由「目連變文」論其「救贖」與「解脫」的意涵

Abstract

《盂蘭盆經》目連入餓鬼道拯救其母的故事，因契應了中國儒家孝道思想與傳統的祭祀文化，當在漢地問世即成為全國例行性的節日，時移至今仍是華人社會圈相當重視的節慶文化。分析外來文化的「盂蘭盆會」為何能夠被中土接納並普及的流行，除「目連救母」故事軸線在孝行、報恩之外，其重要因子應與中國歷史淵遠流長的「鬼神信仰」文化底蘊有所關連，由此建立「盂蘭盆會」在中國堅固的信仰地位。隨著目連救母故事的演繹，故事人物情節增飾不少，至唐代佛教的本土化臻至完成，故事以變文俗講的方式弘傳於民間，將目連以僧人身分為報母恩上天下地的孝子與神通廣大的形象深烙在廣大百姓的心中。後密宗的燄口施食儀軌傳入，尊勝信仰、地藏十王信仰、《父母恩重經》相繼流行，當融合本土的儒道思想後，讓盂蘭盆儀式有了不同於印度佛教儀式的蛻變，帶動中土布施薦亡追福法事的盛行。 鑑此，本文欲以佛教興盛的唐代所流行的俗講，敦煌文獻「目連變文」為考察對象，嘗試從學界較少關注的視角──「救贖」，探討中國盛行舉辦的「盂蘭盆會」相關之課題：（一）「救母」故事主軸或許改變在儒家以父為尊的孝道之外，強調「母恩難報卻應報」的宗教觀念，促進人們對於中國長期遭受壓抑的母親角色的認同；（二）以韋伯對救贖的分類，探討故事所載的救贖條件與佛教解脫生死觀的差異；（三）「盂蘭盆會」所蘊含的佛教生命終極關懷之要旨。

The “ Yulanpen Sutra”（盂蘭盆經）contains the story of Maudgalyāyana（目連）saving his mother who felt into “hungry ghost realm”. Yulanpen has become a national festival in China, and it is still a festival culture that the Chinese community nowadays attaches great importance to. There are two main reasons for “Yulanpen festival”（盂蘭盆節）, a foreign culture, can be accepted and popularized in China. First reason is the story axis of “Maudgalyāyana（目連）saving his mother” is filial piety and repaying kindness, which fits the Confucian filial piety and traditional sacrificial culture in Chinese. Second reason should be related to the cultural of “ghost and god belief ” with a long history in China. These two reasons let“Yulanpen festival” established a strong position of faith in China. With the continued interpretation of the story “Maudgalyāyana saving his mother”, the plot of the characters in the story has been modified a lot. Until the localization of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty was completed, the story was spread widely to the Chinese people through “narrative literatures”（變文）and “secular story telling”（俗講）. Consequently, the image of Maudgalyāyana, a monk, as a filial son with magnificent power saving his mother is deeply imprinted in the hearts of the Chinese people. After the post-tantric rituals of “flame mouth giving food”（燄口施食）were introduced in to China, the belief in Vijayī（尊勝）, ten kings of Kṣitigarbha-bodhisattva（地藏菩薩）, and the “Parent's Grace Sutra”（父母恩重經）became popular one after another. When the local Confucianism and Taoism were integrated with the Maudgalyāyana’s story , It makes the Yulanpen ceremony different from the Indian Buddhist ceremony, drove the prevalence of the rituals of giving, recommending deathand pursuing blessings in China. This article intends to take the “secular story telling”（俗講）flourished in the Tang’s Buddhism, and the “Mulian Bianwen”（目連變文）in Dunhuang literature as the object of investigation. I try to explore the “Yulanpen festival” that was popular in China from the perspective of “salvation”, which is less concerned by the contemporary academic. The related topics discussed in this paper are: 1.The main axis of the story of “saving the mother” may change the Confucian filial piety centered on father, by emphasizing on the concept “mother's kindness is hard to repay, but should be repaid” , and promote people's recognition of the long repressed role of mother in China; 2. Using Weber's classification of salvation, explore the difference between the salvation conditions contained in the story and the Buddhist concept of liberation; 3. The ultimate concern of Buddhist life contained in Yulanpen festival.