts provide the clues to better explore the above issues.