苦與離苦：詹姆士˙喬伊斯《都柏林人》中的《亡者們》

Suffering and Cessation of Suffering:“The Dead”in James Joyce’s Dubliners

詹姆士•喬伊斯的《都柏林人》在現代主義文化的氛圍中有如一面明鏡，映照20世紀初愛爾蘭停滯不前的生活樣態。《亡者們》是此書的最後一篇作品，描繪典型的喬伊斯式僵化及頓悟。主角加百列沒有生活的主控權，其僵滯的心態，根源於膨脹的自我意識。對於自身虛矯的突然領悟是頓悟，帶來意識的轉變及心靈的成長。本研究旨在以佛法的角度詮釋《亡者們》，為佛法和喬伊斯的作品帶來互動對話的空間。內容分兩部份。第一部份探討加百列僵滯的生命。以佛法詞彙來看，直指輪迴之苦及無明。第二部份分析他的頓悟。其直觀式的體悟真相，不須以語言為媒介，和禪宗的開悟相呼應。佛法給予喬伊斯筆下這位都柏林人的苦惱不同的解讀。

Set in modernist cultural milieu, James Joyce‟s Dubliners serves as a mirror reflecting the stagnant Irish life in the early twentieth century. The last story in this book, “The Dead” conveys typical Joycean paralysis and epiphany. The protagonist Gabriel has no autonomy over his life. His spiritual paralysis is rooted in the inflated sense of selfhood. The sudden realization of his vanity is the epiphanic insight that triggers the transformed consciousness and mental growth. The purpose of this study is to interpret “The Dead” from Buddhist perspective, bringing forth the dialogic interaction between Dharma and Joyce‟s writing. The contents are divided into two parts. The first part explores the paralytic life of Gabriel, which points to samsara and ignorance if translated into Buddhist vocabulary. The second part analyzes his epiphany, which parallels Zen awakening through the intuitive comprehension of reality without the medium of language. Dharma sheds different light on the agony and anguish of Joyce‟s Dubliner.