《那先比丘经》中的希腊和中国因素

Greek Factors and Chinese Factors in the Milinda-pa¤ha

汉文《那先比丘经》是记录希腊裔的弥兰陀国王与那先比丘之间关于佛教教义问答的重要典籍。在《那先比丘经》中明显地存在着柏拉图式的追问和辨析理式这两种希腊因素,也存在着更多的中国因素。经中以大量的篇幅阐述了孝顺这一典型的中国伦理观,并且讲述了逝者如斯、上知下愚、学而知之、大羹不和、临渴掘井等出于儒家经典《论语》、《中庸》和《礼记》的思想观念,安时处顺、知足者富等出于道家经典《庄子》和《老子》的思想观念,以及所临唯信这一出于《左传》的思想观念。那先这一名字,含义本来是清楚的,却出现了不少猜测,它们既表也在后人的引述中,也见于经文中。汉译经文的行文特征也与印度和西域僧人的译文有差别。据此,可以认为汉文《那先比丘经》的译者为一位中土士人。

Milinda- pa ¤ ha is an important sutra which records the questions and answers concerning Buddhist dogmas between Milinda the king of Sāgala descended from Greece and Nagasena the monk come from Central India. In the sutra there are two Greek factors, namely the Platonic questioning and the discussion of idea or form. And there are much more Chinese factors in it such as filial piety, a conception typically of Chinese ethics which has been carefully discussed. In addition to this, there are five sayings from Confucian classics such as the Analects, Mencius and the Book of Rites, ＂It passes this way! The superior is wise and the inferior is foolish. ＂ ＂You learn, and then you know. ＂ ＂A great Soup is without any condiment. ＂ ＂It is of no help to dig a well when one is thirsty. ＂ There are two sayings from Laozi and Zhuangzi, ＂One satisfied with the times will live smoothly. ＂ ＂Content brings wealth. ＂ There is one saying from the Zuo Commentary, ＂One must keep his word at the critical juncture. ＂ The literal meaning of Nagasena is very clear, but there have appeared many conjectures on it, some available from the sutra, and some visible in documents of later ages. The tone of the Chinese version is distinct from those translations made by monks from India and the Western Regions. It is reasonable to infer that the translator of the Chinese version of Milinda - pa ¤ ha is a Chinese scholar of Confucianism.