Output: a thing in Dao Ying's idea" (Vol. 13). The point Dong Shan criticized Dao Ying lies in how could a man like Dao Ying believe these mystical supernatural powers. What is the meaning of "neither think of good nor think of bad"? This is the teaching from Hui Neng that one should never attach to those things created by one's imagination. It is recorded in Chan Zong Zhuan (A Biography of Chan Buddhism ): "Hui Ming asked the Dharma from Hui Neng. Hui Neng said: 'You should shut out all desires and not conceive a single thought of good or bad.' Hui Ming did what Hui Neng told him to do. Hui Neng told him: 'When you neither think of good nor think of bad, what is your original face?' At these words, Hui Ming was greatly enlightened and said to Hui Neng with his deep gratitude: 'I am like a man who takes a drink of water and knows for himself whether it is cold or warm.'" The so-called "a heavenly god served the food" was just an illusion of Dao Ying; once he became aware, the illusion disappeared and the heavenly


Output: aware, the illusion disappeared and the heavenly god couldn't be found any longer. A man is essentially a man and has his original appearance; therefore everything has to count on the man himself, and does not need any help from the extrinsic transcendental powers at all. In Platform Sutra (Qi Song Edition), there is a verse called Wu Xiang Song (Verse on Freedom from Forms ):


Output:
When the mind is even, why bother to keep precepts?

When action is straightforward, what's the need to practice meditation?

If you are grateful, you take care of your parents respectfully;

If you are dutiful, above and below are mentally sympathetic.

If you are deferential, high and low harmonize amicably;

If you are tolerant, myriad evils cause no disturbance.

If you can drill wood and produce fire, you will produce red lotuses from the mud.

Harsh words are clearly good medicine;

If it offends the ear, it's surely faithful speech.

Reform your errors, and you will develop wisdom;

Defend your faults, and you betray an unsound mind.

Always practicing altruism in your daily life;

Attaining the Way does not come from donating money.

Enlightenment is only to be sought in the mind;

Why bother seeking mysteries outside?

Hearing my explanation, practice on this basis,

And the Heaven is right before your eyes.


Output:
And the Heaven is right before your eyes.

This verse not only denies the existence of the extrinsic mystical powers, but also denies the existence of so-called Heaven and Hell, believing that one should live in the real life ordinarily and responsibly, and by means of one's own Buddha nature (immanent essential nature) in the life here and now can one become a Buddha. It is just as Da Hui(1089-1163) said: "Dharma of secular world is Buddha Dharma and vice versa" (Da Hui Pu Jue Chan Shi Yu Lu , Vol. 27).


Output: It is recorded in Wu Deng Hui Yuan : Tian Ran (739-824) "met a bitter cold weather when visiting Hui Lin Temple, so he burned a wood Buddha statue for warmth. The head of the temple bawled him out: 'Why did you burn my wood Buddha?' Tian Ran prodded the ashes with his staff and said humorously: 'I am looking for sharira (relics) by burning it.' The head retorted: 'How can a wood Buddha statue have sharira (relics)?' Tian Ran laughed: 'Now that it doesn't have sharira (relics), take two more statues and burn them'" (Vol. 5). A wood Buddha statue is an image, how could it have Buddha sharira (relics)? Burning a wood Buddha is only burning a wood-made statue. The denial of the image in his mind is the realization that "my mind inherently has a Buddha in it; and the inner Buddha is the real Buddha." Lin Ji climbed up into the loft of Xiong-er Tower, and the guard of the tower asked him: "Do you prostrate yourself first before the Buddhas or first before the masters?" Lin Ji said: "Neither of them" (Jing De Chuan


Output: Lin Ji said: "Neither of them" (Jing De Chuan Deng Lu , Vol. 12). Chan masters paid no respect to the Buddhas and masters at all and even abused the Buddhas and berated the masters. De Shan said: "There are neither Buddhas nor masters down here. Bodhidharma is an old foul foreigner, Shakyamuni Buddha is a pile of dried dung, and Bodhisattva Manjusri and Samantabhadra are men who carry the dung" (Wu Deng Hui Yuan , Vol. 7). As Chan Buddhism sees, everyone is originally a Buddha himself, and elsewhere can a Buddha be found? What are abused and berated are nothing but the images in one's mind, the worship of which would certainly obstruct the development of one's essential nature. It is recorded in Jing De Chuan Deng Lu : "Someone asked Huai Hai (720-814): 'What is Buddha?' Huai Hai retorted: 'Who are you ?'" (Vol. 7). In the same book, it is also recorded: "Ling Xun just came to study with Gui Zong, and asked Gui Zong: 'What is Buddha?' . . . Gui Zong said: 'Just you are'" (Vol. 11). Everyone by himself is a


Output: you are'" (Vol. 11). Everyone by himself is a Buddha. How can one ask "what is Buddha"? By asking "what is Buddha," one is searching Buddha outside of one's mind. Nevertheless, one should not attach to this idea of becoming a Buddha. Huang Bo said: "If you will conceive of a Buddha, you will be obstructed by that Buddha!" (Wan Ling Lu [ Recorded Sayings in Wan Ling ]). If one bears the idea of becoming a Buddha in one's mind constantly, one cannot live naturally and obstructs himself from becoming a Buddha by this searching. A monk asked Dong Shan when he was weighing some flax: "What is Buddha?" Dong Shan said: "This flax weighs three pounds" (Wu Deng Hui Yuan , Vol. 15). A monk asked Ma Zu: "What is the intention of Bodhidharma to come to China?" Ma Zu struck him and said: "If I don't strike you, those who know would laugh at me" (Jing De Chuan Deng Lu , Vol. 6). Dong Shan gave a reply far from the mark in order to break down the attachment of becoming a Buddha, and Ma Zu even tried to prevent the


Output: a Buddha, and Ma Zu even tried to prevent the searching of extrinsic Buddhist Dharma, because as Ma Zu saw, "you all should believe that your essential mind is the Buddha, and right this mind is the mind of Buddha" (Ibid.). This is the essential spirit of Chan Buddhism, as it is said in Platform Sutra : "Buddhahood is actualized within your own nature; do not seek it outside the body. If your own nature is confused, a Buddha is an ordinary person; if your own nature is awakened, every ordinary person is a Buddha."


Output: As discussed above, we can see that the central thoughts or fundamental subject of Chinese Chan Buddhism is "witnessing the mind and seeing the nature" and "seeing the nature and becoming a Buddha." The fundamental concepts used in Platform Sutra are "mind" and "nature." "Mind" is also called "one's own mind" (zi-xin ), "the essential mind" (ben-xin ), "one's own essential mind" (zi-ben-xin ), etc.; "nature" is also called "one's own nature" (zi-xing ), "the essential nature" (ben-xing ), "the Dharma nature" (fa-xing ), "one's own Dharma nature" (zi-fa-xing ), etc. "Mind" and "nature" have quite similar meaning and both refer to the subjective in everyone's immanent life. They are originally pure and empty, but transcend the phenomenal world. At the same time their activities can appear as all kinds of different things. As Platform Sutra says: "The extent of mind is vast as space. . . the emptiness of physical space contains the colors and forms of myriad things, the sun, the moon, and stars, the mountains,


Output: the sun, the moon, and stars, the mountains, oceans, rivers, and lands, the springs and valley streams, the grasses, trees, and forests, bad people and good people, bad things and good things, Heaven and Hell—all are within space. The emptiness of the essential nature of people in the world is also like this." It also says: "The essential nature of human beings is originally pure. All things come from the essential nature; when you think about all evil things, it produces bad behaviors; when you think about all good things, it produces good behaviors. Thus all things are in your own nature, and your own nature is always clear." Good and bad, Heaven and Hell, the mountains, rivers, and lands, the grasses, trees, insects and fishes, and so on—all are realized from your own nature by means of "thinking" (si-liang ) function of "the mind." The appearance of everything cannot deviate from "one's own nature," just as everything is within space. If one's "mind" is confused, one cannot see "one's own nature," hence


Output: one cannot see "one's own nature," hence only an ordinary person; if one's mind is always clear, one "sees the nature" and becomes Buddha or Bodhisattva. It is said in Platform Sutra : "My mind inherently has a Buddha in it; and the inner Buddha is the real Buddha. If there were no Buddha-mind, where would we look for the real Buddha?"


Output: As Chan Buddhism sees, one's own nature (or one's own mind) is originally a vast space without anything, and it is not a deathly stillness but rather it can "think" and everything comes from this "thinking." If this activity of "thinking" goes without any trace, it lays no influence on one's "own nature" and one's own nature can always stay in the clear state. "One's own nature always clear" is just like the sun and the moon always shining, only that sometimes it's covered by clouds and appears dim when seen from the ground, since one cannot see the original face of the sun and the moon. If a sudden wind of wisdom (the instruction and inspiration of a good knowing adviser) blows off the clouds or mists, the always shining sun and moon would appear naturally. It is said in Platform Sutra : "The nature of worldly people is always drifting, like the clouds in the sky. Wisdom is like the sun, insight is like the moon: knowledge and insight are always light, but when you fixate on objects outside, you get your


Output: when you fixate on objects outside, you get your own essential nature covered by the drifting clouds of errant thoughts, so you cannot have light and clarity. If you meet a spiritual benefactor and hear truly authentic teaching, you'll get rid of confusion so that inside and outside are thoroughly clear, and myriad things appear within your own essential nature." A good knowing adviser can only provide some inspirations. Whether one can be enlightened or not counts on oneself. "What is meant by liberating yourself through your own essential nature? That means the beings in false views, afflictions and ignorance are liberated by accurate insight. Once you have accurate insight, you get the Prajñā (wisdom) to break through the beings in folly and delusion, so each one is self-liberated" (Platform Sutra ).


Output: The phrase "Buddha nature" appeared only a few times in Dun Huang edition of Platform Sutra , but many times in Zong Bao edition. "Buddha nature" mentioned in two places of Platform Sutra is quite important: one is the verse Hui Neng composed when he studied with his master, "Buddha nature is always clear"; another is when Hui Neng answered the question of Governor Wei, he said "building temples, charity, sustaining, etc. . . haven't any virtue actually," and "virtue lies in dharmakaya (truth body), not in field of merit; one's own Dharma nature is the inside virtue and honesty is the outside virtue. While one sees the Buddha nature inside, one will naturally hold in reverence outside." The first place shows that the essence of "Buddha nature" that has the same quality as "one's own nature" is "always clear," hence "Buddha nature" is "one's own nature," which is the essential nature of human being and the subjective in everyone's immanent life. The second place shows that "Buddha nature" is "one's own Dharma


Output: shows that "Buddha nature" is "one's own Dharma nature" which is also the immanent essence in everyone. Based on the ideas above, Chan Buddhism established its theory of "witnessing the mind and seeing the nature" and "seeing the nature and becoming a Buddha." "Witnessing the mind and seeing the nature" tells that if one can realize one's own essential mind, "one's own nature is always clear"; attaining "one's own nature always clear" means the revelation of the immanent essential nature as the transcendental Buddha nature. Hence it is true that "witnessing the mind and seeing the nature, attaining the Way of Buddhahood by oneself" lie in "the wisdom is accomplished when enlightening."


Output: In that case how can one "witness the mind and see the nature"? Chan Buddhism pointed out a direct and simple practicing method that they established, that is, "freedom from thought as the source, freedom from form as the substance, and freedom from fixation as the basis." It is said in Platform Sutra :


Output: Since time immemorial this school of ours has first established freedom from thought as the source, freedom from form as the substance, and freedom from fixation as the basis. Freedom from form means detachment from forms in the midst of forms. Freedom from thought means having no thought in the midst of thoughts. As for freedom from fixation, while the basic nature of humanity is in the midst of the world, with good and bad, beauty and ugliness, enmity and familiarity, words and speech, offense and attack, deception and contention, one considers it all empty and does not think of retaliation, not thinking about the objects in the surroundings. If thought after thought, previous, present, and subsequent thoughts, go on uninterrupted, this is called bondage. When thought after thought does not dwell on things, then there is no bondage. Thus freedom from fixation is basic.


Output: "Freedom from form" means no attachment to any phenomenon(detachment from form), because ordinary people always attach the phenomena as the substance. For example, one may think that by sitting in meditation one can become a Buddha, which is certainly attached to sitting in meditation; one may think that by worshiping Buddhas one can become a Buddha which is certainly attached to the worshiping of Buddhas; all these are "taking form and attaching to it." "Taking form and attaching to it" can obstruct one's own nature just as the clouds and mists can cover the bright empty sky. When one "detaches from appearances while in the midst of appearances," one can suddenly see the original clearness of the body of nature, just as the clouds and mists are blew off and the bright clean empty space is revealed. Therefore, freedom from form not only means no attachment to any phenomenon, but also means detachment to appearances and revelation of "one's own nature always clear." It is said in Platform Sutra : "If you can


Output: It is said in Platform Sutra : "If you can be detached from forms and appearances, then the substance of nature is pure. Thus freedom from form is the substance." "Freedom from fixation" means one's own nature originally has no fixation thought by thought, that is, the previous, present, and subsequent thoughts are consecutive, and if once dwelling on one object, it is not going on uninterrupted but fixing on every single thought, hence "the mind" is "bound." "When the mind does not dwell on things, the mind is fluid. If the mind dwells on things, the mind is bound" (Platform Sutra ). If the mind is not dwelling on anything, once a thing has gone, it has gone and left no trace. It is like a wild goose flying across the vast sky leaving no trace at all; and also like a white screen on which a movie is projected for viewing, once the movie ends, nothing is left on the screen. Only by this can one not be bound, hence one should regard "freedom from fixation as the basis." "Freedom from thought" does not mean


Output: the basis." "Freedom from thought" does not mean "not thinking of anything at all, and get rid of all thoughts entirely"(Ibid.), but when getting in touch with objects the mind is not affected by the external objects, that is, "the mind does not arouse over objects"(Ibid.). "Thought" is the function of the mind, and what the mind faces is the external objects. Ordinary people's thoughts arouse over the external objects. If the objects are nice, thoughts arouse over them and cling to them; on the contrary, thoughts again arouse and get angry. Therefore, the "thoughts" of ordinary people just arouse along with the objects and move in accordance with the objects, and the "thoughts" of this kind are "erroneous thoughts," always driven by the objects without freedom. "When the mind is not influenced by objects" (Ibid.), one could not be disturbed by the external world. Although one lives in the secular world, one is still not defiled and contaminated but comes and goes at ease, always has one's own clear nature


Output: goes at ease, always has one's own clear nature and attains the Buddhahood by oneself. "Freedom from form," "freedom from fixation" and "freedom from thought" discussed above are the functions of "the only mind," and the difference between the ignorant and the awakened just lies in one thought, hence attaining the Buddhahood should rely on the sudden enlightenment.


Output: According to the discussions above, we may conclude as follows:


Output: First, the reason why Chinese Chan Buddhism belongs to Chinese traditional thoughts, distinguishable from Indian Buddhism lies in its "immanent transcendence," which is also the characteristic of Chinese Confucian and Taoist philosophy. The reason why it could deeply influence Neo-Confucianism of Song (960-1279) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties (especially Universal Mind School of Lu-Wang) also lies in the "immanent transcendence" of its thought. If it can be said that the quest of Confucian thought with the characteristic of "immanent transcendence" is a morally ideal personality which transcends "the self" and becomes "a saint," and the quest of Taoist philosophy with the characteristic of "immanent transcendence" is the spiritually absolute freedom which transcends "the self" and becomes "an immortal," then the quest of Chinese Chan Buddhism with the characteristic of "immanent transcendence" is a mystical state in momentary eternity which transcends "the self" and becomes "a Buddha." On this point, Chan


Output: self" and becomes "a Buddha." On this point, Chan Buddhism still has some smack of religion.


Output: Second, although Chan Buddhism still has some smack of religion, by virtue of its releasing all extrinsic bondage such as chanting scriptures, sitting in meditation, worshiping Buddha, it is bound to contain the implication of denying itself as a religion. That is to say, the secularization of Chan Buddhism makes it an unreligious religion that has exerted profound influence on China, and it leads people to realize the purpose of transcending the reality in the real life by denying the supernatural concepts of Heaven and Hell, suggesting the secular spirit of "Dharma of secular world is Buddha Dharma and vice versa."


Output: Third, as a religion, Chan Buddhism not only breaks all rules of traditional Buddhism, but also believes that it relies not on extrinsic power but rather the immanent self-awareness of Chan masters themselves to attain the Buddhahood. Therefore, it transforms a religion with the characteristic of "extrinsic transcendence" into an unreligious religion with the characteristic of "immanent transcendence," turns the direction from renouncing the world to going into the world, and hence avoids the inclination of duality. Whether or not this transformation means Chan Buddhism has some inclination to get out of traditional religious mode? If this can be deduced, certainly it would be significant to study the history of Chan Buddhism for investigating the religions in real social life.


Output: Fourth, it is said there was a tradition strongly imprisoning the mind of people in China, and then can we say that there were still some resources to be appealed to for breaking everything imprisoning the mind of people? If there were such resources, Chan Buddhism must be an important one of them. Chan Buddhism denies all extrinsic bondages, breaks all attachments, removes the traditional and realistic authority, and lets everything listen to the essential mind; it is in this sense that one can be the master of oneself. This open-mindedness is very valuable in the feudal despotic society in China and deserves our attention. Of course, Chan Buddhism thereby built the authority centered by the immanent subjective of the "self" and made up the infinite transcendental power of the "self," whereby one could again be bound by the immanent subjective of the "self." This probably is an inextricable paradox to Chan Buddhism.


Output: Fifth, the ideological system of Chan Buddhism with the characteristic of "immanent transcendence" is of obvious subjectivism, and inevitably leads to the denial of any objective criterion and validity, which is a disadvantage to the investigation of the extrinsic world and establishment of objective valid social system and legal order, and has defects in the investigation of ultimate care of the universe and human life. Therefore, we may suggest: is it possible to build a better philosophical system which contains the thought with the characteristic of "immanent transcendence" and the thought with the characteristic of "extrinsic transcendence"? I think this issue deserves due attention in the development of Chinese philosophy.


Output: Sixth, if it is possible to build a Chinese philosophical system which contains the thoughts of both "immanent transcendence" and "extrinsic transcendence," then is it possible to find the resources within Chinese traditional philosophy itself? I think Chinese traditional philosophy has this kind of resources. There are two aspects in the thought of Confucius: on the one hand, he advocated the idea "human-heartedness is something that must have its source in oneself" (Analects , 12.1) and "it is man that can make the Way great, and not the Way that can make man great" (Analects , 15.29) which can be considered as the aspect of "immanent transcendence"; on the other hand, he insisted that one should "fear the will of Heaven, fear great men, and fear the word of the sages" (Analects , 16.8), which can be considered as the aspect of "extrinsic transcendence" or at least a suggestion of it. Later Confucianism has developed the former aspect while leaving the later one undeveloped at all. Is it possible to build


Output: one undeveloped at all. Is it possible to build a Chinese philosophical system which contains the thoughts of both "immanent transcendence" and "extrinsic transcendence" from the direction of Confucius by developing and combining both aspects of Confucius'thoughts? In my opinion, it is an issue that deserves our study. Born shortly later than Confucius, there was another philosopher Mo Zi, whose philosophy features "extrinsic transcendence." Mo Zi's philosophy includes two interrelated parts: "all-embracing love" being humanistic and "the will of Heaven" being religious. It seems that there is a little bit of contradiction between the two parts, but actually "all-embracing love" is the fundamental principle of "the will of Heaven," therefore "the will of Heaven" is the kernel of Mo Zi's thoughts. Mo Zi's "the will of Heaven" means "Heaven" has wills which are the supreme and ultimate standard to judge everything, can reward the good and punish the bad, and are the transcendental power outside of human or, we


Output: the transcendental power outside of human or, we may say, are of obvious "extrinsic transcendence." Therefore, the later Mohist School suggested a scientific view and had the thought of logic and epistemology, but it is a pity that these thoughts were left undeveloped after the Warring States (403-221 BC) in China. Is it possible to use Mohist thought as resources to build a Chinese philosophical system which contains the thoughts of both "immanent transcendence" and "extrinsic transcendence"? I think it is also an issue we can study.


Output:
肆　论禅宗思想中的内在性与超越性 *

佛教传入中国至隋唐分为若干宗派：天台、唯识、律、净土、华严、禅等等。至唐以后，其他宗派均先后衰落，而禅宗的影响越来越大，终至独秀，究其原因或有许多方面，但就禅宗更能体现中国哲学以“内在超越”为特征这点说，似应为研究者所注意。

佛教作为一种宗教自有其宣扬教义的经典、一套固定的仪式、必须遵守的戒律和礼拜的对象等等，但自慧能以后的中国禅宗把上述一切都抛弃了，既不要念经，也不要持戒，没有什么仪式需要遵守，更不要去礼拜什么偶像，甚至连出家也成为没有必要的了，成佛达到涅槃境界只能靠自己一心的觉悟，即所谓“一念觉，即佛；一念迷，即众生。”这就是说，人成佛达到超越的境界完全在其内在本心的作用。

一、中国禅宗不重经典、不立文字，一切自任本心

中国禅宗有一个公案——“释迦拈花，迦叶微笑”的故事，据《指月录》载：

“世尊在灵山会上，拈花示众。是时众皆默然，唯迦叶尊者，破颜微笑。世尊曰：吾有正法眼藏，涅槃妙心，实相无相，微妙法门，不立文字，教外别传，付嘱摩呵迦叶。”

禅宗自称其宗门为“教外别传”，即依此类故事以说明他们和佛教其他宗派的不同。印度佛教开始在释迦牟尼时也是比较简单，本是一种人生哲学，对一些与人生实际无关的理论往往避而不论，如当时印度讨论的“宇宙是常还是无常”“宇宙有边还是无边”“生命死后是有还是无”“生命与身体是一还是异”等等，均少论及。但印度佛教在发展过程中越来越繁琐，越来越远离实际人生，体系越来越庞大，礼拜的对象越来越多，名词概念多如牛毛，这与中国传统思想全然不相合。到隋唐以后，中国的一些佛教宗派都已在想方设法克服印度佛教的这种繁琐，例如天台宗纳三千于一念，华严宗融理事于真心，都强调人的本心的作用，这一趋势到禅宗慧能以后更是变本加厉了，而有不立文字，废除经典之说。


Output:
慧能本人还没有简单地否定经典和倡导不立文字，据《坛经》记载，慧能尝为门人说《金刚经》《法华经》，但他认为“一切经书，因人有说”，只是引导人们的工具，不能执着经典，不能靠诵读经典成佛，解脱只能靠自己的本心。这是因为：一方面，成佛得解脱的道理和路径本来就在你自己的本心之中，“三世诸佛，十二部经，亦在人性中本自具有”（《坛经》），不必外求，不必到心外觅佛，成佛的觉悟全在自己，外在的文字是没有用处的。另一方面，文字是一种外在的东西，如果执着了外在的东西就是“着相”，“本性自有般若之智，自用智慧观照，不假文字。” 2 慧能以后的禅宗大师破除经典的束缚，干脆反对念经，反对一切语言文字。沩山灵佑问仰山慧寂：“《涅槃经》四十卷，多少是佛说？多少是魔说？”仰山回答说：“总是魔说。” 3 如果把佛经持着为佛法本身，这本身就是着了魔，为魔所蒙蔽，所以《古尊宿语录》中说：“只如今作佛见，作佛解，但有所见所求所著，尽是戏论之类，亦名粗言，亦名死语”（卷二）。《景德传灯录》（卷十二）中记义玄“因半夏上黄檗山，见和尚看经。曰：我将谓是个人，元来是唵黑豆老和尚。”一切经典全是废话，执着这些废话，人如何得以解脱，如何得以成佛？既然佛教经典为“死语”“魔说”，非悟道的工具，那么自然不能靠它来达到成佛的目的。《古尊宿语录》中说：“（南）泉（普愿）云：道不属知不知，知是妄觉，不知是无记，若真达不疑之道，犹如太虚，廓然荡豁，岂可强是非也”（卷十三）。道不属知识，知识有主体和对象即有分别心，悟道在心之自觉；悟道既在自觉，自不能是不自觉的，如为不自觉，即是“无明”，故“不知是无记”。

禅宗的大师们不仅认为文字不必要，就是语言对得道成佛也是无益的。语言并不能使人了解佛法，有问文益禅师：“如何是第一义？”文益回答说：“我向汝道，是第二义。” 4 佛法是不可说的，说出的已非佛法本身。那么用什么方法引导人们觉悟呢？照禅宗看，几乎没有什么方法使人悟道，只能靠自己的觉悟。不过禅宗也常用一些特殊的方法，如棒喝之类。《五灯会元》卷七《德山宣鉴禅师》中载：

“僧问：如何是菩提？师打曰：出去，莫向这里屙。问：如何是佛？师曰：佛是西天老比丘。雪峰问：从上宗来，学人还有分别也无？师打一棒曰：道什么？曰：不会。至明日请益，师曰：我宗无语句，实无一法与人。峰因此有省。”

《景德传灯录》卷十二载：“（临济义玄）见径山，径山方举头，师便喝；径山拟开口，师拂袖便行。”


Output:
《景德传灯录》卷十二载：“（临济义玄）见径山，径山方举头，师便喝；径山拟开口，师拂袖便行。”

这就是所谓“德山棒，临济喝”。这种方法是破除执着的特殊方法，目的是要打断人们的执着，一任自心。照禅宗看，人们常因有所执着而迷失本性，必须对之大喝一声，当头一棒，使之幡然觉悟，自证佛道，故佛果禅师说：“德山棒，临济喝，并是透顶透顶，直捷剪断葛藤，大权大用，千差万别，会归一源，可以与人解粘去缚。” 6 义玄的老师在其《传法心要》中说：

“此灵觉性……不可以智识解，不可以语言取，不可以景物会，不可以功用到，诸佛菩萨与一切蠢动众生同大涅槃，性即是心，心即是佛，佛即是法。” 7

人所具有的这一灵觉性，既然不是能用知识、语言等使之得到发挥，那只能用一棒一喝（当然不一定必须用棒喝，其他任何方法都可以，只要能打断执着即可）打破执着，使心默然无对，而达到心境两忘的超越境界。

二、中国禅宗破去陈规，废去坐禅，唯论见性成佛

坐禅本是原来佛教一切派别所必需的一种修持法门，释迦牟尼在菩提树下证道，一坐四十九天；达摩东来，仍有三年面壁，都是坐禅。但到慧能以后，中国禅宗起了很大变化，《坛经》记载慧能说：“惟论见性，不论禅定解脱。”盖慧能主张“见性成佛”，认为靠禅定并不能得到解脱，所以他说：

“迷人著法相，执一行三昧，直言坐不动，除妄心不起，即是一行三昧。若如是，此法同无情，却是障道因缘，道须通流，何以却滞？心不住法即通流，住即被缚，若坐不动是，维摩诘不合呵舍利弗宴坐林中。” 8


Output:
执着坐禅，以为可以妄心不起，这实是把人看成如同死物，而不知“道须通流”，心不能住而不动，住而不动就是心被束缚住了，那怎么能得到解脱呢？《古尊宿语录》卷一记马祖道一“居南岳传法院，独处一庵，惟习坐禅，凡有来访者都不顾，……（怀让）一日将砖于庵前磨，马祖亦不顾，时既久，乃问曰：作什么？师云：磨作镜。马祖云：磨砖岂能成镜？师云：磨砖既不能成镜，坐禅岂能成佛？”马祖坐禅，被坐禅所束缚，怀让用“磨砖作镜”这种比喻的方法启发他使之觉悟，这叫作依他人为之“解缚”。又有长庆慧稜禅师，二十余年来坐破了七个蒲团，仍然未能见性，直到有一天，偶然卷帘时，才忽然大悟，便作颂说：“也大差，也大差，卷起帘来见天下，有人问我解何宗，拈起拂子劈头打。” 9 慧稜偶然卷帘见得三千大千世界原来如此，而得“识心见性”，解去坐禅的束缚，靠自己豁然贯通，而觉悟了。《坛经》中说：“不能自悟，须得善知识示道见性；若自悟者，不假外善知识。”道一是靠怀让的启发，而慧稜是靠自悟，但无论前者还是后者都必须是“识自心内善知识”，也就是说必须靠自己的内在本心才可以达到超越境界。慧稜颂中“卷起帘来见天下”是他悟道的关键，因照禅宗看，悟道成佛不要去故意作着，要在平常生活中自然见道，就像“云在青天水在瓶”那样，自自然然，平平常常。无门和尚有颂说：

“春有百花秋有月，夏有凉风冬有雪，

若无闲事挂心头，便是人间好时节。”


Output:
“春有百花秋有月，夏有凉风冬有雪，

若无闲事挂心头，便是人间好时节。”

禅宗的这种精神境界正是一种顺乎自然的境界：春天看百花开放，秋天赏月色美景，夏天享凉风暂至，冬天观大雪纷飞，一切听其自然，自在无碍，便“日日是好日”“夜夜是良宵”。如果执着坐禅，那就是为自己所运用的方法所障，而不得解脱。临济义玄说：“佛法无用功处，只是平常无事，屙屎送尿，着衣吃饭，困来即卧，愚人笑我，智乃知焉。” 10 要成佛达到涅槃境界，不是靠那些外在的修行，而是得如慧稜那样忽然顿悟。有僧问马祖：“如何修道？”马祖说：“道不属修，言修得，修成还坏。” 11 道如何能修得，靠所谓“修”就是要勉强自己，这种不自然的做法，当然会“修成还坏”。所以修道不能在平常生活之外去刻意追求。有源律师问大珠慧海禅师：“和尚修道还用功否？”慧海说：“用功。”源律师问：“如何用功？”慧海回答说：“饥来吃饭，困来即眠。”源律师又问：“一切人总如是，同师用功否？”慧海说：“不同。”源律师问：“如何不同？”慧海说：“他吃饭时，不肯吃饭，百般须索；睡时不肯睡，千般计较，所以不同也。” 12 平常人吃饭，挑肥拣瘦；睡觉胡思乱想，自是有所取舍、执着，不得解脱。真正懂得禅的人“要眠即眠，要坐即坐”“热即取凉，寒即向火”。有僧问赵州从谂：“学人乍入丛林，乞师指示。”从谂说：“吃饭也未？”僧曰：“吃粥了也。”从谂说：“洗钵去。”其僧因此大悟。 13 吃过饭自然应洗碗，这是平平常常的，唯有如此，才能坐亦禅，卧亦禅，静亦禅，动亦禅，吃饭拉屎，莫非妙道。禅定既非必要，一切戒律更不必修持了，陆希声问仰山：“和尚还持戒否？”仰山说：“不持戒。” 14 李翱问药山：“如何是戒定慧？”药山说：“这里无此闲家俱。” 15 戒定慧本是佛教“三学”，学佛者必须之门径，但照禅宗大师看这些都是无用的东西。禅宗的这一否定，似乎所有的修持方法全无必要，从而把一切外在的形式的东西都否定了。禅宗如是看是基于“平常心是道心”，在平常心外再无什么“道心”，在平常生活外再不须有什么特殊的生活。如有此觉悟，内在的平常心即可成为超越的道心，正如印顺法师的《中国禅宗史》中所说：“性是超越的（离一切相，性体清净），又是内在的（一切法不异于此），从当前一切而悟入超越的，还要不异一切，圆悟一切无非性之妙用。这才能入能出，有体有用，事理如一，脚跟落地。” 17

三、中国禅宗不拜偶像，呵佛骂祖，一念悟即成佛


Output:
三、中国禅宗不拜偶像，呵佛骂祖，一念悟即成佛

印度文化中颇多神秘主义色彩，印度佛教也不能不受印度传统文化这种神秘主义影响，特别是释迦牟尼以后更是如此。例如在佛教中有所谓二十八重天，十八层地狱，每个层次又有无数天堂和地狱，以及众多的具有超自然伟力的佛和菩萨，这些当然都是受印度传统文化的影响而有。即使是比较平实的“教外别传”的印度禅也有不少神秘色彩，传说印度禅的二十八祖都有所谓六神通：天耳通、天眼通、他心通、宿命通、神足通、漏尽通等。就是印度禅修行的四种境界“四禅天”也颇具神秘性。而中国禅自慧能以后却不如此。慧能说：“我心自有佛，自佛是真佛。”基于此，禅宗反对神通和偶像崇拜。《五灯会元》卷十三载，有云居道膺禅师“结庐于三峰，经旬不赴堂。洞山（良价）问：子近日何不赴斋？师曰：每日自有天神送食。山曰：我将谓汝是个人，犹作这个见解在。汝晚间来。师晚至。山召：膺庵主。师应诺。山曰：不思善，不思恶，是什么？师回庵，寂然宴坐，天神自此觅寻不见，如是三日乃绝”。良价批评道膺的基本点，就在于道膺是个人怎么会相信那些神秘的神通呢？“不思善，不思恶”是什么意思？这正是慧能叫人不持着那些自己想象出来的莫须有的东西。《禅宗传》载：“明上坐向六祖求法。六祖云：汝暂时敛欲念，善恶都莫思量。明上坐乃禀言。六祖云：不思善，不思恶，正当与时么，还我明上坐父母未生时面目。时上坐于言下，忽然默契，便拜云：如人饮水，冷暖自知。”所谓“天神送食”只是道膺的幻想，当他一旦觉悟，幻想尽除，再无天神可寻觅了。人本来应是人，有人之本来面目，一切全靠自己觉悟，根本不需要外在的超越力量的帮助。契嵩本《坛经》有《无相颂》：

心平何劳持戒，行直何用修禅，

恩则孝养父母，义则上下相怜。

让则尊卑和睦，忍则众恶无喧，

若能钻木出火，淤泥定生红莲。

苦口的是良药，逆耳必是忠言，

改过必生智慧，护短心内非贤。

日用常行饶益，成道非由施钱，

菩提只向心觅，何劳向外求玄。

听说依此修行，天堂只在目前。

这首颂不仅否定了外在的神秘力量的存在，而且否定了所谓的天堂和地狱的存在，认为人们只是要在现实生活中平平常常地尽职尽责地生活，在眼前生活中靠自己所具有的佛性（即内在的本性）即可以成禅。宗杲大慧禅师说：“世间法则佛法，佛法则世间法。”


Output: 《五灯会元》卷五载：天然禅师“于慧林寺遇天大寒，取木佛烧火向，院主呵曰：何得烧我木佛。师以杖子拨灰曰：吾烧取舍利。主曰：木佛何有舍利？师曰：既无舍利，更取两尊烧。”木佛本是偶像，哪会有佛舍利，烧木佛无非烧木制之像而已，否定了自己心中的偶像，正是对“我心自有佛，自佛是真佛”的体证。临济义玄到熊耳塔头，塔主问：“先礼佛，先礼祖？”义玄曰：“佛祖俱不礼。” 18 禅宗对佛祖不仅全无敬意，还可以呵佛骂祖。德山宣鉴说：“这里无佛无祖，达摩是老臊胡，释迦老子是干屎橛，文殊普贤是担屎汉。” 19 照禅宗看，自己本来就是佛，哪里另外还有佛？他们所呵所骂的无非是人们心中的偶像，对偶像的崇拜只能障碍其自性的发挥。《景德传灯录》卷七载：“问：如何是佛？师云：他是阿谁？”卷十一载：“灵训禅师初参归宗，问：如何是佛？……宗曰：即汝便是。”每个人自己就是佛，哪能问“如何是佛”，问“如何是佛”就是向心外求佛了。而且对自身成佛也不能执着不放，黄檗说：“才思作佛，便被佛障。”一个人念念不忘要成佛，那就不能自自然然地生活，而有所求，这样反而成为成佛的障碍。有僧问洞山良价：“如何是佛？”答曰：“麻三斤。” 20 或问马祖：“如何是西来意？师便打，曰：我若不打汝，诸方笑我。” 21 良价所答非所问，目的是要打破对佛的执着；马祖更是要打断对外在佛法的追求，因为照马祖看：“汝等诸人，各信自心是佛，此心即是佛心。” 22 这正是禅宗的基本精神，正如《坛经》中说：“佛是自性作，莫向身外求。自性迷，佛即众生；自性悟，众生即佛。”


Output:
据以上所述，可知中国禅宗的中心思想或基本命题是“识心见性”“见性成佛”。在《坛经》中应用的基本概念是“心”和“性”。“心”或叫“自心”“本心”“自本心”等；“性”或叫“自性”“本性”“法性”“自法性”等。“心”和“性”大体是一个意思，都是指每个人的内在生命的主体，它本来清净、空寂，又是超越于现象界的，但它的活动可变现为种种不同的事物，如《坛经》说：“心量广大，犹如虚空，……虚空能含日月星辰，大地山河，一切草木，恶人善人，恶法善法，天堂地狱，尽在空中，世人性空，亦复如是。”又说：“世人性本自净，万法在自性，思量一切恶事，即行于恶；思量一切善事，便修于善行。知如是一切法尽在自性，自性常清净。”善与恶，天堂与地狱，山河大地，草木虫鱼等等都是因“心”之“思量”作用而从自性中变现出来的。一切事物的出现，都不能离开“自性”，就像万物在虚空中一样。如果人的“心”迷误了，就不能见自性，只能是凡夫俗子；如果人的自心常清净，就是“见性”，则是佛菩萨。《坛经》说：“我心自有佛，自佛是真佛；自若无佛心，向何处求佛。”

照禅宗看，人的自性（或本心）本来是广大虚空一无所有，但它并不是死寂的，而是能“思量”的，一切事物皆由“思量”出。如果这些“思量”活动一过不留，那么对自己的“自性”就无任何影响，则自性常处于清净状态。“自性常清净”，就好像日月常明一样，只是有时为云覆盖，在上面的日月虽明，但在下面看到的则是一片昏暗，致使看不到日月的本来面目。如果能遇到惠风（按：指大善知识的指点和启发）把云雾吹散卷尽，那么常明之日月等等自然显现。《坛经》中说：“世人性净，犹如青天，惠如日，智如月，智慧常明。于外著境，妄念浮云盖覆，自性不明，故遇善知识开真法，吹却迷妄，内外明彻，于自性中，万法皆见。”善知识只能对人们有启发作用，觉悟不觉悟还在自己。“自有本觉性，将正见度，般若之智，除却愚痴迷妄，各各自度。” 23


Output:
敦煌本《坛经》“佛性”一词很少见，但元宗宝本“佛性”则多见。《坛经》有两处说到“佛性”较重要：一是慧能在黄梅五祖处所作的偈：“佛性常清净”；另一处是答韦使君问，说“造寺、布施、供养”等“实无功德”时说：“功德在法身，非在福田；自法性有功德，平直是德。内见佛性，外行恭敬。”前一条说明“佛性”的本质是“常清净”，这与“自性”一样，所以所谓“佛性”即“自性”，亦即为人之本性，它是每个人的内在生命的主体。后一条说明“佛性”即“自法性”，而为人之内在本质。基于此，禅宗即可立其“识心见性”、“见性成佛”的理论。“识心见性”是说，如对自己的本心有所认识就可见到“自性常清净”；得其“自性常清净”就是使其内在的本性显现为超越的佛性，“识心见性，自成佛道” 24 ，这一切皆在“悟即成智”也。

那么人如何能“识心见性”？禅宗指出了一条直接简单的修行法门，这就是他们所立的“无念为宗，无相为体，无住为本”的法门。《坛经》中说：

“我此法门，从上以来，顿渐皆立无念为宗，无相为体，无住为本。何名无相？无相者，于相而离相。无念者，于念而不念。无住者，为人本性，念念不住，前念、今念、后念，念念相续，无有断绝；若一念断绝，法身即离色身，念念时中，于一切法上无住，一念若住，念念即住，名系缚；于一切法上，念念不住，即无缚也。此是以无住为本。”


Output:
“无相”是说，对于一切现象不要去执着（离相），因为一般人往往执着现象以为实体，如以坐禅可以成佛，那就是对于坐禅有所执着；如以拜佛可以成佛，那就是对拜佛有所执着，这都是“取相着相”。“取相着相”障碍自性，如云雾覆盖明净的虚空一样。如能“于相离相”则可顿见性体的本来清净，就像云雾扫除干净而现明净虚空。所以无相不仅仅是不要执着一切现象，而且因离相而显“自性常清净”，《坛经》说：“但能离相，性体清净，是以无相为体。”所谓“无住”是说，人的自性本来是念念不住的，前念、今念、后念是相续不断的，如果一旦停留在某一物上，那么就不能是念念不住而是念念即住了，这样“心”就被“系缚”住了，“心不住法即通流，住即被缚”。如能对一切事物念念不住，过而不留，如雁过长空，不留痕迹，放过电影，一无所有，这样就不会被系缚，“是以无住为本”。“无念”不是“百物不思，念尽除却”，不是对任何事物都不想，而是在接触事物时，心不受外境的任何影响，“不于境上生心”。“念”是心的作用，心所对的是境（外境，即种种事物），一般人在境上起念，如境美好，那么就在境上起念，而有贪；如境不好，那么就在境上起念，而有嗔。因此一般人的“念”是依境而起，随境变迁，这样的“念”是“妄念”，经常为境所役使，而不得自在。如果能“于诸境上心不染”，这样就可以不受外境干扰，虽处尘世，却可无染无杂，来去自由，自性常清净，自成佛道。以上所论“无相”“无住”“无念”实均一心的作用，且迷与悟均在一念之间，故成佛道当靠顿悟。

据以上所说，我们或可得出以下结论：

1．中国禅宗之所以是中国的思想传统而区别于印度佛教，正因其和中国的儒家和道家哲学一样也是以“内在超越”为特征。它之所以深深影响宋明理学（特别是陆王心学），正在于其思想的“内在超越性”。如果说以“内在超越”为特征的儒家学说所追求的是道德上的理想人格超越“自我”而成“圣”，以“内在超越”为特征的道家哲学所追求的则是精神上的绝对自由，超越“自我”而成“仙”，那么，以“内在超越”为特征的中国禅宗则是追求一种瞬间永恒的神秘境界，超越“自我”而成“佛”，就这点说，禅宗仍具有某种宗教的形式。


Output:
2．禅宗虽然仍具有某种宗教的形式，但由于它要求破除念经、坐禅、拜佛等一切外在的束缚，这样势必又包含着否定其作为宗教本身的意义。这就是说，禅宗的世俗化使之成为一种非宗教的宗教在中国发生影响，它把人们引向在现实生活中实现超越现实的目的，否定了在现实世界之外与之对立的天堂与地狱，表现出“世间法则佛法，佛法则世间法”的世俗精神。

3．禅宗作为一种宗教，它不仅破除一切传统佛教的规矩，而且认为在日常生活中不靠外力，只靠禅师的内在自觉，就可以成佛，这样就可以把以“外在超越”为特征的宗教变成以“内在超越”为特征的非宗教的宗教，由出世转向入世，从而克服了二元的倾向。这样转变，是否可以说禅宗具有某种摆脱传统的宗教模式的倾向。如果可以这样说，那么研究禅宗的历史，将对研究现实社会生活中的宗教有着重要的意义。

4．如果说在中国有着强大的禁锢人们思想的传统，那么是否也有要求打破一切禁锢人们思想的资源呢？如果确有这样的资源，禅宗应是其中重要的一部分。禅宗否定一切外在的束缚，打破一切执着，破除传统的权威和现实的权威，一任本心，从这个意义上说人自己可以成为自己的主宰，这样的思想解放作用在我国长期封建专制社会中应是难能可贵的，似乎应为我们注意。当然禅宗由此而建立了以“自我”的内在主体性为中心的权威，虚构了“自我”的无限的超越力量，而又可以为以“自我”为中心的内在主体性所束缚，这可能是禅宗无法解决的矛盾。

5．禅宗这种以“内在超越”为特征的思想体系，有着鲜明的主观主义特色，它必然导致否定任何客观标准和客观有效性。这既不利于对外在世界的探讨和建立客观有效的社会制度和法律秩序，同时在对探讨宇宙人生终极关切问题上也不无缺陷。因此，我们是否可以提出一个问题，既能否建立一个包容以“内在超越”为特征的思想，同时也包容以“外在超越”为特征的思想的更完满的哲学体系呢？我认为，这个问题或者是中国哲学发展应受到重视的问题。


Output:
6．如果说有可能建立一包容“内在超越”和“外在超越”的中国哲学体系，那么能否在中国传统哲学中找到内在资源？我认为，中国传统哲学中是有这方面内在资源的。本来在孔子思想中就有两个方面：一方面有“为仁由己”“人能弘道，非道弘人”的说法；另一方面也有“畏天命，畏大人，畏圣人之言”的说法。前者是孔子思想中的“内在超越”方面；后者是孔子思想中“外在超越”方面，或者说从后者可以看出孔子思想也有“外在超越”的因素。但后来儒家发展了前一方面，而后一方面没有得到发展。如果能使上述孔子思想中的两个方面同时发展，又有所结合，是否可以沿着孔子思想发展出一包容“内在超越”和“外在超越”的哲学体系呢？我想，这是一个值得我们探讨的问题。比孔子稍后的哲学家墨子，他的哲学可以说是以“外在超越”为特征的哲学体系。墨子哲学可以说由两个相互联系的部分组成：一是具有人文精神的“兼爱”思想；另一是具有宗教性的“天志”思想。这两方面看起来似乎有矛盾，但在墨子思想体系中却认为“兼爱”是“天”的意志最根本的体现，所以“天志”应是墨子思想的核心。墨子的“天志”思想认为“天”是有意志的，它的意志是衡量一切事物最高和最后的标准，它可以赏善罚恶，它是一外在于人的超越力量，或者说它具有明显的“外在超越性”。因此，墨家哲学发展到后期墨家就更具有科学因素和逻辑学和认识论思想。可惜在战国以后墨家思想没有得到发展。墨家思想是否可以成为我们建立一包容“内在超越”和“外在超越”的中国哲学体系的内在资源呢？我想也应是我们可以研究的一个课题。

V．THE ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS OF DAOISM


Output: Religion is a social phenomenon and studying it with a view to understanding its historical development has special significance today. We can see similar trends in other countries where the rapid developments of science and technology do not in any significant way lessen the people's sense of, or interests in, religion. Even the people of China, for some reason or other, show similar interests in the development of religion. This phenomenon is enough to raise several theoretical questions concerning the need for a better understanding of religion: what is the nature of religion? Does the human psyche require a religious faith? Is religion synonymous with religious belief? Is religious belief beneficial to social life? Is science complementary to, or inconsistent with, religious belief? Can religion be a modernizing agent? and so forth. This paper does not pretend to deal specifically with these questions, but, why do we study the history of religions? Should an ideal history of religions be time-conscious?


Output: an ideal history of religions be time-conscious? Can such an history help people think seriously about the problems of religion that exist in the world today? All historians of religions need to address themselves to these kinds of problems.


Output:
The religions which had been popular in Chinese history include Buddhism, Daoism (Taoism), Islam, Christianity and Zoroastrianism. However, of all these religious traditions, only Daoism (Taoism) is indigenous to China. To be sure, Daoism (Taoism) is a Chinese religion; it has characteristics peculiar to the Chinese. Besides, it has exercised considerable influence on the development of Chinese culture and psychology, customs and habits, science and technology, philosophy and thought, medicine and hygiene, and even political life. Can our investigation into one of the more influential religions—the origin of Daoism (Taoism), its development and characteristics—help us deepen our understanding of Chinese culture, personality and way of thinking? Can it indirectly help us understand, more intimately, the theoretical and practical problems of religion in the world today? I think it can and toward this end the present discussion is an attempt to analyze and discuss the following issues.

I．General Background


Output:
I．General Background

The development of Daoism (Taoism) was an attempt to orientate the Han Chinese to their social, political, economic, moral and psychological lives at the end of the Eastern Han.


Output: Why did Daoism (Taoism) develop only at the end of the Eastern Han period? Historically, such Daoist ideas as "immortality" and "sanctification of the bodies" had already existed during the time of the Warring States (Zhanguo). They became even more popular during the Qin and Han dynasties—why? We know that not just any kind of superstition can be called religion, although religion often embodies a good deal of superstitious elements. Neither can we say that any theistic discourse can become a religion, even if it is capable of extending its influence over a sizeable cross-section of the population. Its growth and development were directly related to the social life of the people, their history, and other objective facts. The development of Daoism (Taoism) during the Eastern Han may be attributed to the following factors.


Output: First, the reality of social life at the end of the Eastern Han had laid fertile grounds for the growth of Daoism (Taoism). The social and political conditions, since Shundi of the Eastern Han, had begun to deteriorate. There was outside interference in the day-to-day administration and the administrative machinery was in the hands of a bureaucracy. Debauchery, unruly behavior and social strife, both from within and without, were the order of the day. Finally there were crop failures due to severe drought, and large numbers of people died in ditches (Zhong Changtong, Changyan ). Undue economic exploitations and political pressure at that time had made it impossible for the populace to lead a decent life; bankruptcy and emigration were common. The conflict between the ruling class and the ruled was intense and acute. According to historical records, from Shundi's time, peasant uprisings were rampant. At that time, apart from the common class-interest that united them in social movements, their leaders


Output: united them in social movements, their leaders resorted to magic and superstitions as organizing agents. That is why, in history books, the rebels after Shundi's time were often called yaozei , or "the goblin thieves."


Output: Two conclusions may be drawn from the above discussion. First, a period of economic and political unrest, as well as spiritual and moral decay, provided an objective vantage for the development of religion. Second, as the leaders of the peasantry had used magic and superstitions to rally support in their movements, they knew that these could be used as tools for mobilizing the people, thus paving the way for the widespread development of religion. As is always the case, social turbulence often caused great hardship and suffering to the lower class. Thus, when people became desperate they tended to hinge their hopes upon some kind of spiritual power, or shenling. This was one of the most common avenues through which people, in antiquity, reconciled themselves with their social reality. This also explains why a majority of the early Daoist believers were members of the lower social strata.


Output: Second, the social conditions at the end of the Eastern Han had provided useful material for the founding of Daoism (Taoism). Since the time of Han Wudi, when Dong Zhongshu pointed out that "of the hundred schools, only Confucianism is the most revered," Confucian thought had adapted itself to the needs of building a unified feudal society and serving as an ideology for the ruling class. From then on the development of Confucianism depended primarily on the teaching of a reciprocal relationship between Heaven and man, followed by an increased interest in the development of theology and metaphysics. Though ideally a religion is theistic, not any form of theism is adequate or sufficiently meaningful to become a religion. This is because such a religion (namely, the religion of the masses) must include not only the worship of spiritual beings, but also possess a body of canon together with an endurable form of church organization, doctrines and dogmas, and an historical medium for the dissemination of religious


Output: medium for the dissemination of religious knowledge. Generally, religion must see the world in two forms: the real and the supernatural. Based on this premise, human beings feel that they can only disengage themselves from the problems of social life in a supernatural world—believing that an ideal life can manifest itself only in the yonder shore of the supernatural world.


Output: Despite the fact that Confucianism acknowledged the existence of Shen or God, especially during the Han Dynasty, it had never thought it necessary that its ideals be fulfilled outside the world, but required rather that the ideals of "governing the state and pacifying the world" (zhi-guo ping tianxia ) be actualized in the real world, even though this were merely an illusion. Although religion had played a very important role in feudal China, it had never become a force to reckon with. Instead it had, many a time, occupied a secondary position, which state of affairs clearly bespoke as well the dominance of Confucian ideology.


Output: From the developmental point of view, after the Eastern Han Confucianism could very well have become a religion, because its metaphysics together with the conception of the sacred could be easily converted into religion. However, Confucianism did not become a religion during the Han Dynasty for the simple reason that it attempted to materialize the ideals of "governing the state and pacifying the world" in the real world. Thus, following the decay of the Han Dynasty, Confucian ideology not only fell short of becoming a religion but its position as an ideology of the ruling class continued to decline. Because of this decline, Confucian thought had given way to the growth of Daoism (Taoism). History shows that, whenever the dominant ideology of the ruling class lost its power, it often signalled the growth and dominance of a countervailing religion.


Output: Even though Confucianism had declined at the end of the Eastern Han, certain facets of its ideology could still be absorbed and put to good use by an ongoing religion. The fact that Confucian ideas are found in Daoism (Taoism) is clear proof that such assimilation did take place. For example, the idea of "the ultimate peace in the unity of the three (Heaven, earth and man) in one" (tian-di-ren san heyi zhi taiping ) shows that the Confucianists were concerned about political reality and the notion of sancai (three endowments) mentioned in Yi Zhuan . The idea that the sky and the universe were formed by breath (qi ) could have derived from the knowledge of world creation as well as the yin-yang principles and the five elements mentioned in the apocryphal texts. AlI these ideas were closely connected to Han Confucian thought. That most of the scholars who studied the development of Daoism (Taoism) focused their attention on its relationship with Daoist sources and overlooked the nexus between Daoist and


Output: and overlooked the nexus between Daoist and Confucianist ideas is a bias.


Output: Daoism (Taoism) could have another source in its gradual mingling with the tradition of the saints. Although there was a connection between the Daoists and the saints of the early Qin, both seem to belong to quite different schools of thought. Until the beginning of the Western Han, the popular Huang-Lao learning was essentially Daoist. It frequently emphasized the exemplary qualities of the sage and was thus deemed capable of exercising its power over the state and the cosmos. That is why Sima Qian, in his preface, commented that the importance of the Huang-Lao learning lies in the doctrine of "self-actualization through non-action, and self-correction through expiation" (wuwei zihua, qingjing zizheng ).


Output: The Huang-Lao Daoist learning underwent a change during the Eastern Han: part of its adherents sought the help of the gods installed in shrines, thus becoming unified with the saints. Huandi, for example, made sacrifices to Laozi (Lao Tzu) at the latter's shrine with the aim to "preserve shen for the uplift of character and the ultimate ascent to Heaven," thus signalling the initial transformation or Huang-Lao's Daoist teaching. Also, as early as the end of the Western Han, there was already in existence what was known as "Huang Lao's Dao " (the Way of Huang-Lao) and later on, the "Fangxian's Dao " (the Way of the Saints), both of which actually belonged to the immortalist sects. Further, the saints' underlying objective was to attain "eternal life" (changsheng busi ) and to cause the bodies to be sanctified (routi chengxian ). Thus, once it merged with the Daoist ideas of "attaining peace through inaction, and remaining in peace through abstinence" (qingjing wuwei, tiandan guayu ), it increasingly began to


Output: wuwei, tiandan guayu ), it increasingly began to attract the masses and became a powerful social force. Lastly, the basic tenets of Daoism (Taoism), such as "immortality" and "the sanctification of the bodies," although derived from the Way of the Saints, became part of the Daoist system. Hence, its transformation also represents an important factor contributing to the growth of Daoism(Taoism).


Output: From the above viewpoints, Daoism (Taoism) as a religion may be said to have deviated from the Confucianists' and Daoists' schools of thought. However, its source of ideas was inseparable from both. Hence, from the beginning, it had distinguished itself as a religious system in which Confucian and Daoist ideas supplemented each other. This system represents some of the characteristics typical of Chinese culture, psychology and way of thinking.


Output: Third, the introduction of Buddhism into China had greatly stimulated the development of Chinese religion. From the time Buddhism spread to China during the Western Han till after the middle of the Eastern Han, it maintained a steady level of propagation. Buddhism, acting like a catalyst, escalated the development of Daoism (Taoism). Actually, the school of the saints was already popular during the Western Han, and disciples frequently had given tributes to Huang-Lao. This was evidenced in the existing learnings of "Huang-Lao's Dao " and "Fangxian's Dao ." The former sanctified Huangdi and worshipped him in shrines dedicated to him; the latter talked about "non-death and everlasting life" (changsheng busi ). Shiji records that the teacher of the river elder, Le Jugong, learned about Huangdi. The Book of Fengshan records that Huangdi became an immortal because of fengshan . Yuji (more appropriately, Ganji), who compiled the Daoist scripture Taiping Jing , suggested that the book was originally by Laozi (Lao


Output: that the book was originally by Laozi (Lao Tzu). During Han Mingdi, Ying, King of Chu, had already worshipped Huang-Lao and Futu. Ying recited Huang-Lao's words and honored Futu's shrine. Huandi erected Huang-Lao's and Futu's shrines in his palace. The fact that Huang-Lao and Futu were worshiped manifestly shows that Huangdi was at that time regarded as a deity or a Buddha. Sainthood was in fact a form of sagehood. Living the life of an immortal is but a human discipline. There was no formal, nor endurable form of organization to be used as a base for the interaction of the religious community. But after the spread of Buddhism to China, it became an organized form of religion, possessing not only a set of teaching which differed from that of traditional China, but also an organized church, with a religious canon and a spiritual community, all of which served as a blueprint for the founding of Daoism(Taoism).


Output: It is true that Buddhism had served as a model for the establishment of Daoism (Taoism). Of even greater importance is that Buddhism was alien to Chinese culture, and its propagation in China was greeted with protests by the bearers of Huaxia's cultural tradition. This defensive attitude acted as a stimulus spurring the Chinese to strive even harder towards establishing an indigenous religion. When an ethnic culture encountered an alien culture it often gave rise to mutual absorption or rejection. This situation was particularly marked in the case of the Chinese response to Indian Buddhism. We can provide evidence to show how it was actually reflected in the earliest Daoist scripture, Taiping Jing. In this scripture, we see how some Buddhist ideas, like benqi (the primal beginning) and sanjie (the three worlds), had their origins in the Buddhist canon. On the other hand, there were criticisms about Buddhism, for example, the talks that "the conduct of the four destructions collectively denigrates the


Output: the four destructions collectively denigrates the spiritual way of Heaven" (Sihui zhi xing, gong wuru huangtian zhi shendao ). Moreover, upon the establishment of Daoism(Taoism), its adherents circulated the story about Laozi (Lao Tzu)'s role in bringing about a renaissance among the northern Chinese (Laozi [Lao Tzu] huahu). This was designed not only as a blow to Buddhism but also as an attempt to boost the image of Daoism (Taoism). All this suggests a kind of antagonistic reaction against the entry of the alien culture.


Output:
Therefore, it is not at all surprising that the end of the Eastern Han period saw the need for the development of an indigenous religion. The founding of this religion could be traced to the existing tradition of the saints. The fact that it adopted Confucian and Daoist ideas as a basis for the development of Daoism (Taoism) is even less surprising. Once it emerged, it immediately became charged with an intense ethnic fervor and came into direct conflict with the alien Buddhist religion. The outcome is, precisely, a manifestation of an indigenously endowed Chinese culture.

II．The Development of Daoism

The Process through which Daoism (Taoism) developed into an organized religion also a clear manifestation of how a religious community came into being.


Output: What is the nature of religion? It can be defined in a great number of ways. Even in Marxists' writings, religion is conceived differently under different circumstances. Marx said, "religion is the opiate of the people," which is interpreted in terms of the use of religion as a way of hypnotising the masses. This statement came not from Marx but from Feuerbach. It means that the purveyors of religion who claimed that it could bring comfort to humankind were not being honest. Lenin conceived of "religion as the workers' groaning sound," which is interpreted as relating to the agony of the proletariat. Plekhanov said, "Religion has a countless number of definitions. . . . It may be interpreted as a form of relationship that helps to realize the existence of the mystical superhuman power, for humans believe that they can depend on this power." Plekhanov's definition seems to be more relevant and practical, but is there such a mystical power? How do we adjust to the existence of such a power? Why do people find


Output: the existence of such a power? Why do people find it necessary to believe in such a power? Is belief in a mystical superhuman power superstitious? This raises some philosophical problems, viz., the problems of religion vis-à-vis superstition and belief.


Output: Is religion a superstition? This question can be debated for a long time and no one knows when it will end, but devout believers most certainly will reject the pronouncement that "religion is superstition." Why? It is because believers frequently rely upon certain ideal principles to interpret what often is called the "mystical superhuman power" in the form of ultimate "truth, goodness, and beauty" (zhen, shan, mei ), or else they often look upon the ideals of "truth, goodness, and beauty" as a form of "mystical superhuman power." They sincerely believe it to be true and try very hard to apply these ideals in their social life. Probably the belief in, and dependence upon, this ultimate "truth, goodness and beauty" in the guise of a "mystical superhuman power" is a matter of the human psyche's response to specific social conditions. But believers of the "mystical superhuman power" assume superstition and religion to be two different things. To them, "superstition" can only be a trick played upon those who


Output: can only be a trick played upon those who lack scientific knowledge, i.e. a manifestation of spiritual poverty due to a lack of ideals. Devotees who believe that the "mystical superhuman power" is a manifestation of "truth, goodness, and beauty" may perhaps accept the idea that "religion is synonymous with belief" but certainly will not accept that "religion is superstition." According to them, people should have faith: even the agnostics believe in agnosticism.


Output: Religion and belief are undoubtedly related. Religion is based on belief, but whether belief is based on religion, in the classical sense, is a different matter. As a matter of illustration we can say that "we believe in the scientific explanation of atheism" or even accept that "we believe in Confucian philosophy." Nonetheless, there is no doubt that atheism is not a religion, but a scientific doctrine. Even Confucianism may be said to have embodied certain religious elements, although it is not a religion. Therefore, we should distinguish not only between "religion" and "belief," but also between "religion" and "religious thought." Otherwise, almost any kind of philosophical discourse could be regarded as a religion, and if that be the case, it would be as good as abnegating the existence of religion.


Output: Based on our understanding of the human psyche, we may postulate that human beings really need a certain kind of belief. The question is whether there is the need for a religious belief. If we could divide belief into two categories—one a scientific belief and another a non-scientific belief—religion may be said, generally, to belong to the latter category. What follows immediately will be questions like whether human spiritual life requires a certain kind of self-satisfaction obtained from a non-scientific discipline, or whether social life looks upon religious belief itself as a psychological need. This is too gigantic a problem to be discussed here. We can only postulate that for a non-scientific belief to become an organized religion, it must offer some kind of theoretical bases or support. Also, these arguments must be able to reflect the spirit of the time. If there were no religious teachings to be used as a theoretical system, non-scientific beliefs could not become an established religion. Besides,


Output: not become an established religion. Besides, as an established religion, especially one that had colored the history of the social masses, there must be a perduring church organization, a religious canon, a community of devotees, and a history of religion.


Output: In history, there were thousands of the so-called "religious sects," but not all of them could be regarded strictly as "religious organizations." In fact, a number of them could only be looked upon as "superstitious cults." If that be the case, what then may be thought to be an organized religion? We shall analyze the growth of Daoism (Taoism) first before illuminating the really meaningful form of religious organization.


Output: An organized religion must have a canon with a philosophical base of its own. The religious teachings should not be nonsensical, but must contain a well-organized system of ideas for the advancement of humankind. The reason why Indian Buddhism has become an influential world religion is that it provides an impressive system of thought which is capable of enlightening the human mind. If Daoism (Taoism) merely confined itself to a haphazard way of thinking, as is represented in the Taiping Jing , it would have been difficult to become an established religion in China. Thus, from the end of the Han Dynasty, through the Three Kingdoms, till after the Western and Eastern Jin, there emerged Daoists like Ge Hong, Lu Xiujing, Kou Qianzhi, Tao Hongjing and others who, in an attempt to fulfill the requirement of the time, not only integrated some of the Daoist and Confucian ideas but also absorbed some of the Buddhist elements to enrich Daoism (Taoism).


Output: A really meaningful and influential religious community must have a formal or more serious form of church organization. Even though the ideas of "immortality" and "the sanctification of the bodies" were subsequently incorporated into the Daoist religion, the saints relied heavily on personal devotion without developing a distinctive church, and so they failed to develop a religion. It was not until the end of the Han Dynasty that Daoism (Taoism) became an established religion with a permanent membership of disciples, together with a body of clergy and church leaders. However, the regimes of the Three Kingdoms and the Western Jin banned this organization, subjecting it to dissolution until the Eastern Jin when Du Zigong and others revived it and once again set it on course.


Output: An organized religion must also have a more permanent set of religious teaching and canon. Although Daoism (Taoism) had its own precepts and canon when it was first instituted at the end of the Eastern Han, they were rather simple and impermanent in nature. From the Eastern Jin onward, Daoism (Taoism) gradually became more firmly established under the impact of Buddhism and with the tireless efforts of Lu Xiujing, Kou Qianzhi and others.


Output: An organized religion must have its own canon and scriptures for the guidance of its believers. Although there were a number of Daoist books, like the Laozi (Lao Tzu ) and the Zhuangzi , before the Wei and the Jin dynasties, these books came to be accepted as scriptures only after being popularized by the devotees. All these books were written by Daoist philosophers of the early Qin, and they had hardly any connection with Daoist religion. It was due to the believers' attempt to look for historical evidences that they decided to upgrade them as scriptures. Taiping Jing , for example, was written before the inception of the Daoist religion. Hence, it served only as a groundwork for the development of Daoism(Taoism). However, by the time of the Eastern Jin and the Northern and Southern dynasties, when Daoism (Taoism) was firmly rooted and a church was organized, a large quantity of scriptures expounding the Daoist canon began to appear (Ge Hong's Pao Pozi ). This period saw the appearance of three distinctive


Output: period saw the appearance of three distinctive categories of scriptures: Sanhuang Jing (The Three Emperors Scripture ), Shangqing Jing (The High Pure Scripture ), and Lingbao Jing (The Spirit Protected Scripture ). All these scriptures subsequently combined to form the "three caves" (sandong ) of the Daozang, namely: the cave of the real (dongzhen ), the cave of the gods (dongshen ), and the cave of the occult (dongxuan ).


Output: An established religion must have a spirit being, or shenling , as specific object of worship and a history of its own. When Daoism (Taoism) was first instituted it had inherited part of the saints' tradition. The Daoist disciples claimed that it was imparted to them by the immortals, mostly with Laozi (Lao Tzu)'s assistance. Until the Northern and the Southern dynasties, Daoist disciples created the "rank of the real being" based on the conception of the social hierarchy prevailing at the time. Tao Hongjing' s Zhenling Yeweitu (Real Spirit's Occupational Status Chart ) divided the immortals into seven classes, the highest of which was occupied by the first three: the Primal Lord of Heaven (Yuanshi Tianzun ), the Daoist Lord on High (Gaoshang Daojun ), and the First Divine Daoist Lord (Yuanhuang Daojun ). From then on, these three deities became the most honored in the objects of worship in the Daoist temples (daoguan ). Since a religion always finds it necessary to undermine the existence of other competing


Output: to undermine the existence of other competing religions, it has to create a history of its own in order to raise its own status. Thus, being an indigenous Chinese religion, Daoism (Taoism) had to tackle the entry of alien Buddhism. Besides emphasizing the differences between "Chinese" and "non-Chinese" (huayi zhi bian ) to undermine Buddhism, Daoists also spread the story of "Laozi (Lao Tzu) huahu" and elevated Laozi (Lao Tzu)'s position to that of Buddha Shakyamuni's teacher. Consequently, both Buddhism and Daoism(Taoism) remained in conflict for a long time.


Output: However, it was not until the Eastern Jin and the Northern and Southern dynasties that Daoism (Taoism) finally became an established religion. The various stages of its development may be summarized as follows: First, from the Eastern Jin onward, the Daoists began to revive their religion by reorganizing the Daoist community which had become scattered and unstable. At the same time, in order to overcome the inadequacy of Daoist teaching and theoretical formulations, Ge Hong and others had provided a body of Daoist canon and precepts. Thereafter, as an attempt to consolidate the founding of the Daoist church, a set of religious teaching was formulated; and in order to propagate Daoist teaching the required scriptures were made available. Lastly, so as to set the religion on a proper footing, a compendium of fairy tales and legendary stories was kept alive. The various phases involved in the development of Daoism (Taoism) may thus be said to be characteristic of the circumstances under which a religious body


Output: of the circumstances under which a religious body came into existence. One of our aims of studying the history of religion is to use it as a source for illuminating the various phases of its development so as to enable us to assess, more accurately, the role it played in society.


Output:
III．Characteristics of Daoism

As a form of religious philosophy Daoism (Taoism) has special characteristic, which can be illuminated only through comparison with other religions.


Output: An established religion has characteristics which are distinctively different from those of other religions. Besides such external forms as church organization, religious doctrines and canon, as well as its conception of the sacred, its characteristics should be reflected in the theoretical system which forms the core of the religion. This theoretical system usually contains a body of basic ideals and conceptual schema. For instance, the ultimate reality of the Buddhist belief, as embodied in the concepts of self-denial, transcendentalism and nirvana, is the insignia which distinguishes it from other religions. The three doctrines of the medieval Christianity—namely, "the existence of God," "the resurrection of the soul" and "free will"—form its religious philosophy and conceptual schema. If that be the case, does Daoist philosophy contain any doctrines and tenets which differ from those of other religions? I think it does, especially in the earlier form of Daoism (Taoism). Whilst almost all religions ask


Output: Daoism (Taoism). Whilst almost all religions ask the question "what happens after the demise of a person?", Daoism (Taoism) wanted to know "why humans don't die?". This basic question serves as the key to the theoretical system of Daoism (Taoism). All this shows that it has characteristics different from those of other religions. The early form of Daoism (Taoism) held that its body of belief was made up of the tenet of "the ascent of the three in one," that is, "the unity of Heaven, earth, and man for the attainment of the Great Peace" (tian-di-ren, sanzhe heyi yi zhi taiping ); "the blending of the essence, breath, and shen to become a saint" (jing-qi-shen, sanzhe hunyi er cheng shenxian ). From this it evolves into "non-death and eternal life" (changsheng busi ), "resurrection of the bodies" (routi feisheng ), and "transformation of the breath into the three pure ones" (qihua sanqing ), thus forming the basis of Daoism (Taoism ).


Output: To understand the tenets of the Buddhist philosophy, one must know the meaning of nirvana. Hence, a Russian Buddhist scholar wrote a book analyzing the meaning of nirvana. In Mou Zongsan's book, he analyzed the concept of nirvana from the Chinese Buddhist viewpoint. In studying Christianity, one should analyze the concept of "God." Thus, Aurelius Augustinus (354-430) in his The City of God formulated his thesis regarding the "godliness" of the "Almighty." In his Shenxue Daquan , Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) put forward five parameters to prove that "God exists." In Daoist philosophy, the basic concept is breath (qi ), the existence of which may be proved by the following:


Output:
First, "the unity of the three in one" refers to the unity of Heaven, earth and man (tian-di-ren ), and the reason why "Heaven, earth and man" can be unified is due to the fact that the breaths of them are the same. The essence, breath and god (Jing-qi-shen ) blend to become one, and the reason why they can be fused in one is due to the fact that the breaths of them are the same.

Second, the so-called "one breath giving birth to the three pure ones" means the three most respected worthies of Daoism (Taoism) were the manifestations of the breath, or the three layers of the most sacred Heaven were manifested by breath, or qi . This also shows how the basic concept of Daoism (Taoism) came to be formed.


Output: Third, although dao (the way) is the highest form of Daoist doctrine, its early period identified three circumstances under which the relationship between dao and qi was highlighted. The first circumstance was that dao is more basic than qi , but dao cannot be isolated from qi . Another circumstance showed that qi is more basic than dao , because Daoism (Taoism) used qi as its prime mover—for example, Liu Xie in his "Miehuo Lun " ("On the Extinction of Illusion"), while citing "Sanpo Lun" ("The Three Breakthroughs"), said " qi is the prime mover of dao ." The third circumstance was the synthesis that dao is qi —for example, Tao Hongjing in his Yangsheng Yanming Lu cited Fuqi Jing (Breathtaking Scripture ) that " dao is qi ." In studying the philosophical basis of the Daoist canon, if one could analyze the meaning of qi and the conceptual base upon which it is built, one would be able to gain further insight into the various salient features of Daoism (Taoism).


Output:
Hegel in his Lectures on the History of Philosophy said, "the

difference in cultures is due to the difference in the systems of ideas, even more so is that in philosophy." If we compare Daoism (Taoism) with other religious systems, the doctrines formulated by Daoist ideas, and the school of thought which formed the basis of these doctrines, we would be able to understand more clearly the characteristics of Daoism (Taoism). Although Daoism (Taoism) is indigenous to the Chinese, it actually owes its development to the inspiration of Buddhism when the latter spread to China. Thus, we are able to identify the rival relationship between Buddhism and Daoism (Taoism) as one of its special characteristics.


Output: The earliest Daoist scripture, Taiping Jing , on the one hand, shows that it was influenced by Buddhism. For example, it relates to the question of conformity, a concept which was already in use in traditional Chinese thought. But in Taiping Jing this was discussed in such a detailed and outstanding manner that it became obvious that it was influenced by the Hinayanist Zen Buddhist concept of "mind control" or "control of desire." On the other hand, the scripture also shows that it was antagonistic to Buddhism. For example, Taiping Jing 's satirical expression, "the way of the four destructions" (sihui zhi xing ), was clearly aimed at Buddhism. It also put forward the argument that "one's burden is one's responsibility" (chengfu ) as a direct confrontation to the Buddhist concept of "reincarnation" (laishi baoying ). After the Eastern Jin, Daoism (Taoism) gradually developed into a full-fledged religion. It had a theoretical system of its own, and consequently its differentiation from Buddhism became more


Output: its differentiation from Buddhism became more and more pronounced. At that time, the differences between Buddhism and Daoism (Taoism) might be related to the following problems: (i) life and death and the form of god; (ii) the cause and effect of one's deeds and misdeeds (yinguo baoying ); and (iii) this-worldly and other-worldly orientations. By analyzing of all these issues, we would be able to appreciate the special characteristics of Daoism (Taoism) as a religion.


Output: In comparing Buddhism and Daoism (Taoism), we may encounter yet another question: why does not Daoism (Taoism) become a world religion as did Buddhism rather than remaining merely a Chinese religion? From the historical point of view, it is possible that Daoism(Taoism) could have spread to Korea at the end of the Northern and the Southern dynasties. Sanguo Shiji (The History of the Three Kingdoms ) recorded how Daoism (Taoism) spread to Korea at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty but, shortly afterwards, Buddhism became popular in Korea and very soon it outran Daoism (Taoism), which thenceforward ceased to retain its foothold there. During the same period, Daoism(Taoism) passed through Korea to Japan, where it might have exercised some influence on Japan's Shinto, though this does not mean that the development of Shinto was due to the Daoist influence. Unlike Buddhism, however, Daoism (Taoism) also failed to spread its wing over Japan. In history Daoism (Taoism) had even less influence on other


Output: Daoism (Taoism) had even less influence on other countries(notwithstanding its continuing impact on Chinese devotees who made their homes outside China).


Output: In my opinion, the main reason why Daoism (Taoism) could not become a world religion is that it not only contains defects in its system of beliefs and practices, but also carries a heavy load of sentiments which are peculiarly Chinese. The goal Daoism (Taoism) seeks to achieve is "non-death and eternal life" and "the sanctification of bodies." All this differs from the monotheistic doctrine that "the soul does not die." On the one hand, its theoretical arguments, such as "the sanctification of bodies" and "non-death and eternal life" are too crude and difficult to be absorbed. Consequently, Daoism (Taoism) had no alternative but to take in some Buddhist ideas, such as "when the form ceases, its spirit remains" (xingjin shen bu mie ) and "the three kalpas' wheel of karma" (sanshi lunhui ). Thus, the spread of Daoism (Taoism) has been seriously restricted, whereas wherever it goes Buddhism has been able to take the place of Daoism (Taoism) wherever the latter goes. On the other hand, Daoism (Taoism) is too


Output: goes. On the other hand, Daoism (Taoism) is too closely related to science. For the sake of preserving life, ensuring "non-death and eternal life" and sanctifying the dead it emphasizes a great deal of physical conditioning for lifting the breath (qi ) of material reality to the highest level. Consequently, China's science and technology, especially medicine, came to be developed alongside Daoism (Taoism). Daoism (Taoism)'s use of science was bound to curtail its dynamism as a religion. Thus, the "non-science" and "anti-science" components, in conjunction with the basic qualities of science, began to contradict each other. Religion usually emphasizes "otherworldly orientations," but Daoism (Taoism) seems to insist on "this-worldly orientations" instead. Its adherents believe that they could blend "the three (jing , qi , shen ) to become saints" (sanzhe hunyi er chengxian ). But as a religious system Daoism (Taoism) also advocates the unity of the three (tian , di , ren ) in one to ensure the Great Peace


Output: , di , ren ) in one to ensure the Great Peace (sanzhe heyi er zhi taiping ) and for this reason can be a potent disruptive force in the political process. In thus fabricating the supernatural world of the saints, Daoism (Taoism) hopes to translate the real world into an ideal one—this undeniably is a conflict of ideas.


Output:
The study of the characteristics of Daoism (Taoism) is of great importance for it enables us to understand the difference between Daoism (Taoism) and other religions. By analyzing its characteristics we are able to illuminate the salient features of Chinese culture, psychology and philosophy, as well as the direction of developments in science and technology, medicine and hygiene, and the ensuing shortcomings hidden therein. For a people to succeed in development, they must know not only the present and the future, but also the past. They must come to grips not only with the reality of political life and economic exigencies, but also with their traditional culture, religious belief and pattern of thought. Herein lies the reason why serious research must be conducted on Daoism (Taoism) so as to enable us to understand its role as a Chinese religion.

伍　论道教的产生和它的特点 *


Output:
伍　论道教的产生和它的特点 *

宗教是一种社会意识形态。把宗教作为意识形态来研究它的发展历史，在今天不仅有其一般性的意义，而且有着某种特殊的意义。我们可以从国外大量的事实看到，科学技术在飞速发展，并没有使宗教意识衰退，反而加强了人们对宗教的追求；就国内情况看，也因种种原因信仰宗教的人有着一种发展的趋势。这样一种现象就向我们提出若干应该认真研究的有关宗教的理论问题，如“宗教的本质是什么”“人类的心理特性是否需要有一种宗教性的信仰”“宗教和宗教性的信仰是否是一回事”“宗教信仰是否有益于社会生活”“宗教与科学是矛盾的还是互补的”“宗教能否现代化”等等。上述这些问题当然不是本文应该研究的范围，本文不可能也不应该直接讨论这些问题。但是，为什么要研究宗教史，一部好的宗教史是不是应有强烈的时代感，它能不能使人们在读了之后而认真考虑当今世界存在的宗教问题，我想写宗教史的人是应该想到这些问题。

在我国历史上曾经流行过的有佛教、道教、回教、天主教、基督教以及袄教等等，但其中只有道教是中国本民族的宗教。说得确切些，道教是中国本民族宗教的一种，因此它具有中国本民族的特色，它对中国的民族文化、民族心理、风俗习惯、科学技术、哲学思想、医药卫生甚至政治经济生活都有相当大的影响。我们研究作为中华民族本民族的一种有较大影响的宗教——道教——的产生和发展的历史以及它的特点，能否加深我们对自己民族文化、民族心理以及思维方式的特征的了解？能否从一个侧面使我们更加认真地考虑当今世界的宗教理论和实际问题呢？我认为应是可能的。为此，本文将对下述三个问题作一些分析和探讨。

一、道教的产生是适应了东汉末期中国本民族（主要是汉族）的社会、政治、经济、道德以及人们的心理的需要。

道教为什么到东汉末年才产生，而道教所崇信的某些思想如“长生不死”“肉体成仙”等等在战国时期已经有了，到秦汉后更为流行，这是为什么呢？我们知道，并非任何迷信思想都可以称为宗教，当然宗教中总是包含着大量的迷信成分；也并不能说任何“有神论”都能成为宗教，虽然一般地说宗教也是“有神论”。宗教，特别是一种有影响的宗教，它的产生和发展必定有其社会生活、历史条件的原因，它的发展总也有着某种客观规律。道教在东汉末年产生是由以下几个条件促成的：

第一，东汉末年的现实社会生活为道教提供了有利于产生的土壤。


Output:
第一，东汉末年的现实社会生活为道教提供了有利于产生的土壤。

东汉自顺帝以后，社会政治日益腐败，外戚专政，宦官当权，“凡贪淫放纵，僭凌横恣，挠乱内外，螫噬民化”，无恶不作，致使“农桑失所，兆民呼嗟于昊天，贫穷转死于沟壑”（仲长统《昌言》）。由于当时政治统治者的残酷经济剥削和政治压迫，使广大人民群众无法生存，破产、逃亡已成为当时普遍现象，所以当时广大人民群众与统治者的矛盾是十分尖锐的。据史书记载，自顺帝以后农民起义此起彼伏，一直不断。当时的起义农民除了阶级利益一致而使他们自发地联合在一起之外，已见农民起义的领导者们利用方术、迷信思想作为组织群众的纽带，故在史书中多称顺帝以后的起义农民为“妖贼”。

从这里我们也许可以得出两点结论：一是在汉末这个经济、政治、精神和道德普遍瓦解的时代里，它为一种宗教的产生提供了客观条件；二是起义农民普遍利用某些方术迷信，这就说明他们已经意识到方术迷信思想可以作为他们组织群众的思想武器，因而为一种宗教的产生创造了广大的群众基础。

社会的危机给下层人民带来的苦难最为深重，在对现实的绝望中走向乞求超现实的神灵，自是古代人民最现实的可能。道教徒最初也是来源于广大下层人民。

第二，东汉末年为道教的产生准备了可以利用的思想材料。自汉武帝以后，董仲舒提出“罢黜百家，独尊儒术”之后，儒家思想适应着封建大一统的需要而成为我国封建社会的统治思想，此后儒家思想的发展沿着天人感应目的论而有神学意味越来越浓厚的谶纬迷信之类。宗教一般说总是有神论，但是是否任何有神论都能成为一种完备意义的宗教呢？那却不一定。因为一种完备意义上的宗教（这里指的是阶级社会里的宗教），它不仅有对神灵的崇拜，而且应有一套教义的理论体系和较为固定的教会组织、教规教仪以及传授历史等等。一般地说，宗教总是要把世界二重化为现实世界和超现实世界，在其教义中认为人们只有在超现实世界里才能永远摆脱现实社会生活中存在的种种苦难，人们的美好的、幸福的生活最后只能在那超现实的彼岸世界中实现。

我国的儒家思想特别是两汉的儒家思想尽管也承认“有神”，但它并不认为必须在现实世界之外实现其理想，而是要求在现实世界之中实现其“治国平天下”的理想，虽然这只能是幻想。在我国长期的封建社会中，宗教虽然有过很大影响，但始终没有能成为独占的统治思想，并且常常居于次要地位，这一情况不能不说和作为正统思想的儒家思想的这一特点有关。


Output:
儒家思想到东汉以后从发展上看也很可能成为一种宗教，因为从有神论、谶纬迷信发展成为一种宗教并不是很困难的。但儒家在汉朝始终也没有成为宗教，这和它要求在现实社会中实现其“治国平天下”的理想有着直接联系。因此，随着汉王朝的衰落，儒家思想本身既然不能成为一种宗教，而其统治地位又走了下坡路，由于儒家统治地位的削弱从而为一种宗教的产生提供了条件。历史的进程向我们表明，每当对统治阶级的统治思想发生信仰危机的时候，也往往是宗教意识易于滋生和广泛发生影响的时候。

儒家思想到东汉末虽然衰落了，但它的思想中的某些部分却可以为宗教吸收和利用。这点我们可以从道教思想中找到它吸收某些儒家思想的事实得到证实。例如关于“天地人三合一致太平”的思想，它表现了儒家强烈的关心现实政治的倾向和《易传》中关于“三才”的思想，可以说直接来源于纬书的关于世界创化的模式以及阴阳五行思想等等，这些都和两汉流行的儒家思想有密切关系。我们应该看到，一般研究道教史的学者往往只注意它和道家的渊源关系，而忽视了道教和儒家在思想上的联系，这是一种偏见。

道教的另一思想来源可以说是逐渐与神仙家思想相结合的道家思想。先秦道家与神仙家虽然有着某种联系，但它们毕竟是两种不同的思想体系。到西汉初年，当时流行的黄老之学仍属道家，它所注重的往往是君人南面之术，成为一种治国经世的工具，所以司马迁在他的《自序》中谓，汉初黄老之学的要点在于“无为自化，清净自正”。

降至东汉，黄老道家之学为之一变，其一支走向祠祀求神而与神仙家结合。桓帝祠祀老子，欲“存神养性，意在凌云”，故已见黄老道家之变化。而早在西汉末已有所谓“黄老道”，后又有“方仙道”等，实已是神仙家的流派，而神仙家的思想在于追求“长生不死”“肉体成仙”，它一经与道家思想“清净无为，恬淡寡欲”的思想结合，更加为世人所重视，而在社会上发生影响。后来道教的基本信条“长生不死”“肉体成仙”虽来自神仙家，却和道家某些思想结成不解之缘了，所以道家思想的蜕变也是道教产生的一个重要原因。

从以上两方面看，道教作为一种宗教不同于作为一种学术流派的儒家和道家，但就其思想渊源说它却离不开儒道两家，因此它一开始就是以儒道互补为特征的宗教派别。这一以儒道互补为特征的宗教派别不能不在极大程度上表现着我们这个民族文化、心理和思维方式上的某些特色。


Output:
第三，佛教的传入大大地刺激了我国本民族宗教的建立。佛教自西汉末传入中国，到东汉中叶以后它有了一定程度的流传。佛教如同催化剂，加快了道教建立的过程。本来，神仙家在西汉就很流行，而神仙家又往往托言黄老，例如原来就有所谓“黄老道”和“方仙道”等。前者把黄帝老子神化而礼拜祠祀；后者则言“长生不死”。《史记》载，河上丈人的老师乐巨公学黄帝老子，甚至在《封禅书》中记载着有所谓黄帝因封禅而长生不死。道教经典《太平经》的编纂者于吉（或说应作“干吉”）托言此书得之于老君。汉明帝时，楚王英已对黄老和浮屠同样礼拜，“楚王英诵黄老之微言，尚浮屠之仁祠”，桓帝于宫中“立黄老浮屠之祠”。这种把黄老和浮屠同样礼拜，就说明当时把黄帝老子看成和佛一样的“神”。神仙家本来是一种方术，养生求成仙也只是个人修炼的事，并没有什么组织，特别是没有什么固定的组织形式，成为一种宗教团体。但佛教传入以后，佛教作为一种完整形态的宗教，它不仅有一套不同于中国传统思想的教义，而且是一个有教会组织的团体，还有一套教规教仪和礼拜祠祀的对象等等，这就给道教的创立提供了一个可以参考的样板。

佛教的传入对于道教的建立固然有着样板的作用，但更为重要的是，佛教作为一种外来文化进入中国传播和发生影响，必然引起华夏文化系统的反抗，这更是当时要求建立一种民族宗教的动力。一种民族文化在和传入外来文化相遇时，往往同时产生吸收和排斥两种势力，这样一种情况对中华民族来说尤为明显。关于这点，我们可以从最早的道教经典《太平经》的内容所反映的情形得到证实。在《太平经》中，我们可以发现它一方面吸收了某些佛教思想，如“本起”“三界”等即是采自佛教的名辞；另一方面又批评了佛教，有所谓“四毁之行，共污辱皇天之神道”的说法。特别是道教一建立就提出“老子化胡”的故事，用以打击佛教，抬高道教，而表现了一种抗拒外来文化的民族心理。

从以上三方面看，在东汉末年出现一种为中华民族本民族所需要的宗教绝非偶然。而且出现的这种宗教又是来源于中国固有的神仙家，并以儒道互补为其思想基础的道教则更非偶然了。这种宗教一经出现就表现了它的强烈的民族特色，而和外来的宗教——佛教——相抗衡，这也正是中华民族的民族文化特性的一种表现。

二、道教发展成一种完整意义的有重大影响的宗教的过程表明了一种完整意义上的宗教团体发展的一般规律。


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二、道教发展成一种完整意义的有重大影响的宗教的过程表明了一种完整意义上的宗教团体发展的一般规律。

宗教的本质是什么？大家都知道它有各种各样的定义，就是在马克思主义的经典著作中，在不同情况下对宗教也有不同的说法。马克思说：“宗教是人民的鸦片”，这是就利用宗教对人民进行欺骗方面说的，而且这样的意思最早不是出自马克思，而是出自费尔巴哈，它的意思是说一些维护宗教的人说宗教可以安慰人是一种欺骗。列宁说：“宗教是劳动者的呻吟”，则是就劳动者对自己命运的哀叹方面说的。普列汉诺夫说：“什么是宗教？宗教有无数定义。……把宗教理解为用以实现其对超人的神秘力量——人认为自己依赖于这种力量——的关系的形式。”普列汉诺夫这个定义也许比较切合实际，但是我们的问题是，有没有一种超人的神秘力量以及对此超人的神秘力量应如何理解？人们为什么要相信一种超人的神秘力量？信仰一种超人的神秘力量是否即是迷信？在这里涉及一些有意义的哲学问题，即宗教与迷信同信仰的关系问题。

宗教是否就是迷信，这个问题可以长期争论下去，到什么时候可以说这个问题已经解决了，我想是不得而知的。但是我们可以相当肯定地说，虔诚的宗教徒都不可能接受“宗教即迷信”的论断。为什么呢？我想，某些虔诚的宗教徒往往是用一种理想主义的观点把所谓“超人的神秘力量”看成是超越性的“真、善、美”的化身，或者说他们往往把他们关于“真、善、美”的理想看成是一种“超人的神秘力量”。他们真诚地相信是如此，并努力致力于把他们这种关于“真、善、美”的理想实现于社会生活中。信仰和依赖这种体现超越性的“真、善、美”的“超人的神秘力量”，大概是人们在一定历史条件下的一种心理特性。然而信仰“超人的神秘力量”的虔诚的宗教徒认为，迷信和宗教不同，“迷信”只能是对缺乏科学知识者的愚弄，没有“理想”的人精神贫乏的表现，虔诚地相信“超人的神秘力量”是“真、善、美”的化身的宗教徒也许可以接受“宗教是一种真诚的信仰”这个观点，而决不愿意接受“宗教即迷信”的论断。照他们看，人们总应该有个信仰，即使是最彻底的怀疑主义者，他们也信仰自己的“怀疑”。


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宗教和信仰当然可以说有着必然的联系。宗教总是一种信仰，但是否信仰都是宗教，特别是否是古典意义上的宗教？那却并非如此。例如，我们可以说：“我们信仰科学的无神论”，或者说：“我们信仰儒家哲学”，这大概都是可以的。当然科学的无神论不是宗教，而是一种科学；就是儒家学说也最多只能说是带有某种宗教性的哲学思想体系，但它本身并非宗教。因此，我们不仅应把“信仰”和“宗教”区别开来，而且必须把带有某种宗教性的“学说”和“宗教”区别开来，否则几乎任何哲学学说都可以被说成是宗教，这样也就等于取消了宗教。

我们是否能假设，就人类的心理特性看人们确实要求有某种信仰。但问题在是否要求有一种宗教信仰。如果说可以把信仰分成两大类：一类是理性主义的信仰（或者说是理性的信仰）；一类是非理性主义的信仰（或者说是非理性的信仰）。宗教从总体上说则是属于后一类。紧接着就会有这样的问题：人类的精神生活到底也是否必须从“非理性主义”方面得到某种自我满足，或者说在社会生活中对宗教的信仰也是人们的某种心理需要。这当然是个大问题，在这里我们不可能去讨论它。我们只想说明，非理性主义的信仰要想成为一种完备意义上的宗教信仰，必须用某种理论体系为它作论证，而其理论体系又必须是能反映当时时代精神的。如果没有一套对其宗教教义作论证的理论体系，这种非理性的信仰就不可能是一种完整意义上的宗教。不仅如此，作为一种完整意义上的、特别是对人类社会历史有着长期影响的宗教还必须有固定的教会组织、教规教仪、礼拜的对象和传授的历史等等。

在历史上创立的所谓“宗教教派”何止千百万个，但并不是都可以称得上严格意义上的“宗教团体”，而许多这种组织只能称之为“迷信组织”。那么一种完整意义上的宗教团体应该是怎样的呢？我们这里将通过分析道教的发展来揭示一种完整意义上的宗教团体发展的一般规律。


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完整意义的宗教必须有其宗教教义的理论体系，这个体系要有它的哲学基础，因而它的宗教教义的思想体系决不能是纯粹的胡说八道，而总是有某种对人生理解的深刻思想内容，有成系统的哲学理论。印度佛教之所以成为影响很大的世界性宗教，正因为它有一套相当深刻的对人生理解的理论体系。道教的教义如果只是停留在如《太平经》那样一些杂乱无章的内容上，就很难成为在中国较有影响的宗教团体。因此，从汉末经三国西晋到东晋以后，才有一些道教徒如葛洪、陆修静、寇谦之、陶弘景等根据时代的需要把道家老子的思想和儒家的某些学说又吸收了佛教的一些内容，结合在一起创造了道教的理论思想体系。

一种完整意义上的、有影响的宗教团体必然有其较为严密的教会组织。秦汉时的神仙家讲“长生不死”“肉体成仙”的思想尽管为后来的道教所继承，但是神仙家均以个人修炼为目的，而没有建立固定的教会组织，因此也没有成为一种宗教。东汉末年，道教已形成为有教会组织的宗教团体，它有了固定的教徒和神职人员以及教会的领袖，三国和西晋政权对道教采取了取缔的政策，致使道教组织瓦解，到东晋才为杜子恭等所逐渐恢复和发展起来。

一种完整意义的宗教还必须有一套较为固定的教规教仪。在东汉末年，道教初创时虽也有一些教规教仪，但不仅简单，而且也不固定。自东晋以后，在佛教的影响下，经过陆修静、寇谦之等人的炮制，使道教的教规教仪日趋完善。

一种完整意义的宗教必定有阐发其宗教教仪的经典，以便使信奉者的信仰有所依托。在魏晋以前，虽然已经有若干道教经典，但严格地说这些书实是为以后的道教徒所推崇才成为道教的经典的，如《老子》《庄子》等，这些书本来是先秦道家的著作，与道教无关，而道教徒为了从历史上和理论上找他们的根据，而把这类书推尊为经典。又如《太平经》，它本成书于道教正式成立之前，因此也只能说它为道教的建立作了若干思想上的准备。但到东晋南北朝时，由于道教理论体系的建立（葛洪著《抱朴子》）和道教教会组织的发展而出现了大量阐发道教教义的经典。这个时期出现了道教三个系统的经典，即《三皇经》系、《上清经》系、《灵宝经》系。这三个系列的道教经典以后就组成了“道藏”的“洞真”“洞神”“洞玄”的所谓“三洞”三大部。


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一种完整意义的宗教必定有其固定的崇奉的神灵和其教派的传授史。道教初创时已继承神仙家的故技，说自己是神仙所传授，且多托言老君。至南北朝时，道教徒更根据当时门阀等级观念而创造了“真灵之阶位”。有陶弘景著《真灵业位图》把“神仙”分为七级，最高一级的三位神仙是，居中的“元始天尊”，其左右为“高上道君”和“元皇道君”，自此以后在道观里大都以这三位尊神为最高崇拜对象。一种宗教必然要对其他宗教进行排斥，因而往往要创造自己的宗教历史，来抬高其地位。道教作为中华民族本民族创造的宗教，面对外来的佛教，除了利用“华夷之辨”等来打击佛教外，还提出了所谓“老子化胡”的故事，把自己的教主老子抬高为佛教教主释迦牟尼的老师的地位，从而引起了佛道二教长期的争论。

道教成为一完整意义上的宗教团体是在东晋南北朝时才最后完成的，它的发展完成过程大体如下：东晋以来，先是在其对已经涣散和不固定的道教组织进行重建和整顿，建立起了较为固定的教会组织；在此同时，为弥补其缺乏系统的宗教教义及其理论体系之不足，葛洪等创造了道教教义的理论体系；接着为巩固道教的教会组织而制定了一套教规教仪，为阐发其宗教教义而构造了相应的经典；最后为把道教建立成一完备的宗教团体而编造了固定的神仙谱系和虚构的传授历史。道教这样一个发展过程或者可以说是一种完备意义上的宗教团体发展的一般情形。我们研究宗教史的目的之一就是要把它作为一种社会意识形态来揭示其发生发展的规律，以便我们更深刻地认识它在社会生活中的作用。

三、道教哲学作为一种宗教哲学有着它明显的特点，其特点只能在和其他宗教对比中加以揭示。


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三、道教哲学作为一种宗教哲学有着它明显的特点，其特点只能在和其他宗教对比中加以揭示。

一种完备意义的宗教必定有其不同于其他宗教的特点。它的特点除了表现在某些外在的形式上，如教会的组织形式、教规教仪以及尊崇的神灵等等之外，更深刻地则应表现于其理论体系的层面，这是属于宗教内容的方面。而其理论体系往往是由若干基本命题和一系列的概念范畴所表现的。如佛教的理论体系最终要论证的是“诸法无我”“诸行无常”“涅槃寂静”等“三法印”，说这是佛教和其他教派的根本区别的标志。中世纪的基督教有所谓“上帝存在”“灵魂不死”和“意志自由”等三大命题，围绕着这三大命题而有宗教哲学和它的范畴体系。那么道教哲学有没有某些不同于其他宗教派别的基本命题以及构成其哲学体系的基本范畴呢？我们认为是有的，特别在早期道教中表现得更为明显。几乎所有宗教提出的都是“关于人死后如何”的问题，然而道教所要讨论的是“人如何不死”的问题。道教的理论体系就是围绕着这个问题，从两个方面表现了它与其他宗教派别不同的特点。早期道教说它自己的思想体系是以“三一为宗”，即“天、地、人三者合一以致太平”；“精、气、神三者混一而成神仙”，并从这里演变出“长生不死”“肉体飞升”“气化三清”等观念，而构成了道教的思想体系。

要了解佛教哲学的究极问题，从根本上说必须了解“涅槃”这个概念的涵义，所以俄国的佛教学专家彻尔巴斯基写了一本书专门分析“涅”这个概念的涵义；而牟宗三则写了《般若和涅槃》一书，结合中国佛教的特点解剖了“涅槃”这一概念。研究基督教一般说应从分析“上帝”这一概念着手，奥古斯丁（Aurelius Augustinus，354—430）作《上帝之城》论证所谓“上帝”的“神性”；经院哲学的代表托马斯·阿奎那（Thomas Aquinas，约1225—1274）著《神学大全》对“上帝存在”这个命题作了五大论证，也就是所谓本体论的论证。道教哲学的基本概念可以说是“气”，对此能从下列几个方面得到明证：

第一，所谓“三一为宗”，指的是天、地、人三者合一；而“天”“地”“人”之所以能“合一”，就在于它们同为不同性质的“气”；“精、气、神三者混一”，而“精”“气”“神”之所以能“混一”，也在于它们同为不同性质的“气”。

第二，所谓“一气化三清”，即认为道教的三位最高真神是由“气”变化而成，或者认为三重最高最神圣的“天”是由“气”变化而成，这也是以“气”作为道教的基本概念。


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第三，在道教中虽也有以“道”为最高范畴，但在早期道教讲到“道”与“气”的关系大体有三种情况：一种情况是认为“道”比“气”更根本，但“道”不能离“气”；另一种情况是“气”比“道”更根本，因为道教以“气”作为宗主，如刘勰《灭惑论》引《三破论》谓：“道以气为宗”；第三种情况是认为“道”即是“气”，如陶弘景《养生延命录》引《服气经》说：“道者，气也。”研究道教教义的哲学基础，如果能把它关于“气”的概念涵义以及由“气”这一概念演变出来的概念范畴体系作出认真的分析，将会对道教的特殊本质有深入的了解。

黑格尔在《哲学史演讲录》中说：“文化上的区别一般基于思想范畴的区别，哲学上的区别更是基于思想范畴的区别。”如果我们把道教和其他宗教相比较，从道教所使用的概念范畴方面、由概念范畴形成的命题方面以及由一系列命题形成的思想体系方面进行比较，我们就可以比较清楚地看到道教的特点。道教是中华民族本民族的宗教，但它的产生却受到佛教传入的刺激，因此我们可以通过对早期道教的历史发展中佛道之争来看道教作为一种宗教的特点何在。

道教最早的经典《太平经》一方面表现了它所受佛教某些方面的影响，如其中讲到“守一”的问题，“守一”一词虽在中国传统思想里已经有了，但在《太平经》中讲得那么多，那么突出，显然是受到汉时传入的小乘佛教禅法“安般守意”的影响。另一方面也表现了它对佛教的批判和排斥，例如《太平经》中所谓“四毁之行”，显然是针对佛教而发的；又提出“承负”的学说和佛教的“来世报应”相对立。到东晋以后，道教逐渐发展成为完全意义上的宗教，有了它的理论体系，因而和佛教的分歧就越来越明显了。那时佛教和道教的不同大体表现在三个问题上：即生死、神形问题；因果报应问题；出世、入世问题等。对这些问题加以分析，我们就可以认识到道教作为一种宗教的特点。

在我们把道教和佛教作比较中，还会遇到一个问题，即为什么道教没有像佛教那样成为世界性的宗教，而只是中华民族本民族的一种宗教呢？从道教的历史看，道教在南北朝末期或者已经传到朝鲜地区，在《三国史记》中已经记载有唐初道教传入朝鲜的情形。但不久之后，佛教在朝鲜更为流行，战胜了道教，从此道教在朝鲜几乎灭迹。这一时期，道教也经过朝鲜传入日本，它对日本原有的“神道”或者有些影响，但日本的“神道”绝不是因道教传入才有的。道教在日本也没有像象教那样流传开来。道教在历史上对其他国家就更没有什么影响了。


Output:
照我看，道教之所以没有能成为世界性的宗教，主要是由于它作为一种宗教其理论和实践都有很大缺陷，且带有过于强烈的民族性。道教作为一种宗教所追求的目标是“长生不死”和“肉体成仙”，这和其他宗教派别讲“灵魂不死”根本不同，而其宗教理论对“肉体成仙”“长生不死”的论证，一方面说太粗糙，很难令人相信，因此后来道教也不得不吸收佛教关于“形尽神不灭”和“三世轮回”等思想，这样道教的流传就大大受到限制，而佛教则可以在道教流传所到之处取而代之；另一方面，它又太接近科学，道教为了养生，要求“长生不死”“肉体成仙”，不得不注重身体的炼养，因而就把实质上是物质性的“气”抬到最高的地位，所以中国的科学技术，特别是医药学的发展和道教结上了不解之缘。道教利用科学就必然限制它作为宗教可能发生的作用，因而在道教中的“非科学”“反科学”的成分和它中间的科学因素，就形成了一个极大的矛盾。宗教本应要求“出世”，而道教作为中华民族的一种民族的宗教却深深打上了“入世”的烙印，从每个道教徒个人说，他们要求“精、气、神”三者混一而成仙；但道教作为一宗教团体学说又提倡“天、地、人”三者合一而“致太平”，所以它有着强烈地干预政治的愿望。道教在虚构了超现实的神仙世界的同时，又希望把现实世界变成为理想世界，这也不能不是一极大的矛盾。

研究道教的特点十分重要，它不仅可以使我们了解它和其他宗教派别的不同所在，而且可以通过对其特点的分析，来了解中华民族的民族文化、民族心理和思维方式的特色，了解我们这个民族科学技术、医药卫生发展的道路及其缺陷所在。一个民族要得到发展，不仅要了解它的今天和明天，而且要了解它的昨天；不仅要了解它现实的政治、经济等方面的状况，还应了解这个民族的传统文化、传统的宗教信仰和思维方式，对中国本民族的宗教道教应该进行认真的研究，其原因也就在于此了。

VI．THE ATTEMPT OF MATTEO RICCI TO LINK CHINESE AND WESTERN CULTURES


Output: When introduced into another country or nation a foreign culture is confronted by the problem of how to treat that cultural tradition. If it wishes to spread easily and exert influence in the country in which it is introduced it must identify with that country's native culture. Hence, as the attitude of Matteo Ricci towards traditional Chinese culture is related to his missionary goals in contacting Chinese and especially Confucianist culture, he developed an intensive knowledge of that culture and recognized its very positive value. Therefore, his missionary work is related to an important issue in the history of culture: how effectively to blend not only into one but to communicate between two cultural traditions with different backgrounds. This is the heart of the problem of cultural transplantation. Most probably, he appreciated well the significance of solving the problem and on the whole took a positive attitude towards Confucianist culture. We may observe this problem in two aspects: one is his own


Output: this problem in two aspects: one is his own description of the problem; the other is how the literati of the period or a little later looked upon Matteo Ricci.


Output:
Matteo Ricci not only had a good command of Chinese, but also knew a great deal about Chinese customs and etiquette. He not only dressed in Confucianist style and called himself a "Western Confucianist" (xiru ) with a square piece of cloth on his head, but also followed the etiquette of a Chinese scholar when meeting visitors. He made a careful study of ancient Chinese classics and records and regarded Confucius as a great man of wide knowledge. Of The Four Books (sishu ) which he translated he wrote that it "was written by the four great philosophers and is full of reasonable ethical thought." 1 To his mind, "it is no use at all just to know our learning without the knowledge of theirs." 2

But how did he treat Chinese culture? In a letter of February 15, 1609, to another missionary he wrote:


Output: As I have gradually illustrated, they (the Chinese) also appreciate very much the principle of filial piety, although one might hold different views. To date from its very beginning, they faithfully followed natural law in ancient times, just like the case in our country. In 1500 years, this nation did not simply worship any idols. Even though they did worship some, these idols were not so detestable as those worshipped by our Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Some of the gods were even very moral and well-known for their good conduct. As a matter of fact, in the most ancient and authoritative works of the literati, they only worshipped Heaven and Nature and their common master. When making a careful study of all these works, we may find few things contrary to reason, but instead, most of them are corresponding to reason. And their natural philosophers are no worse than anyone else. 3


Output: The above quotations make clear the following: (1) Ricci knew very well traditional—especially Confucian—Chinese culture. As in ancient society, China was dominated by the patriarchal clan system and moral importance was attached to filial piety based on the principle of blood relation and "natural law." In China worship of Heaven and Nature is also moral and hence naturally "reasonable." Being quite knowledgeable regarding Chinese culture, Ricci regarded Confucianism not as a kind of religion, but rather as based on "natural law." (2) Ricci highly appreciated China's Confucianist culture. He saw that the idolatry in ancient Chinese culture was not like that of the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans and hence that ancient Chinese philosophy, in speaking of human nature and heavenly principles, transcended Western philosophy. This appears in his answer to Xu Guangqi's question, "China now, when virtue and rite and cultural relics are all prevailing, really flourishes culturally as though it has dispelled clouds and


Output: culturally as though it has dispelled clouds and seen the sun again." 4 This may be due to the fact that as a Catholic he attached great importance to opposing idolatry and advocating morality. Matteo Ricci was strongly against the idolatry of Buddhism and Daoism (Taoism), but he did not regard Confucian worship as a kind of idolatry. Thus we can say, that, on the whole, Matteo Ricci agreed with and appreciated the orthodox Confucianist thought of Chinese culture.


Output:
As Xu Guangqi believed in Catholicism through his contact with Ricci, he respected Ricci both for his learning and for his morality. He noted that in Ricci's speech, "you cannot find even a single word which runs counter to the principle of loyalty and piety, nor can you find one harmful to the will of the people and the world." 5 That Xu Guangqi should attach special importance to "loyalty and piety" was influenced strongly by traditional Chinese ideas and it is on this basis that Matteo Ricci preached the Catholic doctrines and received Chinese culture. One passage in Ten Discourses by a Paradoxical Man describes the statement of Gong Dacan made on Matteo Ricci:

On hearing his wise talk, I feel that the Confucian classics of China and those of his country corroborate each other. Thus those who believe in the real sages, either from the East or from the West, from the North or from the South, are actually all the same. 6


Output:
All the Chinese scholars mentioned above think that what Ricci preached corresponded to traditional Chinese thought, especially to that of Confucianism, the most fundamental linking point of which lies in "the principle of loyalty and piety." As far as we know, although the Chinese intellectuals at the time set store in Ricci's knowledge of astronomy, almanac, science and technology, they valued even more highly his attempt to combine Western with Chinese culture. This probably is one of the earliest manifestations of "regarding Chinese learning as the body and Western learning for use." I shall discuss this problem later on.

I．Modes of Relating Oriental and Occidental Cultures


Output:
Judging from the above two aspects we see that, while doing missionary work in China, Matteo Ricci actually was trying to link Oriental and Occidental cultures. On this premise, we would conclude that his attempt adopted the methods of "linking Catholicism with Confucianism" (heru ), "using the Catholic doctrines as a complement to Confucianism" (buru ), "making in some respects the Catholic doctrines transcend the Confucian ones" (chaoru ) "and making some revisions of the Catholic doctrines so that they would concord with the Confucianist ones" (furu ). In short, on the above bases Ricci attempted to discover the point at which Oriental and Occidental cultures could be linked.

i．Linking Catholicism with Confucianism (heru)


Output:
i．Linking Catholicism with Confucianism (heru)

Matteo Ricci wrote three important books on Catholic doctrines: The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven , Ten Discoursed by a Paradoxical Man and Twenty-five Sayings from Epictetus . The original title of the first one is "The True Meaning of the Learning of Heaven." Obviously, he first thought of avoiding the name "the Lord of Heaven" because there is no such thing in China, to facilitate its reception by the Chinese. Feng Yingjing explains in the Preface as follows:

This book is about the questions and answers between Matteo Ricci and his fellow friends and us Chinese. What is the Lord of Heaven? It is God. It does exist.


Output: The edition of The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven in the Ming Dynasty often used the titles "God" and "Heaven" for "the Lord of Heaven" or "the Lord of Supremacy," while the present edition often uses instead "the Lord of Heaven" and "the Lord of Supremacy" simply because Ricci used those titles in order to be easily received by the Chinese. Thus in ancient times the Chinese people worshipped Heaven, their state and their forefathers, but not "the Lord of Heaven." He tries to conform to this by quoting the classics to show that in ancient China "the Lord of Heaven" is God himself. The Chinese classics which he quotes include The Book of Songs (Shi ), The Book of History (Shu ), The Book of Rites (Li ), The Book of Changes (Yi ) and The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong ). These quotes appear more frequently in The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven . For instance, in Discourse VI of Vol. II, where he answers the question about "rewarding the good and punishing the evil," he more than once quotes Chinese


Output: the evil," he more than once quotes Chinese classics to confirm that the doctrines of Catholicism should be combined with those of Confucianism.(1) Matteo Ricci is quite aware of the existence of a supreme personal "God" in ancient China, regarding which he argues that the "Lord of Heaven" in Western Catholicism and "God" in China are one thing with different names. (2) Criticizing Zhu Xi's explanation, he argues that there is only one "supreme lord," not two (Heaven and earth). In his Introduction to The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven he notes that the ancient sage advised that the subject should be faithful, but that they cannot be faithful to two lords. Of the three Cardinal Guides, ruler guiding subject stands first for since a state has its head, how can Heaven and earth not have their lord? As a state should be unified, how can Heaven and earth have two lords? All these ideas obviously show his interpretations of the Catholic doctrines in relation to Confucianism.(3) Quoting the ancient classics he


Output: Confucianism.(3) Quoting the ancient classics he also states that God wills to impose fortune and misfortune on humanity. (4) So God has his own "sphere" (ting ) which is different from the "Heaven" (tian ) in nature. From all these we can see that what Matteo Ricci attempts to prove is that Catholicism coincides with Confucianism and the ancient Chinese classics.


Output:
ii．Complementing Confucianism (buru)

Lettere dalla China is a note written by Matteo Ricci in Italian in China. Later a British missionary translated it from Italian into Latin and added something concerning the history of missionary work as well as of Matteo Ricci, the missionary. It also has an appendix relating the missionary's posthumous glory and pathos. One passage in the book reads as follows:

In answering what the main content of Christianity is, Dr. Xu Guangqi sums it up very exactly in four Chinese characters: "expelling Buddhism and complementing Confucianism" (qufo buru ). That is to say, it wants to expel the idol of Buddhism and add something to the doctrines of Confucianism. 7


Output: As generally any religion is characterized by excluding others, Ricci criticized Buddhism and Daoism (Taoism), especially the former, since he wanted to bring Catholicism to China; this shows signs in nearly all his works. St. Augustine once pointed out that the main content of a heathen religion should resolutely be given up, but that the ideas put forward by some heathen philosophers should be taken into account, accepted or approved if they were really reasonable. Matteo Ricci took this approach to the doctrines of Confucianism. He declared that Confucianism had nothing to do with religion, but was rather a kind of philosophy. He particularly esteemed Confucius, noting that as Confucius lived five centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ he could not know what was to happen 500 years later. "Ricci just quotes the classics of Confucianism in their own terms, saying nothing of how they should be evaluated after the death of Confucius." 8 In Ten Discourses by a Paradoxical Man there is a passage about Gong


Output: a Paradoxical Man there is a passage about Gong Dacan's discussion with Ricci on the issue "whether good or evil will be rewarded posthumously." Gong first notes that the Chinese classics, because Emperor Qin Shihuang burned books and persecuted scholars after the death of Confucius, lost the records of the paradise, hell and retribution, which are still in a good state of preservation in the West: "Thus the stories about the paradise and hell are well preserved." In China, the story of retribution in later ages "is both vague and strange to scholars, who half believe and half doubt its existence." Gong also tries to prove the probable existence of the paradise by quoting ancient classics, but he still doubts the idea that "bestowing charity is bound to be rewarded a place and stand long." Ricci explains this according to the doctrines of Catholicism in which retribution to those who bestow favor does not consist in "place" or "life span." A man living in the world should work hard for the Lord of Heaven


Output: the world should work hard for the Lord of Heaven instead of intending to be rewarded in his lifetime; he should be confident that he will finally go to the paradise. Therefore, answering Xu Guangqi he says: "Those who suffer simply for benefit and emolument or fame and official rank or lasciviousness rather than the sacred cause are actually tragic. But those who suffer for the Lord of Heaven are obviously happy and seem to live in the paradise." 9 It is apparent that he wants to complement the thought of Confucianism with Catholic doctrines, but the approach he adopts is not to negate the Confucian classics but to extend and develop them so as to show that the Confucian ideas do not run counter to those of Western religions but may be complemented by them.


Output:
In The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven many passages deal with the "retribution of good and evil." In Discourse VI "On Man's Being Rewarded with Heaven or Punished with Hell after Death," he more or less complements and revises the Confucianist concept that "the family always doing good is bound to be fortunate, whereas the family always doing evil is doomed to misfortune." To him, there is not only retribution in one's lifetime or to one's descendants (he seems not to be in favor of that to one's descendants). What is more important is posthumous retribution: those who do good will go to Heaven instead of going to Hell after death. But as their purpose is not just this, Ricci adds:

All those who do good usually have three intentions: (1) to go to Heaven instead of going to Hell; (2) to reward the kindness bestowed by the Lord of Heaven; and (3) just to follow the imperial edict given by the Lord of Heaven. 10


Output: The first intention serves as a bridge in order for one to reach the third; that is, doing good is after all following the imperial edict. However, the Confucianists did not know this, and even criticized the concepts of Heaven and Hell simply because they could not understand their deep significance: "The Confucianists criticize the concepts of the Heaven and Hell because they do not know truth." 11 We can see roughly the difference between Catholicism and China's Confucianist tradition. Since the Confucianists talk about "the retribution of good or evil" just from personal moral cultivation, so everyone should "have self-cultivation" or "stick to morality" only for the purpose of reaching one's inner moral accomplishment. In this sense, it is pursuing a kind of "inner transcendence." But the Catholic doing good is after all for "the Lord of Heaven," which is a kind of power of "outer transcendence." So it pursues or follows a kind of "outer transcendence." I shall discuss this problem later on.


Output:
iii．Transcending Confucianism (chaoru )

The aim of China's Confucianist theory is to pursue "inner transcendence," whereas that of Catholicism is to pursue "outer transcendence." In The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven Matteo Ricci points out this shortcoming of Confucianism and criticizes it. 12