文學課程中的生命教育－從白先勇〈永遠的尹雪艷〉談「觀無常」   全文下載

The Life Education in Literature Courses: A Di scour se on the Per spect ive of Impermanence from “Forever Yin Xue- Yan” by Pai Hsien-Yung

目前在臺灣的「大學中文閱讀與書寫」課程之教學現場，早已開始探索如何以「生命教育」為核心來展開文學的教學活動，盼能使文學與學生生命對話，以貼近學生的價值探索、情感自覺、終極關懷等人生重要課題。在這樣的情況下，身為一位大學中文教師，所應思考的便是：如何透過文學與生命哲學的融會，以使學生能由文學中感受生命的課題，由生命哲學中探尋人生的方向。於是，筆者結合了「文學導讀」與「佛學智慧」的論述方向，以為本文的詮釋主軸。
本文首先論述：「文學作為指向覺醒的途徑與觸媒之可能」，來說明小說能成為認識生命、了知自心的管道，並與佛法「了知自心」的教學目的相應，且說明「以白先勇小說為啟思生命教育之原由」，探討白先勇小說中的主題與生命教育主題相互的呼應與連結。其次，以〈永遠的尹雪艷〉作為文學生命教育之教材為例，針對小說中呈顯的「無常」主題，進行分析、解讀、省思等論述，並以佛教經典、禪師觀點中對於「無常」主題的探討，來回應生命的終極探問，提供學生生命的參考答案。
在如是的引導脈絡下，閱讀小說能觸發學生對自身生命的覺醒，引導其走上探索之途；而經典與禪師的智慧，則是在終點的答案，照亮探索之道的整條路程。「文學中的生命教育」於是能融合情感與理性、文學與哲思，為學生帶來深度的人生感受與智慧覺照。

Presently, at the scene of undergraduate Chinese reading and writing courses in Taiwanese universities, an effort has been made to explore the approach of adopting life education at the core of literary education in the hopes of facilitating the conversation of life between literature and students in order to achieve several important life objectives, such as a closer exploration of student values, sentimental self-awareness, ultimate care, and so forth. As educators, it is imperative for us to deliberate ways for students to appreciate the topics of life through literature and be able to orient themselves in life through life philosophies with the infusion of literature and life philosophies. And thus, the notion of combining literature study guide and Buddhist wisdom has become the principal focus for this study.
The study begins with the discourse of the possibility of using literature as a path and medium towards enlightenment to illustrate how novels could be in fact utilized as a means for readers to understand life and to understand one’s own mind. And with reference to the Buddhist doctrine of understand one’s own mind as a teaching objective, the study continues with backgrounds to the initiation of life education using Pai Hsien-Yung’s novels to explore the themes of Pai’s novels and how these works echo and associate with the themes of Buddhist life education. The study then adopts “Forever Yin Xue-Yan” as a teaching material for literary life education to engage in the analysis, interpretation and reflection on the topic of impermanence presented in the novel and responses to the ultimate question of life through the exploration of impermanence in Buddhist classics and Zen masters’ perspectives to offer references of life to students.
With the guidance of wisdom imparted by Buddha, the reading of novels could help students to trigger the awakening of their own lives and lead them towards the path of exploration and discovery while the wisdom of various classics and Zen masters serve as the answers that wait at the destination to illuminate the entire course of said path. And thus, life education in literature combines sentiments and rationality, infuses literature and philosophy to deliver in-depth perception of life, and the enlightenment of wisdom to students.