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在淨土宗歷史上消失的《阿閦佛國》= The Realm of Aksobhya--A Missing Piece in the History of Pure Land Buddhism |
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那體慧=Nattier, Jan
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| Source |
中華國際佛學會議實錄（第3屆）：人間淨土與現代社會: = The Record of Chung-Hwa International Conference on Buddhism(3rd): The "Earthly" Pure Land and Contemporary Society
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| Date | 1998.02 |
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| Pages | 122 |
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| Publisher | 法鼓文化出版社=Dharma Drum Culture |
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| Publisher Url |
http://www.ddc.com.tw
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| Content type | 會議論文=Proceeding Article |
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| Language | 中文=Chinese |
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| Note | 中英文提要;
中文論文提要：頁122.
英文論文提要：pp.200-201. |
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| Keyword | 天上的佛; 阿閦佛; 大乘經典; 妙樂淨土; 極樂淨土; 那體慧; Nattier, Jan; Celestial Buddhas; Aksobhya; Mahayana sutras; Abhirati Sukhavati |
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| Abstract | 在很多所謂「天上的佛」(住在宇宙其他部分像樂園般國土的佛中)，最早出現於大乘文獻的是阿▓佛(不動佛). 但對他仍有待吾人作透徹的研究. 也許可以理解的是，阿▓佛幾乎已完全被另一尊天上的佛 -- 阿彌陀佛所遮掩了; 阿▓佛負責「東方淨土」阿彌陀佛則負責「西方淨土」的教化工作. 由於阿彌陀佛在東亞的地位極端重要，而東亞人的喜好和崇拜對象又相當影響西方學術界的佛教研究，因此，阿彌陀佛被視為「天上的佛」這個泛神論的代表人物，也就不足為奇了.
儘管如此，阿▓佛顯然是印度大乘佛教的主人物，他出現於若干早期經典(如《維摩詰經》,《小品般若波羅蜜經》)的寶石浮雕上，也說明了許多大乘經典作者必然肯定他的存在和重要性. 更有甚者，釋迦牟尼佛的「娑婆世界」和後來被視為典型的「淨土」間的重要區別，出現於阿▓佛的佛土，而非阿彌陀佛的佛土. 總之，只要仔細注意阿▓佛世界的佛土，就可以加瞭解初期的印度淨土佛教.
本文將仔細探討若干大乘經典中的阿▓佛世界，尤其是完全描述其淨土的《阿▓佛國經》. 作者將討論阿▓佛與信徒的關係，往生阿▓佛國土(往生者以證阿羅漢果合成佛為目標)的條件，阿▓佛妙樂國土被描述為「樂土」的程度(或許適當，或許不適當). 在這種討論的過程中，將可突顯阿▓佛妙樂淨土和阿彌陀佛極樂淨土的同異.
文末，作者將討論製造阿▓佛國的早期大乘佛教徒認為理想世界應具備哪些特色，而現代佛教徒又如何理解這些特點. 附帶討論的是，阿▓佛國如何可以當作今日社會佛教活動的典範.
Of the great number of so-called "celestial Buddhas" -- that is, Buddhas who inhabit paradise-like realms in other parts of our universe -- one of the earliest to appear in Mahayana literature is the Buddha Aksobhya ("the imperturbable"). Yet a thorough study of this figure has yet to be made. Understandably，perhaps, Aksobhya has been almost completely overshadowed by another celestial figure，the Buddha Amitabha, who presides over the Western counterpart of Aksobhya's "Eastern Paradise". Given the overwhelming importance of Amitabha in East Asia and significant impact of East Asian priorities and paradigms on the study of Buddhism in the West，it is not surprising that Amitabha has often been viewed as the most representative member of the pantheon of celestial Buddhas.
Yet Aksobhya was clearly a major figure in Indian Mahayana Buddhism，and the fact that he makes cameo appearances in several early texts (e.g.，the Vimalakirtinirdesa and the Astasahasrika -- prajnaparamita -- sutra) demonstrates that his existence and his importance were presupposed by a number of writers of Mahayana sutras. Moreover，it is the Buddha-field of Aksobhya, and not that of Amitabha, which exhibits important transitional features between the "Saha world" of Sakyamuni and what would come to be viewed as the prototypical "pure land". In short，by giving careful attention to the particular features of Aksobhya's world we may be able to gain a greater understanding of Indian "Pure Land Buddhism" in its emergent phase.
In this paper we will examine in detail what is said about Aksobhya's world in several Mahayana sutras, paying particular attention to the one text that is devoted entirely to his realm，the Aksobhya-vyuha. We will consider Aksobhya's relationship with his devotees and how they came to be reborn in his world-system，the place of Arhatship and Buddhahood as religious goals among those who inhabit his land，and the degree to which Aksobhya's realm of Abhirati is, or is not，properly characterized as a "paradise" at all. In the course of this discussion we will highlight both similarities and differences between Abhirati and Sukhavati，the realm of the Buddha Amitabha.
In closing we will focus on what the early Mahayana Buddhist(s) who produced the Aksobhya-vyuha considered to be the characteristics of an ideal world，and how contemporary Buddhists might make sense of these views. Some observations will also be offered on ways in which Aksobhya's realm might serve as a model for Buddhist activities in contemporary society. |
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| ISBN | 9578473567 |
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| Hits | 1053 |
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| Created date | 2000.12.05
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| Modified date | 2016.09.20 |
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