唐代佛门药僧之考证

Textual Research on Herb Bonzes in Tang Dynasty

"药僧"之称谓始见于宋诗,盖指擅长药术或专门从事中药生产的僧人。不少药僧,终其一生,其活动范围仅限于山间林下,世人难窥其貌。有唐一代,诗人辈出,颇有佛缘深厚者,与药僧结林下之交,得以睹见其真面目,并如实记录在《全唐诗》中。《全唐诗》成为后世了解药僧真实面貌之唯一可信的巧妙途径。本文通过对《全唐诗》近5万首诗的检索,发现82首与药僧相关的诗。其中皮日休的一首诗,生动地描述了老药僧元达辛勤种药,却豁达脱俗的精神风貌。统计表明,药僧所种植之中药不下30种,包括菌类药、果实类药、叶类药、花类药,及药食两用之植物。此外,《全唐诗》还生动地描述了采药、收晒、加工、贮藏、熬制等药事活动。药僧对佛教的贡献表现为三个方面:美化寺院环境、为佛教提供药食、从事医药布施。

Appearing in poems of Song Dynasty, the appellation ＂herb bonze＂ generally refers to bonzes good at medicine studies or specifically for the processing of traditional Chinese medicine. The areas where many herb bonzes lived for the whole life were limited to mountains and forests, so it is difficult for other people to keep track of them. Tang Dynasty has created many poets, many of whom, however, had an affinity to Buddhism and made friends with herb bonzes, which were recorded in ＂Complete Tang Poems＂ which has become the only reliable way for later generations to learn about the real situation of herb bonzes. By searching nearly 50,000 poems from ＂Complete Tang Poems＂, we found that there are 82 poems related to herb bonzes. A poem by Pi Rixiu vividly describes the old herb bonze Yuanda＇s spiritual outlook which is free from vulgarity. Statistics show that no less than kinds of herbs are planted by herb bonzes, including fungus herbs, fruit herbs, leaf herbs, flower herbs, and herbs serving as both medicine and food. Besides, ＂Complete Tang Poems＂ vividly describes such herb-processing procedures as gathering herbs, airing herbs, processing herbs, storing herbs, stewing herbs and so on. The contributions of herb bonzes to Buddhism are reflected in three aspects： beautifying temple environment, providing herbal diets to other bonzes, and donating herbs and medical care.