阿蘭若考──以漢譯「根本一切有部律」基本資料

A Study of Araṇya Based on the Chinese Translation of the Mūlasarvāstivāda-vinaya

阿蘭若為寺院的另一稱呼，帶有遠離塵囂、專注修行的意味。漢譯「根本 一切有部律」篇幅龐大，於其編集時地，寺院發展漸趨成熟；本文以此為基本資料，配合其他文獻記載及考古發現，對蘭若的內容和重要性作考察，指出蘭若分「世俗」和「佛制」兩類，而佛制蘭若中，也有大小遠近的不同：大者可容數十比丘以上，小者僅住一人；遠者離城鄉幾千米，近者離約八百米。偏僻的蘭若，物質匱缺、危機四伏，因此佛特為蘭若比丘制訂「行法」，在生活和用品等方面，都有開許；僧眾會於此精進修禪，但一有所得，或便離開，故這類蘭若只是臨時的修行居所。此外，一些蘭若比丘專修苦行，跟 落比丘相對立，為佛教教團發展中一直存在的路線，或促使大乘佛教的形成，凡此當為漢語佛學界留意。

Araṇya, an appellation for a Buddhist monastery, means “forest” or “wilderness,” which also implies spiritual training. The Chinese-language translation of the Mūlasarvāstivāda-vinaya is remarkable for its length, and at the time and place of its compilation, Buddhist monasteries had already been well established. Based on this vinaya, with the aid of other documents and archaeological discoveries, this article indicates that araṇya can be divided into two types, namely, “secular” and “Buddhist.” Moreover, Buddhist araṇya varies in both size and distance: larger ones accommodate dozens of monks, while merely one individual resides at their smaller counterparts; distant araṇya can be thousands of kilometers away from a settlement, whereas nearer ones are only about eight hundred meters away. The more remote araṇya frequently lacked certain necessities and were surrounded by danger, and therefore, Buddha prescribed a number of special obligations for araṇya monks as well as making a number of exemptions for their daily lives. Monks would stay at araṇya if wishing to intensively practice meditation, and would depart after obtaining liberating insight. Remote araṇya thus seems to be a form of temporary residence for spiritual practice. In addition, scholars have speculated that the flourishing of araṇya monks as well as the competition between araṇya and village monks at the beginning of the Common Era were a latent driving force for the emergence of Mahāyāna Buddhism.