禪宗=Ch’en Buddhism; 中國禪宗史=The History of Ch’en Buddhism; 禪宗譜系=The Leadership Lineage of Ch’an Buddhism; 政教關係=The Relationship Between Politics and Religions
摘要
儘管研究中國禪宗史的論著已取得驚人的成就，不過到目前為止，似乎沒有較有系統地討論早期禪宗祖師傳承譜系的形成，以及神秀、慧能「退藏於密」這個現象的論著。故而本文擬從若干相關的文獻中，嚐試對這些問題作出解釋。 本文試圖論證，早期禪宗祖師一代一人的線性譜系傳承乃是形勢使然，並非一開始就是如此。同時神秀、慧能的「退藏於密」，主要是為了躲避宗派內部勢力的利益紛爭，並且與政治保持距離，而這也是佛教的一項傳統。 Despite the advancements in the studies on Ch’en Buddhist history, there appears to be very little systematic discussion and research on the formation and the evolution of the leadership lineage in early Ch’en Buddhist community. In particular, there is very little scholarly discussion revolving around the practice of “retreating to somewhere covert (退藏於密) ” of Patriarch Shenxiu (神秀) and Patriarch Huineng (慧能). This research aims to answer those questions by analyzing relevant literature. This study hypothesizes that the gradual evolution of the leadership lineage in early Ch’en Buddhist community is shaped by the political environment within the community. The reason of “retreating to somewhere covert (退藏於密) ” of Shenxiu (神秀) and Huineng (慧能) , which is also one of the Buddhist traditions, is mainly for eluding conflicts of interest among factions of Ch’en Buddhism and keeping their distance from politics.
