“炭人”“灰人”考

The Distinction Between Tanren(炭人)And Huiren(灰人)

《佛说观佛三昧海经》卷三有四处"炭人",异文作"灰人"。经分析,第一处当作"炭人",后三处当作"灰人";"炭人"即炭作之人,"炭"喻纯黑;"灰人"指涂灰之人,与信仰湿婆的涂灰外道有关。对这两个词语的考释,可补《汉语大词典》之缺。

In the third volume of The Classic of Buddhism in the Samadhi Sea(佛说观佛三昧海经),Tanren man(炭人)is written in four places,in another edition,it’s replaced by Huiren(灰人).Through analysis,the first place should be written as Tanren(炭人),the next three places should be written as Huiren(灰人).Tanren(炭人)means man consisted of charcoal,charcoal is a trope of pure black;Huiren(灰人)means man coating himself with ash,it’s a way of practice by non-Buddhists.The research can supplement the deficiency of Chinese Dictionary.