论“永宁见灾”

On the Rumor of "Disaster Falls upon Yongning Temple"

北魏永熙三年,洛阳永宁寺遭受火灾,随后出现了"佛图入海"的谣言。这件事情被赋予预示了国家兴衰的意义。这一谣言当为佛教僧侣制造。它的出现,一方面因为佛教徒有以异象附会国事盛衰的传统;另一方面,它与北魏末年僧侣集团的政治动向有密切关系,反映出他们在政治上疏离北魏王室、投靠高欢的倾向。佛教徒选择投靠高欢,让佛教在东魏迁邺后继续受到优待而发展,但道教徒则可能因为忠于北魏王室而受到排挤。所以"永宁见灾"对东魏北齐佛教的发展和高欢统治下的佛道之争产生了深远影响。

In late Northern Wei Dynasty(386-534),Gao Huan,the Prince of Pingyang rose to control the state power amid the turbulent political situation.At that time,there was a rumor going like 'Disaster Falls upon Yongning Temple'.The connotation of the rumor has much to do with not only Buddhism but also politics.Through analyzing the implication and background of the rumor,this paper discusses the relationship between the political interest of monks in late Wei dynasty,the contention between Buddhism and Taoism under Gao's control,etc.