佛陀，孔子，老子
Buddha,
Confucius, Laozi
經常在一些有關佛法講說場合，會聽到所謂佛，儒，道（老莊）最後都是歸到「道」的範圍！每次聽到這樣的言論都會想
要大笑！
如果孔子還在人間，去問他老人家您讚成佛法的修行嗎？他老
一定說：那是什麼理論？太消極。同樣的話問問佛陀，佛陀一
定說：世間苦處，當修行得大解脫！所以，我永遠聽不懂什麼
是儒，道，釋的道路是殊途同歸的！（個人相信真正想走道路
的人，在不同的三條道路奔走，其結果是還沒到達終點，就已
經累死了！）
我向來尊重各種學問的存在，也由衷佩服各家學問講學成脈絡
過程的辛苦，但說各家學說都是相通的，聽了實在是消化不良！
我只懂佛法！而且絕不敢輕易的說也可融合別人的學問
In
discussions relating to Buddhism, I’ve repeatedly heard it said that
the
three main religions of China---Buddhism, Confucianism, and
Daoism---are
not very different, and that the former two should be
seen
as arising out of the latter. This strikes me as rather ludicrous!
If Confucius were still alive and you asked him what he
thought of
Buddhism, he would surely reply, “What sort of a
doctrine is that?
It’s much too negative and pessimistic.” And if you
asked the
Buddha what he thought about Confucianism and
Daoism, he would
surely admonish you with words such as, “The world
is the abode of
suffering; liberate yourself from it by practicing
with diligence.”
So
I’ve never really understood why people say that these three
religions
are a way of reaching the same goal by different means. As
I
see it, if you try to walk three paths at the same time, you’ll just
tire
yourself out without getting
anywhere!
I’ve
always had a lot of respect for various philosophies, and I
sincerely
appreciate all the hard work that has gone into
systematizing
them into a coherent school of thought, but to say that
they
are all saying the same thing is ridiculous.
I only
know Buddhism, and I would never think of trying to combine
it
with other systems of thought.
在老子的《道德經》裡面，充滿了比喻；例如：「上善若水」
觀察到水是萬物所需，進而讚嘆水的功德。
然而，這其間我始終不能明白，水若惡時，當如何！？
直到閱讀黑格爾的哲學書時，黑格爾直接點明老莊哲學是屬於
「經驗理論」，從德國人的判讀裡面，似乎得到理解。經驗會
隨著事物的轉變而改變當事人的看法，所以，當相反的經驗出
現時，會對原來的經驗產生不知所以的無奈或措手不及。
原來自己經歷的事物也需要時間的考驗。
這麼不同的觀點，如何讓佛，儒，道融合！？
關於佛陀的說法，請參考YouTube裡面半寄「四聖果」的講解。
Laozi’s Daodejing (The
Classic of the Way and its Power) is full of
metaphors
and analogies. For example, he writes, “Supreme
goodness
is like water,” which could mean that goodness, like water,
is
something that is required by all living things; or it could be a way
of
praising the virtues of water. The problem for me is that I’ve
never
been able to really imagine what evil water would be like!
Then I
read something quite interesting by Heidegger. He describes
Daoist
philosophy as a kind of empiricism, and this seems to fit wel
l into
the German way of thinking about such things. When we
experience
things changing, it changes our view of things, and if it
happens
that that view is contradicted by subsequent experience, we
have
a hard time making good sense of it.
So you
could say that our experience has to stand the test of time.
Seeing
that the perspectives of Buddhism, Confucianism, and
Daoism
are so divergent, how could they possibly be integrated into
a
single coherent system of thought?
For
more on the Buddhist way of explaining things, see my talk on
YouTube
titled “The Four Noble Results.”
回應
在我所傳達的佛法裡面，找出個人的衝突點，去促使自己內心
層次的進步，也是佛法學習裡面的一大挑戰！
PostscriptIn
Buddhism, especially the way I teach it, one of the
biggest
challenges is to discover what you’re having difficulty with,
and
then using that as a springboard for increasing your depth of
self-understanding.
Master
Ban Ji
Translated
by Ken Kraynak
