漢譯佛典之新式標點問題舉例──以《維摩詰所說經．佛國品》及《佛說大堅固婆羅門緣起經》為中心

Abstract

本文探討的新式標點問題以《維摩詰所說經．佛國品》和《佛說大堅固婆羅門緣起經》為中心，主要分為兩個部分：第一、比對前者五個標點的本子、參看後者的四部傳本，以便歸類與分析；第二、在經文整理的基礎上，重點式討論幾個新式標點的現象，從而瞭解標點的功能及應用。藉由此兩個步驟，筆者初步歸納出經文標點問題的類別和提出其中的看法。

The present paper addresses the long neglected problem of the punctuation of Chinese Buddhist translations. These texts originally employed, if any, then traditional punctuation but in recent years modern editions are punctuated in order to aid reading. The results leave, however, more than enough to be desired. As a case study, an attempt is made here to investigate and analyse different punctuated versions of the most popular Chinese translation of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśasūtra, wherein I confined myself to The Purification of the Buddha-fields chapter, plus the extant Chinese versions of the Mahāgovindasutta. The use of punctuation clearly reflects the individual understanding-or misunderstanding-of the editors and it becomes overwhelmingly evident that, if punctuation is to facilitate a correct understanding of a text, the editor not only has to familiarize herself with the proper use of punctuation and the language patterns of the texts involved but has also to gain specialized knowledge about the versions which have come down to us. Else, ＂punctuation＂ will only lead to increased confusion.