人性的寓言－－明末豔情小說《僧尼孽海》對僧尼持守色戒之詮解

Parables of Human Nature: Interpretations of the Late-Ming Erotic Novel 'Monk and Nuns in a Sea of Sins'

本文以明末專輯歷代僧尼犯淫戒的豔情小說《僧尼孽海》為文本，就此考察當時民間對僧尼持戒的主要看法和理解。編撰者除刻意將佛教中男女同修的密教教法，視作佛教的原始教義，而得到佛門多聚好淫無賴且在其中操練各種性技巧和能力的結果外，更認為佛教對外宣稱謹守淫戒，宣傳僧尼已得修為換取賦役上的免除。在性欲的理解上，乃將性收攝在人性及禮教中，有發乎情而需節於禮的要求。故佛教宣稱當守淫戒，卻又私行大樂之法，皆太過而不合正道，導致僧尼行為更加的失序。上述弊端，編撰者認為出於佛教對於這現實世界的錯誤理解，因出家眾本無法獨立於社會之外。僧尼在聲稱與世無關而豁免了自己的義務，卻獨享與社會共存的權利，實已喪失社會的身分。在義務的減除後，已得溫飽的僧尼未能在工作中尋得自己的定位及寄託，只能追尋著生存之外的淫欲滿足。在性欲引領下，未能理解「性」尚存在著繁衍後代的正面價值，僧尼的行為和存在，成為社會不安的潛藏因素。是知編撰者回歸傳統入世的精神，及人性裡的性欲必須滿足的觀點，詮解亦批評了僧尼多犯淫戒的根源和理由。是知《僧尼孽海》記錄下居於人世卻恣意放縱抑或圖求超越性欲的修行者，也必然被欲望所吞噬，至末沈浮在慾海之中的實證，不啻可供作世人的自校儆戒， 亦可視作揭示人性意義的寓言集成。

The late-Ming erotic novel ”Monks and Nuns in a Sea of Sins” 僧尼孽海 draws from historical accounts of Buddhist monks and nuns' transgressions of the monastic rule forbidding sexual activity. Taking this text as its basis, this paper attempts to investigate how people of the time chiefly perceived and understood the way Buddhist monastics observed this rule. The author of the novel regards the practice of sexual intercourse in the teachings of Esoteric Buddhism as compatible with original Buddhist doctrine, which as a result attracts the lustful to Buddhism to train in sexual techniques and abilities. The author also believes that monastics professing to be strictly adhering to the rule prohibiting sexual activity are doing so to convince people that they are spiritually-attained enough to exempt themselves from taxes and physical labor. As for sexual desire, the author understands sex to be part of human nature and as such should be regulated by the Confucian ethical code, which demands that acts impelled by emotion should not exceed the limits of propriety. Thus, in the author's opinion, in declaring that the monastic rule forbidding sexual activity should be observed and yet allowing private practices which involve indulgence in such sensual pleasures. Buddhism strays far from the correct moral course, and as a result monks and nuns indulge in even more disorderly behavior. The author considers that the corrupt practices mentioned above arise from a mistaken view in Buddhism that monastics can live independently of society. In professing to be aloof from the world and so exempt from any obligations towards it, and yet benefiting from co-existence with society, monks and nuns have in fact already lost their social identity. Free of obligations to society but already receiving food and shelter, they are unable to look to work for direction and focus in their lives, and inevitably end up seeking sexual gratification. Driven by sexual desire and unable to understand the positive value of sex from a procreational viewpoint, the existence and behavior of monastics becomes a hidden factor behind social unease. It can be seen that the foundation for the author's explanation and criticism of violations of the monastic rule forbidding sexual activity are a desire to return to the traditional spirit of secular life and the viewpoint that sexual desire as part of human nature must be satisfied. Dwelling in the world, yet either recklessly indulging or else seeking to transcend their sexual desires, the Buddhist practitioners in ”Monks and Nuns in a Sea of Sins” are inevitably swallowed up by them, forever floundering in a sea of sins. The book serves as a compendium of cautionary tales or parables of human nature.