大厦之材,本出幽谷--早期禅宗兴盛之路探究

The Pillars Come from the Deep Valley--Research on the Prosperity of the Early Zen

佛教传入中国以后,历代帝王对佛教在扶植与限制之间游走,从慰藉心灵、安定民心的角度,需要发展与扶植佛教;而佛教得到扶植以后,又会吸纳人口、聚集钱财、滋生腐败,政府从维护国家税赋、把握财富控制权等角度会限制乃至打击佛教。帝王的个人偏好又会让扶植或者限制变得难以琢磨。从达摩来华到唐宣宗恢复佛教,禅宗经过三百余年发展,成为中国佛教的主流,主要原因在于禅宗贯彻达摩“功德黑暗、常相随逐”的告诫,与封建帝王、权势富贵保持距离。正如五祖弘忍所言:“大厦之材,本出幽谷,不向人间有也。以远离人故,不被刀斧损斫。”

After Buddhism was introduced into China,Chinese emperors always hesitated about supporting or restricting Buddhism.From the perspective of comforting the soul and stabilizing people's hearts,Chinese emperors had to support Buddhism.When Buddhism was supported,it would lead to absorb population,gather property and breed corruption.So the government would restrict and even crack down on Buddhism for the purpose of safeguarding national tax and controlling wealth.Meanwhile,the emperor's personal preferences could also lend support or impose restrictions.From the time Bodhidharma came to China to restore Buddhism by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty,Zen became the mainstream of Chinese Buddhism after more than 300 years of development.The main reason is that Zen adhered to Bodhidharma's admonition that merits and darkness often appear together and kept a distance from emperors and powerful people.As Hongren said,the pillars come from the valley instead of the human settlements.Because the pillars are far away from people,they are not cut down by knives.