《大乘起信論》信、覺、行之研究

Abstract

《大乘起信論》揉合百部論典菁要，學界對其真偽乃至作譯者之議題多所討論。本文目的乃探討《起信論》有何時代意義？以「起信」為論題之因，及其在中國大乘佛教所代表之內涵為何？筆者採文獻分析、義理詮釋及歷史分析的方法找出《起信論》思想核心，並爬梳信與如來藏思想在佛教史中的發展脈絡。研究結果發現《起信論》以信、覺、行三架構，將事相與理體結合，體現如來藏緣起之特色。其三者關係如下：「覺」不思議境界，必須有「信」才能使其獲利、「信」是激發眾生「修行」之源。眾生的覺性理體，在唯有藉事相修行方能顯的情況下，「信」成為兩者間的重要連結，故《起信論》以「起信」為題。 《起信論》以信做為進入大乘的前提後，將佛教心性論拓展至極，由原始佛教的心性本淨思想，經過部派佛教心體與心相的轉換，成為《起信論》真如與無明的論述架構。即以眾生心顯大乘義，一心不僅是成佛的主體，也是眾生罪惡之所依。然「真心常恆不變，淨法滿足」的特點並不與煩惱相應，此凸顯出中國獨特的「性覺」心性論。性覺思想意謂「眾生即諸佛、諸佛即眾生」，《起信論‧解釋分》以本覺、不覺、始覺、熏習觀點作論述，目的為令眾生對修行成佛生起信心；《起信論‧修行信心分》將成佛方法簡化於事修，使無論何種根器眾生，皆能圓滿佛道。故《起信論》「真本有、妄本空」之精髓，意謂成佛並非另有佛道可成，而是返本還源，當下即是佛。此義理對於迷位眾生屬唯證方知的不思議境界，惟有以「信」為軸心，性覺思想才能引導眾生透過實際修行成就佛果，是以信、覺、行三者貫串，成為影響中國佛教思想的主要內涵。

A Study of Faith, Awareness, and Practice In the Awakening of Faith

“The Awakening of Faith” is composed of essences from many Sutras and Shastras, and even to this day, there is ongoing debate in academia revolving around its authenticity and translators. This thesis aims to investigate how “faith” became the core in “The Awakening of Faith”, how it has stayed historically significant, and what implication it has brought as well as how it revealed the spirit of Chinese Buddhism in the Mahayana. By utilizing semantic interpretation, literature analysis, and historical analysis as approaches to identify the core values in “The Awakening of Faith” and canvassing how the sense of “faith” and “thoughts of Tathāgatagarbha” developed throughout the history of Buddhism, the author identified a framework embedded in “The Awakening of Faith” consisting of factors of faith, enlightenment, and practice to unite the essence and the phenomena. In this framework characterized as “dependent arising within Tathāgatagarbha,” “enlightenment” can’t be expressed by words, requiring “faith” to realize it and in turn benefit us, and “faith” encourages sentient beings to “practice.” Furthermore, if sentient beings have the potential of achieving enlightenment, enlightenment will occur with practice. Faith hence becomes the important connection in between. Therefore “The Awakening of Faith” includes “faith” in its title to emphasize such relationship. By establishing “faith” as the precondition for conjoining Mahayana, “The Awakening of Faith” expands the idea of “nature of mind” in Buddhism to a far extreme, from the idea of “pure nature of the mind” in original Buddhism through transformation between functional mind and phenomenal mind in early Buddhism to the construct of “Tathagata” and avidya in “The Awakening of Faith.” In other words, it is about to demonstrate the essence of Mahayana via the mind of sentient beings, as “the mind” is not only the virtuous part that leads to enlightenment but also the ground of unwholesome conducts of sentient beings. Nonetheless, “The nature of mind is eternal, always correspond to purity of dharma,” points out that defilement does not correspond to the pure mind by which emphasizes the uniqueness of “nature-enlightenment” in terms of mind-nature in Chinese Buddhism. It means “There is no difference between sentient beings and Buddha.” “The Awakening of Faith” expounds the ideas of fundamental enlightenment, non-enlightenment, start-up enlightenment, and repeated learning in order to help all sentient beings to give rise to their awakening faith. Moreover, it simplifies the way to Buddhahood to empirical practices that enable all the sentient beings of whatever roots to attain Buddhahood. In conclusion, the core discourse in "The Awakening of Faith" refers to “the nature-enlightenment is originally retained and the illusory is essentially empty”. To attain Buddhahood doesn’t mean to seek for Buddhahood alternatively, but to return to the innate mind that the sentient beings originally have. Nevertheless, this significance is esoteric to ordinary people, and only by means of faith that the teaching of nature-enlightenment can lead the sentient beings to attain Buddhahood. Therefore, faith, enlightenment, and practice summated to become broadly influential in Chinese Buddhism.