凯洛斯·几·缘起·瑜伽——对中西印文化中几个概念的会通

Karios,Ji,Pratitya and Yoga

在希腊哲学里,"凯洛斯"(Kairos)一词具有特殊的时间含义,这种含义被后来的基督教神学运用到人们对弥赛亚的盼望中。而在中国哲学里,与"凯洛斯"可以约略对等的汉语词汇是"几"。宋儒周敦颐释"几"为"动而未形,有无之间"。这一词也构成了中国许多神秘学,譬如星象、占卜、堪舆等学问的核心概念。牟宗三把它等同于佛家的"缘起"(Pratitya-sa-mutpada),其实在印度,的确有构成缘起关系的"显现者"(Sambhuti)与"非显现者"(Asambhuti)的概念,而印度教的"瑜伽"就具有联结人与神圣者的功能,从而获得解脱,而其"妙机入微"所借助的正是"凯洛斯",或曰"几"。

In Greek philosophy the notion of ＂Kairos＂ is used as ＂temporality＂ or ＂timeliness＂ in a very special sense, which has later come to be applied in Christian theology to signify the general expectation for the advent of the Messiah. But in Chi- nese philosophy the equivalent notion to ＂Kairos＂ is ＂ji＂ （ 几 ,the springs of actions） as it were. For the Northern Song Confu- cianist Zhou Dunyi { 1017-1073}, ＂the springs of things are those signs whereby we are enabled to foresee, in the undifferen- tiated state between existence and non-existence, what is about to take place. ＂ In this sense ＂ji＂ has constituted the core-con- cept in much of Chinese occultism, such as astrology, divination, and geomancy, etc. The late Professor MOU Zongsan （1909-1995} has equated it to the Buddhist concept of ＂Pratitya-Samutpada＂ {Dependent Origination）. In India, neverthe- less, there have been concepts for the connecting links between ＂the manifested＂ and ＂the unmanifested＂ {Sambhuti and Asambhuti}. Actually, the Hinduist concept of ＂Yoga＂ in the sense of ＂yoke＂ is charged with the function of union for man and the Holy, whereby salvation is to be effected. And it is precisely by virtue of Kairos or Ji as springs of actions that ＂the subtle working of wonders＂ is thus made possible.