“火中生莲”意象与茶、禅之关系

Relationship Between the Image of Lotus in Fire,Tea and Zen

在中国传统文学作品中常出现的“火中种金莲”“火中生莲”这一意象,其实是源于佛学。在佛教中,“莲”代表人的清净本性,而“火”代表尘世的炽然烦恼,则“金”则代表修行达至的一种高深境界。同时,这一意象深刻影响了中国的茶文化,是“禅茶一味”观念形成的重要原因。“茶”经过火烹而形成香味的过程就如同禅宗在尘世修行“火中生莲”的过程一样。而无论“莲”还是“茶”,其内涵都不仅仅是佛学的,而是儒释道三教贯通的,它们作为包蕴丰富文化内涵的日常形象是“三教合一”的直观体现。

The images of lotus growing in fire and lotus in fire that often appear in traditional Chinese literature actually derived from Buddhism.In Buddhism,lotus represents the pure nature of human beings,fire the burning troubles of the earth,and gold represents a profound realm of Buddhism learning.At the same time,this image had a profound impact on Chinese tea culture,which was an important reason for the formation of the concept of tasting Zen in tea.The process of tea being cooked by fire to produce fragrance is just like the process of Zen practice,similar to growing lotus in fire in the earthly world.Whether lotus or tea,its connotation is not only Buddhism,but also combination of Confucianism,Buddhism and Taoism.As the routine image of rich cultural connotation,lotus and tea are the embodiment of integration of the three religions.