本論文是以龍樹所著《迴諍論》中，「陽炎喻」為研究主題。譬喻之梵文為 avadāna，音譯為「阿波陀那」，其目的在以了知之法，顯未了之法。佛教十二分教之第七即是譬喻，以譬喻說明法義，如世尊在《雜阿含》卷四十二：「汝今後聽我說譬，其智者以譬喻得解。」可見佛陀說法時，若遇弟子不懂，佛陀善於運 用譬喻的方式教導弟子。 此外，在《大品般若經》卷一中，佛陀即舉出十喻，來顯示諸現象之存在悉無實體和一切皆空的境界，其中更提到「陽炎喻」。所謂陽炎，是指炎熱之際，地上常會生出熱氣，遠望如水而其實非水，容易使視覺迷惑的一種現象。 龍樹在其論著《迴諍論》中，也幾番以陽炎喻來與說明其論証，由此之故，本論文試就《迴諍論》中陽炎喻之譬喻，一方面暗示龍樹「空的思想」之深奧；另一方面也解釋「空的思想」深奧之義理。 This article investigates the simile of the mirage in Nāgārjuna’s Vigraha-vyāvartanī. The Sanskrit “avadāna” is translated as “simile (piyu 譬喻),”a literary device which uses existing knowledge to explain something unfamiliar. Avadāna is also the seventh of twelve divisions of the Buddhist canon. This teaching method is adopted in order to explain the Dharma. In the Saṃyuktāgama, the Buddha says, “By listening to my explanation of similes, wise people will be able to achieve realization.” The Buddha was skillful at using similes to teach his disciples. The Pañcaviṃśati-sāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra uses ten similes in order to demonstrate the meanings of no self-nature and emptiness. The simile of the mirage is one of them. Here, the mirage is the illusion in which hot air on roads takes on the appearance of water, even when no water is present. Nāgārjuna’s Vigraha-vyāvartanī also employs the simile of the mirage several times. This article analyzes Nāgārjuna’s use of the mirage simile in terms of emptiness and related doctrinal concepts.
