佛教经济学:历史概述与个案研究

Buddhist Economics:A Historical Overview and Case Study

在中古时期的中国,佛教在经济、财政,以及商业活动中发挥过重要作用,对此,学者的研究已有长足的进展。但是,其中仍有缺陷,乃本研究所欲弥补:所研究的经济活动几乎都是在僧团之内或者与僧团相关,而对于佛徒所创立的清净的宗教活动之后的经济与财政背景却鲜有关注。本文力图弥补这一长久以来的失衡。首先介绍梁武帝(502-549在位)所设立的一种“原始形态的银行”,无尽藏(梵语:akṣayākara);然后,回溯其印度起源;最后,集中探讨梁武帝的无尽藏制度对隋唐时代的影响,在这一时代出现一位具有非凡感召力的僧人信行(594年卒)(三阶教创立者),无尽藏因之数世纪以降成为中国佛教的一种制度性存在。最后试论这一独特体制对当世社会(尤其是经济生活)的影响。

Scholars have made great strides in studying the important role Buddhism played in promoting economic,financial,and commercial activities in medieval China.There is,however,one limitation I address in this article:almost singular focus on the economic activities carried out within or in connection with the samgha,with little attention to the economic and financial context for some allegedly“pure”religious programs installed by Buddhists.This article endeavors to make some long overdue compensation for this unbalanced approach.First,it introduces the proto-banking institution known as wu-jinzang無盡藏(Skt:akṣayākara;Inexhaustible Treasury),established during the reign of the Chinese Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty(r.502-49).Then it traces wu-jin-zang’s provenance back to India.Finally,it highlights several major impacts Emperor Wu of Liang’s wu-jin-zang system wrought on its counterpart during Sui-Tang China when,primarily because of the charismatic monk Xinxing信行(d.594)and the leader of San-jie-jiao三階教(The cult of Three Stages),the wu-jin-zang shaped the institutional role of the Buddhist church in China for centuries.This unique institution’s implications for contemporary life(especially economic life)will be contemplated in the concluding part.