出家到棲隱——論劉孝標命定思想與宗教情懷的轉化

From a Monk to a Hermit: A Study on the Transformation of Liu Xiaobiao’s Viewpoint of Life and Religious Faith

劉孝標是南朝博聞碩學之士，他的一生，坎坷多奇，童年遭遇喪亂，流寓北魏，更與母親遁入空門。在此期間，還參與太武帝滅佛之後的佛教復興事業，協助佛經翻譯。其後冒履艱危，潛逃南來，又因不遇明主，戚戚無歡，於是撰寫〈辯命論〉，認為窮通皆是天意冥冥註定，非人力所能變改，甚至與友人劉沼書信反覆，論辯不休；此外也寫作〈相經序〉宣稱相貌關乎富貴吉凶，皆是命定所致。此「命定論」與佛教「業力論」實大逕庭，頗相扞格，觀其《世說新語．尤悔》注評曰：「業有定限，報不可移。」同意佛教三世因果觀；〈辯命論〉卻說自然造化形成了「命」，「命也者，自天之命也。」莫非他這一生，從出家到最後棲隱金華山，信仰已然丕變，不再尊奉佛法？或是隨時間推移，因人情歷練而有更深刻的覺悟？或是像黃侃《文選平點》所言「忿悁」、駱鴻凱《文選學》云：「自傷不遇」所致？一如在梁朝，范縝〈神滅論〉比劉孝標〈辯命論〉引發更大波瀾；學界歷來研究劉孝標，對《世說新語注》總有較多的關切，至於他的思想和終極關懷，則少有探究，因此本文從史料、佛典與文集中，詳加考辨其思想情感的轉變，釐清上述相關問題。

Liu Xiaobiao was a versatile scholar in the Southern Dynasty. The frustrations of his life are evident in his childhood bereavement, Diaspora life during the Northern Wei Dynasty, and conversion to Buddhism together with his mother, at which time he even joined the Buddhism resurgence movement by assisting in the translation of Buddhist classics after Emperor Taiwu prohibited the dissemination of Buddhism. Although he fled to the south, he did not encounter an emperor who appreciated his talents. He then transmuted his disappointment into the work On the Argument about Destiny, advocating that all occurrences, whether bad or good, are predetermined by heaven, not man, a viewpoint which he even argued heatedly with his friend Liu Zhao via mail. Another of his works, Xiang Jing Xu, argues that one’s appearance is closely related with one’s destiny, attesting to Liu’s fatalism. Fatalism contradicts the idea of Karma in Buddhism. Liu’s Notes on Shyh Shuo Shin Yeu‧You Hui mentions “Deeds that have been done cannot be changed; Karmic effects are definite”, which tallies with the Buddhist concept of the transmigration of souls, while On the Argument about Destiny claims that destiny is predetermined by the heavens. Is it possible that he rejected Buddhism after living a solitary existence on Jinhua Mountain? Did he obtain a deeper understanding of life as time went by? Is his situation the same as “hatred” that Huang Kan mentioned in Wen Xuan Ping Dian or “self-pity from career frustration” as Luo Hongkai wrote in Study on Literary Selection? In fact, Fang Zeng’s On Immortality of Souls aroused a more heated debate in the Liang Dynasty than did Liu’s On the Argument about Destiny. Academic research on Liu has focused more on his Notes on Shyh Shuo Shin Yeu and less on his thoughts and concerns. Accordingly, this paper aims to clarify the abovementioned points at issue and the transformation of viewpoints of thoughts by analyzing relevant historical documents, Buddhist classics, and literary collections.