從《歸元鏡》看淨土信仰與晚明社會

The Guiyuanjing as a Source for the Study of Pure Land Belief and Late Ming Society

《歸元鏡》（全稱《異方便淨土傳燈歸元鏡三祖實錄》）是明末清初僧人釋智達（生卒不詳）創作的一部雜劇，劇本的內容根據廬山慧遠（334-416）、永明延壽（905-976）和雲棲袾宏（1535-1615）三位淨土祖師的傳奇改編而成。在文字內容之外，《歸元鏡》的開首附有二十幅版畫。學術界對《歸元鏡》的研究目前只有寥寥數篇，且多以文學進路為主。
本文聚焦於分析《歸元鏡》之文字與版畫內容，借助《佛祖統紀》等佛教歷史著作的相關記載，澄清《歸元鏡》的內容與歷史資料之間的差距。其次，本文透過對於《歸元鏡》中祖師傳說的分析，以釐清釋智達挑選淨土祖師為其創作題材之理由，識別祖師故事相關記載在釋智達的筆下進行更動的痕跡。最後，針對《歸元鏡》與諸佛教史傳作品間之差異，提出導致其間異同的理由。
本文從釋智達所改寫的祖師傳奇，管窺晚明的民間佛教及女性學佛之社會背景，了解晚明淨土信仰的神異、融合及鼓勵女性學佛之特色。

The Guiyuanjing (異方便淨土傳燈歸元鏡三祖實錄; Transmission of the Lamp of the Pure Land as an Extraordinary Skillful Means: Mirror of the Return to the Origin, or the Veritable Record of Three Patriarchs) is a zaju雜劇play composed by the late-Ming and early-Qing monk Zhida智達. The play adapts the legends of three Pure Land patriarchs: Lushan Huiyuan廬山慧遠, Yongming Yanshou永明延壽, and Yunqi Zhuhong雲棲祩宏. In addition to the script itself, the opening of the Guiyuanjing also contains twenty woodblock illustrations. Academic research on the Guiyuanjing remains limited, with only a handful of studies primarily approaching it from a literary perspective.
This article analyzes both the play and its accompanying illustrations, drawing on Buddhist historical works such as the Fozu tongji佛祖統紀to elucidate the discrepancies between the Guiyuanjing and historical sources. It then examines the patriarchal biographies to explore Zhida’s reasons for choosing the Pure Land patriarchs as his creative subject. By comparing the patriarchal narratives in the Guiyuanjing with other historical records, this study identifies Zhida’s deliberate alterations and narrative strategies. Finally, the article considers the discrepancies between the Guiyuanjing and Buddhist historiography and proposes explanations for them.
Through Zhida’s rewriting of patriarchal legends, the Guiyuanjing offers a window into late-Ming popular Buddhism and the social dynamics of women’s religious life, revealing that late-Ming Pure Land beliefs were characterized by the miraculous, syncretism, and gender equality.