法显《佛国记》中的苦难叙事

The Narration of Misery in Faxians Notes of Buddhist Countries

法显《佛国记》中蕴含着较为明显的苦难叙事。该书描写险恶的海陆地理环境,展示旅行者身为佛教徒的坚韧和虔诚,渲染游方沙门作为异乡人的思归情结,讲说高僧深受菩萨佑护的现世灵验,追记佛本生故事和佛门圣人事迹,共同彰显出了苦难叙事的主题和内涵。作为一种史学文本,《佛国记》中的苦难叙事不仅纯属必然,而且优于其它僧人行记。作为一种颇具宗教意蕴和文学价值的旅行笔记,《佛国记》中的苦难叙事不仅存在着虚饰、神化、想象乃至夸张的可能性,而且大体吸收并且超越了前代史传文学的常规写法。借助苦难叙事,《佛国记》塑造了主人公作为高僧、旅行者以及探险家的高大形象,充分展示了人性的崇高之美。

Faxians Notes of Buddhist Countries had contained misery narration obviously. It described the poor geographical environment in land and sea,showed the tenacity and devotion of the traveler as a Buddhist,revealed the homesickness of travelling monks as the strangers,told the live efficacious stories about monks protected by Buddha,recorded Buddha stories and Buddhist sage deeds,and so on,and revealed the theme and connotation of misery narration. As a historical text,misery narration in Notes of Buddhist Countries was not only inevitable,but also better than other Buddhist travel notes. As a travel note with religious meaning and literary value,misery narration in Notes of Buddhist Countries not only had the possibility of veneer,apotheosis,imagination,and exaggeration,but also generally had absorbed and transcended the conventional writing of historical literature. With the help of misery narration,Notes of Buddhist Countries had shaped the hero image as a monk,traveler and explorer,and demonstrated the lofty beauty of human nature.