敦煌本《六祖壇經》「呈心得法」故事再議

Revisiting“Presenting the Mind and Receiving the Dharma”in the Dunhuang Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch

六祖惠能「呈心得法」故事始見於敦煌本《六祖壇經》，胡適從根本上懷疑六祖惠能與《壇經》的關係，認為《壇經》乃出於神會一派手筆。受到胡適研究的鼓舞，日本學界紛紛加入這一論議，日本學者一般認為《壇經》與神會關係密切，而「呈心得法」故事是後加的成分。相對於日學者，中文學界方面，主要是印順法師和潘重規，兩位先生都不認同胡適的意見，並肯定「呈心得法」故事的真實性。本文根據早期的禪宗史料，詳加考證，論證了：「呈心得法」故事產生於〈六代祖師傳〉之後至敦煌本《壇經》之間，神會不是「呈心得法」故事的創作者。此外，本文又根據「呈心得法」故事的敘事角度，發現這段故事採取了第三人稱全知角度，不可能出於惠能口述，應屬後加成分。根據《楞伽師資記序》，淨覺與神秀、玄賾之間有多次呈心交流的事實，證明禪師與弟子之間常有呈心付法／得法的法義交流。根據早期禪史，五祖弘忍曾與惠能「三日三夜共語」，這可能就是「呈心得法」故事的原型。從五祖與惠能「三日三夜共語」發展為「呈心得法」故事，中間可能經歷了俗講僧以變文傳唱的階段。

The story of Huineng惠能(638-713), the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism,“Presenting the Mind and Receiving the Dharma”呈心得法first appears in the Dunhuang manuscript version of the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch六祖壇經. Hu Shi胡適(1891-1962) has fundamentally questioned the relationship between Huineng and the Platform Sutra, arguing that the latter was penned by followers of Shenhui神會(684-758). Encouraged by Hu’s research, Japanese scholars joined this debate and mostly believe that the Platform Sutra is closely tied to Shenhui as well as that the story of“Presenting the Mind and Receiving the Dharma”is a later addition. In contrast, the Chinese-speaking academic world, represented by monk-scholar Yin Shun印順(1906-2005) and scholar Pan Chonggui潘重規(1908-2003), have largely disagreed, affirming the authenticity of the narrative. Based on early historical materials of Chan Buddhism, the present article examines“Presenting the Mind and Receiving the Dharma,”argueing that it emerged sometime between the“Biographies of the Six Patriarchs”六代祖師傳and the Dunhuang version of the Platform Sutra. Shenhui was not the creator. Furthermore, based on the narrative perspective, it is found that the thirdperson omniscient point of view adopted by the story could not have come from Huineng’s own words and is therefore likely a later addition. According to the Preface to the Record of the Masters and Disciples of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra楞伽師資記序, there were multiple instances of exchange regarding“presenting the mind”between Jingjue淨覺(683-750) and Shenxiu神秀(606-706) as well as Xuanze玄賾(?-?). This proves that presenting one’s mind and transmitting/ receiving the Dharma was a common form of doctrinal exchange between masters and disciples in Chan Buddhism. Early Chan histories illustrate that the Fifth Patriarch Hongren弘忍(601-674) once engaged in“three days and three nights of continuous dialogue”with Huineng, which may have served as the prototype for the“Presenting the Mind and Receiving the Dharma”story. The development of the former into the latter likely passed through a phase where“popular storytelling”俗講monks transmitted it orally in the form of bianwen變文(transformation texts or vernacular Buddhist tales).