《聊斋》丛脞录——说《罗祖》与《金和尚》

Miscellany of Liaozhai——On “Luozu” and “Monk Jin”

《罗祖》与《金和尚》两篇,属于《聊斋志异》中有关宗教内容的小说。《罗祖》以明代民间宗教无为教的创始人罗梦鸿为主人公,以"真人假事"的手法宣扬"放下屠刀,立地成佛"的禅宗要义。《金和尚》也以史有其人的山东五莲山光明寺僧人海彻为原型,"真人真事"的描绘中也不免有捕风捉影的个别虚构内容,其宗旨在于无情揭露佛教中邪恶势力的气焰熏天乃至作恶多端的无耻行径。

The“Luozu”and the“Monk Jin'are two religionary novels in the Liaozhaizhiyi.The“Luozu”describes the legend of Luo Menghong,the founder of a folk religion during the Ming dynasty,called the Wuwei School.By using the technique of“true person,fictional story”,this novel tries to advocate the proverbs of Zen Buddhism:Laying Down the Butchers Knife to become the Buddha.The“Monk Jin’describes the legend of Haiche,a real monk of the Guangming Tem-ple of Wulian Mountain in Shandong.It adds several fictional events into the true stories,in order to reveal the arrogance and the sinfulness of the evil forces in Buddhism.