死後八小時=eight hours after death; 淨土宗=Pure Land Sect; 臨終=dying; 助念=reciting; 極樂世界=Western Paradise; 器官移植=organ transplantation; 神識=consciousness; 瀕死經驗=near-death experience; 腦死=brain death; 阿賴耶識=Âlaya-Vijñâna=Bardo
摘要
中國淨土宗佛教徒因為相信臨終時阿彌陀佛會現前來接引亡者到極樂世界，幾乎終其一生都在念佛準備臨終面對死亡的那一刻。據說民國初年的南山律師弘一法師及淨土宗大師印光法師都曾經對佛教徒提到「人死八小時內不宜搬動屍體」的觀念，這個觀念一直被淨土宗佛教徒奉行不渝，也影響了中國一般佛教徒對臨終處理特別慎重。過去農業社會地廣人稀，生活步調緩慢，人死後有足夠的條件不被擾動，因此「往生後八小時內不可移動」的說法始終沒有人去質疑它的真確性。隨著社會生活型態的改變，臨終處理的方式不得不隨順現代的環境及設備而變得簡化。但是對於篤信「臨終八小時」理論的中國淨土宗佛教徒而言，現代醫學「草率處理」亡者身後事，例如方斷氣立即被送太平間、當天即被移殯儀館、兩三天即行火葬等，這些都是淨土宗強力反對的做法，他們相信臨終一事未處理好，可能使亡者墮入三惡道。以現代醫學觀點來看，「腦死」代表生命狀態終止，則人死後身體不會再有知覺，因此認為屍體搬動、器官移植、遺體解剖等事，並不會對死者產生傷害。雖然「腦死」取代了以心跳呼吸停止作為死亡判定的標準，對於現代器官移植的進行甚為有利；然而淨土宗「死後八小時不能移動」的觀念卻剛好與器官捐贈的觀念相悖，因而曾引起廣泛而激烈的討論。佛教是以「神識」離身來判定人的死亡，但是在佛教的典籍中卻無法找到明確的時間界定來確定人死後多久神識才離身。即使傳言印光大師曾經指出「八小時」的重要性，但在「印光大師全集」裡亦找不到類似的文字記載，因此「八小時」的說法成了無據可考的傳言。西方瀕死經驗的研究顯示，很多個案的共通特色之一是：躺在手術台的病人可以離開自己的身體，從高角度俯視自己的身體被手術切割或緊急急救對身體傷害的情形而不覺得疼痛，難道神識早已脫身而去？淨土宗提到八小時的限制到底是指神識離身？或神識離開世間，進入中陰生的時間？凡此種種皆令人質疑淨土宗對「人死後八小時不宜搬動」的觀念是否有其實質的意義。「死後的世界」對生者本就是一個大謎團，對講求實證的科學家而言，更是無法證明其存在的說法。但是佛教有許多大修行者透過高深的禪定功夫去「看到」肉眼無法看見的「境界」而寫成精彩豐富的教義典籍，尤其「唯識學」對「生死流轉」的情形講述得最為詳實透徹，甚且形成一個組織嚴密、可被辨證推衍的哲學體系。因此，對於「人死後還有沒有知覺？」、「臨終八小時是否為往生關鍵？」這些事，或許可以從佛教的原始經論裡找到更多合理的推論和解釋。 Because of the belief that Amitâbha Buddha will come and convey them to the Pure Land Sect of Western Paradise when they die, almost all believers in the Sukhâvatî (Land of Bliss) or Pure Land Sect of Buddhism are preparing for the dying moment by reciting the name of Amitâbha Buddha all their lives. It was said that both Dharma Master Hongyi of Ritsu Sect and Patriarch Yin Kuang of Pure Land Sect in the early nineteen centuries have talked to their believers that the corpse of the dead should not be moved within 8 hours of their death. This notion was held and followed by the believers of the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism since then, and affect the attitude of Chinese Buddhists towards near-death and death.Since there is a lot of conditions that the corpse of the dead will not be disturbed in the agricultural society where few people can be found in the vast expanse of land and the pace of life is slow, the notion of “Do not perturb the corpse within 8 hours of death” was not challenged since its introduction to the society. However, because of the progressive modernization of the society, the management of the corpse must be simplified to accommodate the changes in the environment and society. For those Buddhists of Pure Land Sect who believe in the theory of “Do not perturb the corpse within 8 hours of death”, the modern ways of managing the dead is too rough to be accepted, such as moving the corpse to the morgue immediately after death, burn the corpse 2 to 3 days after their death, etc. The Buddhists of the Pure Land Sect who have trust in the theory of 8 hours after death believe that the rough and poor management of the corpse by medical personnel will lead to the rebirth of the dead to one of the three bad existences. In Buddhism, the death of a person is judged by the leave of the consciousness. However, the sutras and doctrines of Buddhism gave no clear indication as to when did the consciousness leave. Even though there was a rumor that Patriarch Yin Kuang has stressed the importance of “8 hours after death”, there were no such recording or wordings in the “Comprehensive Book of Patriarch Yin Kuang”. It seems probable that the saying of “8 hours after death”is only a rumor. From the point of view of modern medicine, brain death is amount to the cessation of life and body sensation. Therefore, transportation of the corpse, freezing of the corpse, organ transplantation and autopsy are expected to do no harm to the dead. Though brain death has replaced cardiac asystole and apnea as the definition and verification standard of death, and has contributed a lot to the progress of organ transplantation, the belief of “Do not perturb the corpse within 8 hours of death” prohibits the Pure Land Buddhists from donating their organs.This contraction in concepts between Buddhism and estern medicine has aroused great discussion on the suitability and feasibility of organ donation in the media.Modern researches on near-death experiences b
