从“冥神”到“畅神”——论佛教与魏晋审美精神自觉

From the“Spirit beyond Life and Death”to the“Free Spirit”:on Buddhism and the Consciousness of Aesthetic Spirit in the Wei and Jin Dynasties

审美精神的自觉是魏晋追求超越的时代精神孕育的结果,是这一时期的宗教信仰对士人理论思维的提升和性灵情感的激荡。形神之辩将魏晋士人的精神探索推至显现存在本真的"冥神绝境",返本求宗的修炼犹如柏拉图所谓灵魂回忆,是对圆融虚灵之精神极境的无限追求。"畅神"是返本求宗之信仰追求的审美表达,是对存在之家的归返,是对存在真理的触及而产生的自信与喜悦。绝对境界的寻求感召出魏晋士人新的主体性和新的精神力量,形成精神层面的人的定义:人是"精神我";信仰的神圣力量使"精神我"的人在面对宇宙自然时内心具有一种超然而又亲切的气度,能够以清静之本心本性涵融万有,在自我超越的同时也带出万物的真。

The consciousness of aesthetic spirit was a result of the zeitgeist of the Wei and Jin Dynasties,which pursued transcendence in art and philosophy.This movement elevated the theoretical thinking and expression of natural emotion of the scholars.The debates on body and spirit pushed the spirit exploration of the scholars in the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the'transcendent realm of spirit beyond life and death,'which was a new exploration into the nature of existence.Just like what Plato called the reminiscence of spirit,the spiritual growth aimed at the ultimate source was an infinite pursuit of the spiritual realm.The idea of'free spirit'was the aesthetic and religious pursuit to rediscover our original nature.The seeking of an absolute realm inspired the new subjectivity and spiritual power of man,and formed the definition of man on the spirit level:man is the'spiritual me';the divine power of belief makes man as the'spiritual me'own the transcendent and kind inner bearing when faced with universe and nature,thus he can encompass and fuse all creatures into his nature,while realizing self-transcendence.