南禪朋友好！
紅樓夢與禪1
最近寫文章累了，休息放音樂聽，
朦朧中聽到一個旋律，怎麼這麼好聽，醒來看一下，竟是《紅樓夢》詞曲。
「ㄧ個如水中月，ㄧ個如鏡中花，
ㄧ切虛幻如空，質本潔來還潔去，」
《紅樓夢》裡面最著名文學詞句。
這文學小說的詞語竟然跟華人禪宗的主要參禪話頭與思想一致，
在整個禪宗裡面找不到任何的章法來有序的敘說「水中月與鏡中花。」
但華人的禪宗傳法史裡面「水中月與鏡中花」辭藻一直是自古至今的用詞首選！
《楞嚴經》暫不列入。
我後來說：一群華人禪學修行人就在裡面捕風捉影有關於「鏡中花跟水中月。」
很多偉大的禪師是令人景仰的，但是佛法的內容卻另章別論。
例如；到水中撈月，可見但卻無月可撈，企圖用虛幻喚起執著的掉落，然而，人性的執著通常有其原故，天上的月亮都解不了執著，更何況水中月！
當然，有修行者是藉此開悟的，而我個人從沒試過撈月，只因覺得撈不起的幻影處處，不想為幻影傷腦筋。
半寄
Dream
of the Red Chamber
and Zen 1
Greetings,
friends of NanZen!
Recently,
I was exhausted from writing, so I decided to take a break and listen to some
music.
Half-asleep,
I heard a melody—so beautiful that it caught my attention.
When I
woke up to check, I realized it was a song from Dream of the Red Chamber.
"One
is like the moon in water, the other like a flower in a mirror.
Everything
is as illusory as emptiness.
Pure
by nature, one comes and goes in purity."
This is
one of the most famous literary verses from Dream of the Red Chamber.
Surprisingly, the language in this novel closely
aligns with key koans and philosophical ideas in Chinese Chan (Zen) Buddhism.
In the entire Chan tradition, there is no systematic explanation of “the moon
in water and the flower in a mirror.” Yet, throughout the history of Chan
Buddhism in China, these phrases have remained the preferred expressions for
conveying the nature of illusion.
(The
Śūraṅgama Sūtra is excluded from this discussion.)
I once
remarked that many Chinese Chan practitioners seem to be chasing shadows,
attempting to grasp the meaning behind “the flower in a mirror and the moon in
water.”
Many
great Chinese Chan masters are truly admirable, but Chinese Buddhist teachings
is another matter entirely. (Chinese Chan Buddhism has a weak theoretical
foundation. )
For
example, attempting to scoop the moon from the water—it can be seen, but there
is no actual moon to retrieve.
This
metaphor is an effort to use illusion to awaken detachment.
Yet,
human attachments often have their reasons.
If even
the moon in the sky cannot resolve one’s attachments, how could the moon in the
water?
Of
course, some practitioners attain enlightenment through such reflections.
As for
me, I have never tried to scoop the moon, simply because illusions are
everywhere,
and I
prefer not to trouble myself over them.
Master
Banji
紅樓夢與禪2
，只因想交代我看完了，要不然實在是看不下去，它的詞藻雖然很美，但我對人跟人之間的曲曲折折興趣不大，
我自己後來回想可能跟從小就住大家庭的三合院有關，雖說人世間的恩怨三合院沒有帶給我過什麼傷害，
但是我對人情的曲折有一種自然性的厭倦與排斥，
就像我是不吃香蕉的，
為什麼不吃香蕉我也搞不太清楚？後來才想起來，
小時候大家族在阿公的帶領下就是在種香蕉外銷的，
這種情懷還導致我對台灣保護古蹟的說法興趣也不高，
好像還跟一個古蹟保護者起過爭執，
我還罵他說：那你認為老房子這麼好你為什麼不去住？自己沒住過老三合院卻硬要別人住，還漫罵一整篇！
這是題外話。
整個看紅樓過程不斷在腦海出現禪宗的話語，搞得難分難解，
心想，既然「水中月、鏡中花」通禪宗術語那是不是把紅樓看完等於半個徹悟？
Dream of the Red Chamber and Zen 2
It took me five or six years to finish reading Dream
of the Red Chamber.
I only pushed through so I could say I had completed it—otherwise, I found it
hard to continue.
Although the language is beautiful, I have little interest in the complexities
of human relationships.
Looking back, I suspect this has something to do with
growing up in a large extended family in a traditional sanheyuan courtyard
house.
Though I never suffered any real harm from family conlficts,
I developed a natural aversion to the complexities of human emotions.
It’s like how I don’t eat bananas.
For a long time, I wasn’t sure why—until I remembered that as a child,
my grandfather led our family in growing bananas for export.
This same sentiment has also made me indifferent to
Taiwan’s historic preservation efforts.
I once even argued with a heritage conservationist, telling him:
“If old houses are so great, why don’t you live in one
yourself? You’ve never lived in a sanheyuan, yet you insist that others
should!”
He even said a lot of harsh words about this.
But that’s beside the point.
While reading Dream of the Red Chamber, Chan
Buddhist phrases kept surfacing in my mind,
blurring the lines between the novel and Zen thought.
I couldn’t help but wonder—
since “the moon in water” and “the flower in a mirror” are both classic Chan
metaphors,
does finishing Dream of the Red Chamber count as half an enlightenment?
Master
Banji
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