現場3 At the Scene 3

 現場3 

 

有人會問起說：那北傳的佛法真的都有問題嗎？

我個人是不會這樣看待，

古代能識字的階級本來就都是貴族，

社會普羅大眾對文字的認知能力原本就是低的，且大多數是文盲，

 

但普羅大眾佔了90%，佛法要流傳到這90%人口的手裡，不可能都是貴族階層所接受的思想，

因此，佛法傳承裡面，會有扭曲、會有適應普羅大眾的流傳，

這些普羅大眾的文字能力，不管是在佛經或ㄧ般的歷史裡面都可以找到軌跡。

 

所以到了近代，又用了很多方法去尋找古代被淹沒的證據，當然不是百分之百，

 

華人客家人的習俗裡面有敬字樓，對文字的恭敬與不可多得溢於言表。

 

有時候回頭去看看原始教典提婆達多（Devadatta）

的問題，所爭論的點也很可笑，竟然牽扯到食鹽的問題，食鹽問題就可以把佛陀的弟子帶走了一大部分，

充分顯示一般的民智問題，

 

提婆達多（Devadatta）所言並無半點思想根據，就講了一般規矩跟他不吃鹽就是苦行這樣而已呀！

 

這些現在看起來非常可笑的問題，卻是當時佛陀的頭痛頭號人物，

時至今日，佛法依然為少數肯動腦的人所有！

 

我只是把我所讀的研究如實呈現，

不排斥任何南北傳的佛法，

因為佛經流傳到現在所牽涉的內容畢竟太複雜，

我只是忠實呈現自己的研讀，沒有排斥的問題。

半寄

 

At the Scene 3

 

Some people ask whether Northern Buddhist traditions are fundamentally flawed. I personally do not agree with this view.

In ancient societies, literacy was almost entirely confined to the elite. The vast majority of people was illiterate. Yet this majority—around 90% of the population—was precisely the group Buddhism needed to reach in order to survive and spread.

As a result, Buddhist teachings were often simplified or adapted as they spread among the general population. Some distortion was unavoidable. Traces of this limited literacy can be found not only in Buddhist scriptures but also throughout historical records.

 

In modern times, scholars have tried many ways to recover ancient evidence that was lost over time.Naturally, these efforts cannot provide absolute certainty.

 

In Chinese Hakka culture, the tradition of jingzi lou—structures built to honor written characters—clearly reflects how precious and rare literacy once was.

 

When we revisit the disputes involving Devadatta in early Buddhist texts, the issues now seem trivial. One major conflict was about whether monks should eat salt. Yet this issue alone managed to draw many followers away from the Buddha, revealing the intellectual limitations of the general population at the time.

Devadatta’s arguments lacked philosophical grounding.He simply promoted strict rules and treated not eating salt as a form of ascetic practice.

 

What appears ridiculous today was once one of the Buddha’s greatest challenges. Even now, Buddhism continues to be truly understood by only a small minority of people willing to engage in serious thought.

 

I am merely presenting my research honestly. I do not reject either Northern or Southern Buddhist traditions. The transmission of Buddhist texts is extremely complex, and my work reflects only my sincere study, not any sectarian bias.

 

Master Banji