Posts written by Bill M. Mak
圓覺經考
週末法會,精舍請來民國二十一年重刻大字《圓覺經》善本,父推薦,聞說值得“品味高”的行者細讀。何謂“品味高”,我沒有任何概念。今略作記。
按照《佛祖統記》的記載,《圓覺經》於唐高宗永徽六年(+655)譯出,譯者佛陀多羅,梵文Buddhatāra,華言“覺救”,北印罽賓人。漢傳佛教自唐末起,《圓覺經》一直廣為流傳,歷代祖師注疏也不少,為當今佛教徒恆常讀誦的經文之一。南懷瑾先生更認為此經屬於華嚴經的系統,一乘圓教,見性成佛,境界至善,而且文字最美。
經文內容大概如下:佛陀進入了神通大光明藏三昧,向十二菩薩以問答形式說法。第一文殊,如來因爲圓覺,果為真如涅槃。第二普賢,圓覺不可無修行。第三普眼,修奢摩他(止),關身心幻相,一切皆空等等。整體風格屬於中晚期大乘佛教經典,其中也包含了一些密宗的內容。
有學者認為《圓覺經》為公元八世紀作品,原因是其經文主要出自《楞嚴》,內容亦多受《大乘起信論》影響。梁任公吸收了日本學者佛教文獻學的觀點,認為此三經為“疑偽經”,即漢傳佛教中所謂“偽經”的問題。近年京都大學船山徹提出:”印度製造,中國組件“的看法,也有道理。像玄奘十六會《大般若經》,那爛陀寺的藏經閣也大概沒有這種編著,但內容不算疑偽。佛典種類繁多,過去祖師以判教形式疏理其中關係,而現代學者則以文獻歷史角度理解,見解各有特色。
我個人傾向以如實觀去理解每一件事物。先把表面的東西弄清楚,像版本、文字、校勘,文獻比對等,然後參考古人和其他學者見解,最後才作個人推測。一層一層,像把洋蔥拆開。像這部大字善本,本來就有很多值得注意的地方。
大家有沒有注意到那些小圈?字外右下角的一般是句號,字中下部的則是我們現在用的逗號(綠框標記)。至於那些與字很近,貼著四角的則是“聲點”,從左下角順時針算起,即漢語四聲平上去入。粵語分陰陽,前三聲化為六聲,加上三入聲,共九聲。像惡與樂兩字(紅框標記),右上角附上小圈,意思即是“去聲”,作動詞解。若名詞或形容詞的話則作“入聲”,需要把兩者區分開來。
不過,洋蔥最後還是要被吃掉的。所以我喜歡讀誦,而且要虛心讀誦,有時候會靈機一觸,想到一些新事。《圓覺經》還有什麼奧祕,留待日後繼續發現!
2023 History of Science Conference and Public Lectures in Hong Kong
The Needham Conference 2023 turns away from the traditional Needham’s so-called Grand Comparative Question “Why modern science developed in Europe but not in China?” which has been the subject of lively discussion and debate in many international forums over decades. Instead, it sets out to address his second, much under-explored, Grand Dialogical Question “Why and how did exchanges across multiple Eurasian civilisations lead to the birth and growth of modern science?”
The conference will be held at The HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) from 23 – 24 March 2023. With the theme “Needham’s Dialogical Vision: Understanding Science as a Multi-Civilizational Outcome”, the two-day conference will bring together more than twenty leading scholars from across the world to address Needham’s dialogical question of how and why such exchanges across cultures came to enrich modern science today.
Program: CLICK here
Registration for in-person or online Zoom participation (23–24 March, 2023): CLICK here
Panels:
- Historical Sociology in Dialogue (Panel 1)
- Cosmologies in Dialogue (Panels (Panels 2 & 3)
- Natural Sciences in Dialogue (Panels 4 & 5)
- Medical Traditions in Dialogue (Panel 6)
- Modes of Inquiry in Dialogue (Panel 7)
Three public lectures at the Hong Kong Palace Museum (25 March, 2023, 9:00 am)
1. The Process of Learning and Surpassing in the Advancement of Science and Civilizations
Professor LEE Chack Fan (Director of the HKU – Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole)
2. Technologies of the Book in Dunhuang during the 9th and 10th Centuries Professor
Imre GALAMBOS (East Asian Studies, University of Cambridge)
3. Babylonian and Chinese Astronomy: Comparison, Circulation, and Dialogue
Professor John STEELE (Brown University)
If you would like to join the three lectures in person on 25 March, please register here or write to the Secretariat:
celine.lee@jnfschk.org / raymond.leung@jnfschk.org