徐复观《中国艺术精神》庄禅观献疑

Xu Fuguan's View of Chuang tzu and Zen Buddhism in The Spirit of Chinese Art

徐复观在《中国艺术精神》一书中提出中国艺术精神的主体是庄子精神,继而认为中国艺术中的禅学意境实为庄学意境,其主要理由在于禅宗因"胸无丘壑"而无法产生美的意识来生成艺术作品,因此,禅安放不下艺术。徐复观将庄子精神视为中国艺术精神的核心是有其合理性的。然而,庄子精神与禅原本具有相通之处,在艺术领域更是相互交融,所以,对于艺术家的艺术精神或其作品的艺术境界不应该强行去分辨庄子精神其实或禅其实。而且,重视直觉观照与亲身体悟的禅宗思想正是要让学禅者在日常生活与自然万物之中去领悟佛法妙理,因此,禅宗安放不下艺术之说也是不成立的。

In The Spirit of Chinese Art, Xu Fuguan held that the principal part of the spirit of Chinese art is the spirit of Chua ng Tzu and that the artistic con ception of Zen Buddhism in Chinese art is actually that of Chuang Tzu. He believed that Zen's emphasis on void prevents it from creating beauty. Therefore, Zen has no room for art. To some extent, it is reasonable for Xu to regard the spirit of Chuang Tzu as the core of the spirit of Chinese art. However, Chuang Tzu and Zen are originally interlinked, especially in the realm of art. There is no necessity to distinguish be丒 tween their influences on Chinese art. Moreover, Zen which attaches great importance to intuition, contemplation and personal experiences encourages its practitioners to comprehend Buddha doctrines in real life and nature. Consequently, the opinion that Zen has no room for art is false.