佛教詮釋學的新範疇──從意識原理重釋終極實相「空」諦

A New Scope of Buddhist Hermeneutics: Reinterpret the Ultimate Reality of Emptiness from the Perspective of Consciousness Studies

終極實相（ultimate Reality）的絶對性不但不被一般宗教信徒所了解，在 宗教哲學上也常發生「真諦俗化」和「範疇錯置」的謬誤，即把終極實相的絶 對真理當作時空脈絡中的相對事物來論述，把真如等不生不滅的無為法與世間 現象界的有為法（緣起法）的不同範疇混為一談。佛教對終極實相雖然擁有深 刻的體證和豐富的文獻，但教內和教外都有學者宣稱佛教只承認相對真理，不 承認絶對真理；教內更有人抨擊佛性、本覺、如來藏等終極實相義諦為外道 思想或實體主義思想。本論文以意識研究為基礎，針對這些問題提出商榷和 辨正。

 

本論文依據意識心理學重新詮釋「無實體」（無自性）的真義是破除眾生 心識因使用語言而生起的實體（自性）妄見，而不是離開心識去描述事物「無 自生之性」的性格，由此建立佛教詮釋學的新範疇，據以論證中觀學派的緣起 性空論具有般若內證的基礎，而不只是形式邏輯的推論和理性的思辨。本文從 意識原理和詮釋學原理闡明佛性觀契合佛法的空諦及非實體義，而佛性的「非 實體」與般若之「體」（本體）能生大用乃是一體之兩面，而不是所謂的「佛 性空無實體，無體故不能起用」。本文並以文獻資料闡明印度佛教的「真如」 並不是「凝然不動」之「理」，而是與天台宗悲智具足的中道佛性思想相會通 的心性證悟。

 

The “absolute” nature of Ultimate Reality not only fails to be grasped by religious believers in general; it is also treated, erroneously, as a relative entity within time and space in the discourse of religious philosophy. This is called “category error,” a situation in which the Absolute, such as tathata (suchness) in Buddhism, is confused with the phenomenal reality. Although Buddhism possesses profound experience of spiritual realization and abundant literature with regard to the Absolute, there are scholars inside and outside the Buddhist communities who claim that Buddhism only recognizes relative truth while rejecting absolute truth. Some Buddhist scholars even go so far as to criticize the Buddhist doctrines on Ultimate Truth such as Buddha-nature, original enlightenment and tathagatagarbha as heterodoxy and substantialistic thought borrowed from Hinduism. This article seeks to refute these false arguments on the basis of consciousness studies.

 

Based on consciousness psychology, this article reinterprets the true meaning of “insubstantiality” as eradicating the universal delusion of superimposing intrinsic and independent self-substance on everything perceived through language, rather than describing something as lacking self-substance without reference to the role of human consciousness. This reinterpretation makes it possible to construct a new scope of Buddhist hermeneutics that serves as a powerful tool to argue that sunyata (Emptiness), which is based on dependent origination－the main doctrine of the Madhyamika School, has a foundation for the realization of prajna (liberating wisdom), rather than a mere framework of formalistic logical inference and rational thinking. Based on the principles of consciousness studies and modern hermeneutics, we argue that the doctrine of Buddha-nature is in consistence with the truth of Emptiness and non-substantiality, and that the Emptiness of Buddha-nature and the Essence of prajna emanating great functions are two sides of a coin, thus refuting the false argument that “Buddha-nature is empty of self-substance and therefore has neither Essence nor functions.” Citing Buddhist literature, we also demonstrate that tathata in Indian Buddhism is not an “objective and immobile truth,” but embodies a realization of wisdom and compassion such as elucidated in the doctrine of “Middle-way Buddha-nature” of the Tientai School of Chinese Buddhism.