题壁与唐宋寺院文化

Wall Inscriptions and Monastery Culture in Tang and Song Dynasties

题壁是唐宋时期寺院文化的一个重要组成部分,解读寺院文化,就必须对发生在寺院内的题壁现象,进行较为细致的审视。寺院内的题壁文化,不外由两部分构成。一是佛教徒对佛理的阐悟。禅宗六祖传法偈的一段公案,至今仍为人传诵,其重要意义,恐怕说是中国佛教发展的里程碑也不为过。二是文人士大夫游览寺院时的即景之作,感悟人生,反思既往。这是寺院题壁中分量最重的部分,数量大,也是寺院文化中最出彩的部分。

Wall Inscriptions form an important constituent of monastery culture during the period of Tang and Song Dynasties.A close examination and careful study on the wall inscriptions in the monasteries must be made to interpret the monastery culture.Only two parts compose the wall inscriptions in temples.The first part is Buddhist enlightenment of Buddhist doctrine.The discussed issue over Chan sect's sixth successor's spreading of Buddhist hymn is still widely read by people with admiration up till now. It's not exaggerated to say that it's the milestone of the Buddhism development in China.The second part consists of the extempore works by men of letters and scholar-officials when they visited the monasteries, most of which were thoughts and feelings of lives and reflections on the past. With their large amount, these works form not only the major part but also the most valuable part of wall inscriptions.