敦煌寫本S.5588文本補正及內容性質新探──兼論佛教勸善文到儒釋家教蒙書編撰的發展=Supplementary Notes on the Text of Dunhuang Manuscript S.5588 and a New Perspective on its Content and Nature: An Additional Discussion on the Development from Buddhist Moral Texts to the Compilation of Confucian and Buddhist Premiers of Family Education
The Dunhuang manuscript S.5588 is a fragmentary brochure, which was labeled by previous scholars with a tentative title "Only for Seeking Cause and Effect," or "Seeking Cause and Effect." Its nature is unclear and its content is under studied. This manuscript has only 18 pages extant, and its final page looks dark and written on a thick paper. The characters are barely legible. This paper aims to offer supplementary notes on the transcription of this manuscript. By analyzing its rhythm and form, plus comparing with the rhythm of the Liaodong Chronicle, this paper suggests that its rhythm and form were similar to the latter, which is based on the form of seven-five and seven-five sentence forms. Therefore, it seems that in the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism created songs by leaning on sound for preaching its doctrines, which reflects its purpose of benefiting self and others and saving sentient beings based on their needs in the flexible ways, or by skillful means. The nature of this song is also similar to the Eulogy for Master Dao'an's Text for Admonishing people to do good and Monk Xiu's Text for Admonishing people to do good, which can be categorized into the group of Buddhist moral books. This category of the Buddhist books serves to admonish Buddhists, both monastic members and laypeople, so it gradually developed toward the direction of using both Confucian and Buddhist ideas, and even turned to social moral persuasion and family education for lower-class people. Then it made contribution to the compilation and recitation of family education primers, which is worth further investigation.
