荷花意象和佛道关系的融合

The Image of Lotus and the Integration of the Relationship between Buddhism and Taoism

荷花既是佛门圣物,象征“出淤泥而不染”,同时又是道教标识,充满珍祥色彩。在佛教与道教的融合、互动过程中,荷花充当了“信使”的角色。佛、道并存之日既远,两者之间的攻讦辩难、渗透融合就一直是研治中国思想史的学者所致力的课题。在佛、道思想的动态关系背景之下,荷花的两重“身份”不再是泾渭分明,而是“你中有我,我中有你”。关注荷花“身份”的微妙变化或可从一个新的角度认识佛、道之间的关系。

Symbolizing ＇appearing neat without being dyed by the silt＇, lotus is both the holy thing of Buddhism and the identifieation of Taoism, being full of auspicious color. During the course of the integration and interaction between Buddhism and Taoism, lotus has taken the role of ＇courier ＇. Since Buddhism and Taoism has already been coexisting for a long time, the disputation and permeation between the two is also the subject the scholars, who study Chinese intellectual history, has long been devoted to. Under the background of the dynamic relationship between Buddhism and Taoism, the double ‘identities＇ of lotus no longer have an obvious boundary, but ＇having me in you and having you in me＇. Thus, paying close attention to the delicate changes of the identity of lotus may help us to understand the relationship between Buddhism and Taoism from a new angle.