唐牟二先生對華嚴天臺之詮釋的比較

A Comparison between Tang Junyi's and Mou Zongsan's Interpretations of Tiantai and Huayan Buddhism

於中國佛教中除了禪宗之外，以天臺與華嚴二宗最為重要。一方面天臺建基於《法華經》而成就一「性具」思想，另一方面華嚴立足於《華嚴經》而開出一「性起」系統。長期以來兩者立場便處於一種勢同水火之對立局面。近代儘管佛教早已無復當年之盛，但上述這種對立之局面仍於當代的佛學研究中出現，這特別是見諸於唐君毅先生和牟宗三先生對天臺華嚴所作的詮釋上。其中，唐先生認為華嚴優於天臺，但牟先生則主張天臺比華嚴更符圓教之義。事實上，唐牟二先生對天臺華嚴所作的詮釋不但涉及對傳統中國佛學之理解，且由於唐先生之「心靈九境說」深受華嚴的辯證性進路所啟發，而牟先生之「儒家圓善論」則以「天臺式圓教」為立足點，所以對於當代新儒家之發展亦會有不容漠視的影響。準此，本文嘗試探討兩者能否仍存融合的可能性。於結構上，本文分成兩主要部分：首先分別勾畫出唐牟二先生對天臺華嚴所作的詮釋，其次對這兩種詮釋加以比較，並進一步論證兩者相通之可能性。此中本文指出唐先生之華嚴釋不但透露了其辯證性格，且通過凸顯其唯心論之實踐立場，使之避過來自天臺的批評。這可幫助見出於何義上既可支持唐先生會通天臺華嚴之道，又能調和其與牟先生對天臺華嚴所作的詮釋。

Tiantai and Huayan Buddhism are two major schools in traditional Chinese Buddhism. While Tiantai Buddhism was found on the Lotus Sūtra, Huayan Buddhism was founded on the Flower Garland Sūtra. In the past, these two schools constituted a zero-sum game. This tension recurred in modern scholarship on Chinese Buddhism. Tang Junyi and Mou Zongsan, as the two major founders of modern Confucianism, developed different interpretations of Tiantai and Huayan Buddhism. Whereas Tang maintained the superiority of Huayan Buddhism, Mou identified Tiantai Buddhism as the only perfect theory. In fact, both Tang's and Mou's Confucian doctrines were formed under decisive influences from Buddhism. It is accordingly of significance to explore the possibility of harmonizing their interpretations of Tiantai and Huayan Buddhism.