從佛教禪觀論多重「身體」之「自我」——繞道梅洛龐蒂《知覺現象學》的詮釋

A Buddhist Meditation Perspective on the Multiple“Bodies”and the“Self”: A Detour on Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception

佛教的「三界唯心」說，十分容易被詮解為獨我論的唯心形上學，導致佛教哲學被視為無身體的意識哲學。為了改變上述的誤解，同時回應近年國內學界身體哲學的研究成果，也為了令佛教哲學可以找出可以與當前現象學進路心理學的對話線索，因此本文繞道法國哲學家梅洛龐蒂（Maurice Merleau-Ponty, 1908-1961）《知覺現象學》，吸收其對身體哲學的論述成果，尤其是其否定割裂心物，主張「自我即身體」的觀念，重新解讀佛教的身體觀。依緣起論的立場，諸多因緣的積聚即為身，梵文的kāya即是被翻譯成身。佛教基於禪修的觀照經驗體會，所謂的自我，實際上乃色受想行識五蘊為因緣和合為身。藉著禪觀之力，再細察五蘊各自的因緣，便可以覺察出自更多、更細的不同因緣之積聚，於是便可進而分別出如色身、命身、五蘊身、識身、業身、智身等。是以看似一致不變的自我，實為由在生死迷悟中流動變遷的多元身體所成。自我不離諸身體，乃至諸身體和合乃成自我，在本文中，便以自我／身體來標誌。自我／身體是生死流轉場域，佛教通過戒定慧三學之修持，令自我／身體，經由熏習而長養出智身，即可解脫煩惱。至其究竟，則是要以智身取代業身重返世間，以求轉化世間令一切眾生皆能得度。

The Buddhist doctrine of ''The Three RealmsAre Mind-Only'' is frequently misinterpreted as an idealistic metaphysics of solipsism, reducing Buddhist philosophy to a disembodied philosophy of consciousness. To address this misunderstanding, engage with recent developments in philosophy of the body, and establish a dialogue between Buddhist philosophy and contemporary phenomenological psychology, this paper detours the work of French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908–1961), particularly his Phenomenology of Perception. Merleau-Ponty’s rejection of the mind-body dualism and his assertion that“the self is the body”provide a valuable framework for reinterpreting the Buddhist view of the body. In the Buddhist doctrine of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda), the“body”(kāya) is understood as a contingent aggregation of causes and conditions. Through meditative insight, Buddhism reveals that the so-called“self”arises from the interdependent functioning of the five aggregates (skandhāḥ): form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. By examining the causes and conditions underlying each aggregate through meditation, one discerns the emergence of multiple, interrelated bodies, including the physical body, life body, five aggregates body, consciousness body, karmic body, and wisdom body. This analysis reveals that the seemingly unified and static self is a dynamic and fluid composition of diverse bodies, continually shaped by the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth. The self is thus inseparable from these bodies, and their integration constitutes the self, referred to in this paper as the“self/body”. The self/body represents the field of birth and death cycles. Through the Buddhist path of the threefold training—morality (śīla), concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (prajñā)—theself/body cultivates a wisdom body through habitual practice. This process enables liberation from suffering and ultimately seeks to replace the karmic body with the wisdom body, allowing for a return to the world to transform it, so that all sentient beings may achieve liberation.