朱子對禪宗「作用是性」說的理解

Abstract

宋儒對佛教的論議由形迹層面轉到思想層面，佛教的心性觀自然是論議重點。以朱子為例，他對佛教心性觀的批評以「用是性」說最多，但其理解與禪宗原意實不相應：不僅是禪宗，連象山與上蔡以身體知覺比喻本心良能的說法，亦被朱子視同禪宗之論與告子之說。其中原因的解析與相關思想內容的探究，是為本文撰述重點。

Confucians in the Sung Dynasty had distinct attitude to study Buddhism from those before. The point had turned from examining manners to consciousness. The notion of the natural quality discussed in Buddhism classics became the focus of criticism. Chu Shih, for example, had bitter critique of the notion that “All of the sensational functions are subject to natural quality”. However, Chu's understanding did not correctly reflect the original connotation in Buddhism. Furthermore, Chu put down Lu Hsiang-San (陸象山) and Hsieh Shang-Tsai (謝上蔡) and argued that the latter two had similar discourses to Kao-Tzu (告子) since they had compared the physical sensation to conscience. This article exams the background and thinking wave in the Sung Dynasty as well as to explore the correlation between the Zen School and Confucianism in that age.