续篇第三章 宗喀巴自述的证悟

前两章复述的是这一系写给后人的修法。本章读宗喀巴本人留下的、关于他自己证悟的材料,看这位写定修法的人怎样描述自己走过这条路。材料有三类:他晚年的自述诗《圆满宿愿》(rtogs brjod mdun legs ma,通译《证道歌》或《宿愿圆满歌》);他与老师仁达瓦来往的书信;弟子写的传记,以及他在证悟当天写下的《缘起赞》。前两类出自他本人,第三类出自弟子,分开读。

一、《圆满宿愿》:以学为纲的自述

这首诗把一生写成三段:先求广学,次一切教法现为教授,后昼夜修行。开篇四句是全诗的纲:"我先屡屡求取广博的闻学,继而一切教法现为修持,最后昼夜修行,一心致力于弘扬圣教。"1 三段的篇幅极不均衡。第一段逐一列出所学的论典:弥勒诸论、六庄严二殊胜、量论、龙树的论典、四部密续;第二段写这些论典怎样化为修法;第三段只有两节,说把显密二道合为一条道而修,并把一切善根回向教法。

关于空性见,诗里只有一节,写的是疑问的解决,用的是学的语言:"虽然我勤习显密论典,又修习、讲说甚深之义,却见自己的见地并不比一无所学、一无所知者高明多少。于是我彻底学习了能引出正见的一切要诀,它们见于审察甚深义的精微哲学之路,尤其见于龙树的论典;我的疑惑由此全部解决。"2 这一节值得照录,因为它是宗喀巴本人对自己得见的唯一直接陈述。陈述的结构是:发现自己的见不比无学者高明,于是再读龙树的论典,于是疑尽。见的获得被写成读书的结果;诗里没有一处把它写成座上发生的事。

诗的每一节以同一句收束:"我的宿愿成就得多好!深谢您,圣妙智藏!"所谢的是文殊。3这一点与下文书信里的记述一致:在他的自述里,见的验证者是文殊。

二、弟子传记里的证悟事件

事件本身,宗喀巴自己没有写,写的是弟子。传记的说法大体一致:一三九七年前后,他四十岁上下,已是中藏有名的学者,仍不满于自己对空性的证悟,于是退到沃卡闭关一年,重读月称《明句论》、佛护《中论释》与清辨《般若灯论》里关于应成、自续之别的部分。数月之后仍不能生起"完全无疑的定解"。一夜梦见龙树与诸弟子讨论此义,佛护起身,以自己的释论加持他。次日醒来,他翻开佛护释第十八品,读到"我非蕴,亦非异蕴"一段时,"毫不费力地经验到对究竟实相的证悟",并完全通达应成派关于正见的一切细微处。当天上午他写下《缘起赞》。4 克主杰的赞颂把这一刻记为"龙树、提婆、佛护、月称加持你时,你当下舍弃了关于甚深胜义的一切可能的错谬之垢"。5 帕绷喀转述这一事件时,把它系于他在沃卡却隆供曼荼罗等大精进之后。6

宗喀巴本人对这一事件留下的话,Jinpa 的传记引了一句,是他后来对侍者说的:"如今,随着对空性之见更为熟悉,即使在后得位中,我也把这整个纷繁的世界知觉为空的,而又如幻地保持着各自的相状;把事物知觉为未被空性之觉知所印持、当作具有自性的客观事实,这种知觉如今在我身上已很少生起。"7 这是他对证悟之后状态的描述:后得位中见一切现相如幻,执为实有的知觉已很少生起。描述的内容与第二章所述后得修如幻的目标一致。

传记里的事件有两个可以直接读出的特征。其一,触发证悟的是一段文字,而且是一段论证的文字:佛护释对"我与蕴一异"的分析,正是第二章四扼要的核心。其二,证悟的内容被描述为疑问的消失:Jinpa 的转述是,关于"空所破者与所留者之间那条极细的界线"的长年疑问"消失无踪",而因果、是非、轮涅的世界"反而更加清楚、更有秩序"。8 这两个特征与《圆满宿愿》的自述相合:那里也把得见写成疑尽。

三、致仁达瓦的书信:验证者是谁

书信比诗更具体。宗喀巴写给仁达瓦的信里说,他原以为自己已得"离一切宗的应成见",于是向本尊仔细请问自己的见,"但本尊连同理由一并告诉我,我仍未获得这一理解";他随即与本尊就见展开长时间的辩论,本尊告诉他应成见应当如何而他心里所有的只是什么;他再拿本尊的话去对照龙树师弟的论典,确认自己确未得见;再问本尊得见的方法而依之而行;"如今我有了一个大定解,因为我对先前未曾理解的缘起之义有了新的理解。"9 这一段把见的验证写成三步:本尊的判定、本尊的理由、论典的对照。他把这一新见的特点说成:一般宗派都以空遣有边、以现遣无边,应成派的不共处是以现遣有边、以空遣无边,由此了解空性怎样成为缘起之义。10

同一封信里还有一段,可以看出他怎样对待先前的理解。他说,把本尊这次的指示与先前所闻相比,发现本尊早已用相近的话给过同样的指示,只是自己当时没有领会;于是他问本尊,自己的老师是否也未领会;本尊答:"他已经理解了,只是我不确定到了什么程度。"11

仁达瓦的回信保存了下来。他先说学生的新见"确实极好",接着说:"然而,既然仍残留着对如幻之实相的某种了知,即使你对这最终的空性之见获得了定解,它也仍可被拆解。所以你应当继续祈请文殊,并自己继续作审察。"并提醒:"本尊所示现的是与人的心智阶段相称的东西,所以不要满足于一次得到某种证悟。"12 仁达瓦又列出他自己经历的四个阶段:断灭的空、现空双聚、缘起如幻、缘起唯名而无基;他把第四阶段定为应成见,而认为学生所述尚有如幻之知残留。13

四、《缘起赞》与《三主要道》:他自己给出的判准

证悟当天写下的《缘起赞》没有叙述事件,全篇赞佛说缘起。它给出的是判准:"这一切在客观上皆空,而此果由此因生;这两种定解互不障碍,实则相辅相成。还有什么比这更奇妙?"14 同一判准在他写给侍者擦阔阿旺扎巴的《三主要道》里说得更像一条操作标准:只要"缘起不虚"与"离一切宗的空"两种了解仍是分开的,就还没有证得佛的密意;某一天两者不复轮替而同时现起,只见缘起不虚便能摧毁一切执境的方式,那时对见的观察便告圆满。15 这一条后来被这一系当作观成不成的内部标准,第二章末尾所述的"两分"与"定解"即是它的座上形态。

五、这些材料合起来说什么

把三类材料合起来,可以记下四点,都是材料本身给出的,判断留到第六章。

其一,宗喀巴本人把得见写成学与疑的事。《圆满宿愿》里见的获得是"再读龙树的论典"之后"疑尽";传记里的证悟事件由读佛护释的一段论证触发;书信里的"大定解"来自"对缘起之义的新了解"。三处用的都是认知的语言,没有一处用止观章里的轻安、住分一类语言。

其二,验证者是本尊与论典。书信把验证写成本尊判定、本尊给理由、论典对照三步;《圆满宿愿》每节谢文殊。老师的回信则把这一新见当作仍可被拆解的阶段。换言之,在他自己的记述里,见的得与不得由两个权威裁定:一个是本尊,一个是文本,而他自己对二者的判断也要经过第三方。

其三,他给出的判准是两种定解同时现起而不轮替,这是一种对自心状态的描述,由当事人自报。《三主要道》与《缘起赞》都没有给出这一状态之外的检验。

其四,自述与修法之间有一处对应。他所述的证悟内容,"我非蕴亦非异蕴"的论证、现空二定解的同起、后得位中的如幻,正是后来《广论》观章与口诀书四扼要的内容。修法手册写的就是他记述自己走过的那条路。这一点在第五章读批评、第六章作判断时都要用到。

参考文献

  1. 宗喀巴《圆满宿愿》(rTogs brjod mdun legs ma),Robert A. F. Thurman 编译,Life and Teachings of Tsong Khapa, Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, rev. ed. 2006(初版 1982),p. 42。本章据该书英译转译为中文,中文标题依通行译法,原诗题意为"所证得的记述:宿愿善成"。英译原文:"First, I sought out often extensive learning, / Then all teachings dawned as trainings, / Finally, I practiced all day and all night, / Completely dedicated to spread the Teaching!" ↩

  2. Thurman, Life and Teachings of Tsong Khapa, pp. 42–43。英译原文:"Though I had worked hard on the treatises of Sutra and Tantra, / And I was practicing and teaching the impact of the profound, / I saw that my view had not advanced far beyond / The view that has learned nothing and nothing knows. / So then I studied thoroughly all the essential keys / That bring out the authentic view, which I found / On the path of subtle philosophy that examines the profound, / Especially in the scientific treatises of Nagarjuna; / And I resolved all my doubts completely!" ↩

  3. 同上,各节末句。英译原文:"how well my destiny was fulfilled! Thank you so very much, O Holy Wisdom Treasure!""Holy Wisdom Treasure"指文殊。 ↩

  4. 事件见 Thurman 书所收短传,pp. 21–22;Thurman 自己在第三部分导言里的叙述,pp. 105–106,引文"effortlessly experienced the ultimate realization of absolute reality"出此。Thupten Jinpa, Tsongkhapa: A Buddha in the Land of Snows, Boulder: Shambhala, 2019, chap. 8, "The Breakthrough",所记相同,并说当时同住的是三十余名游方僧。 ↩

  5. 克主杰颂文,Jinpa 译,Tsongkhapa, chap. 8。 ↩

  6. 帕绷喀讲述、墀江仁波切笔录《掌中解脱》,仁钦曲札译,白法螺中译本 2015 年校正电子档,第 116 页注一:"也因為在沃喀卻隆供曼荼羅等發大精進而證得中觀正見。" ↩

  7. Jinpa, Tsongkhapa, chap. 8,引自传记资料。英译原文:"These days, with greater familiarity [with insight into emptiness], even in the postmeditation periods, I would have the perception of this entire world of diversity as being empty yet, in an illusion-like manner, maintaining its specific forms. And the perception of things as not 'sealed' or marked by awareness of their emptiness—as objective facts with intrinsic reality—rarely arises in me now." ↩

  8. Jinpa, Tsongkhapa, chap. 8:"All of Tsongkhapa's long-standing doubts—especially regarding how to find the extremely fine line demarcating what is negated in emptiness and what is left untouched—vanished without a trace." ↩

  9. 宗喀巴致仁达瓦书,Jinpa 译,Tsongkhapa, chap. 8。Jinpa 说明这些书信经编者合并,先后次序已不可确考。英译原文:"In brief, although I had assumed that I gained the Prāsaṅgika view [of emptiness] that is devoid of all positions, I made careful inquiry about my view. But I was told, together with the reasons, that I still had not yet gained the understanding… Now I have had a major insight, due to having gained a new understanding of the meaning of dependent origination that I had not understood before." ↩

  10. 同上。原文:"A distinctive feature of Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka, however, is that appearance dispels the extreme of existence and emptiness the extreme of nonexistence." ↩

  11. 同上。英译原文:"He has understood it, though to what extent I am not sure." ↩

  12. 仁达瓦复宗喀巴书,Jinpa 译,Tsongkhapa, chap. 8。英译原文:"Your present view about how you understand dependent origination is indeed extremely good. However, since there still remains some cognizance of illusion-like reality, even if you were to gain ascertainment of this [final view of emptiness], it too could be dismantled. Therefore, you should continue to supplicate [Mañjuśrī] and engage in your own critical inquiry as well… Also, remember that meditation deities reveal what is suited to the mental stage of the person, so do not be content with gaining some realization just once." ↩

  13. 同上。仁达瓦原话:"I have experienced four stages in the understanding of the Madhyamaka view [of emptiness]. First is a nihilistic emptiness, the second is [the union of] appearance and emptiness, the third entails understanding dependent origination as illusions, and the fourth is understanding dependent origination as mere designations and groundless." ↩

  14. 宗喀巴《缘起赞》,Thurman 译作 Praise of Buddha Shakyamuni for his Teaching of Relativity,Life and Teachings of Tsong Khapa, pp. 109–112,引文在 p. 112。英译原文:"All this is objectively empty, / And this effect occurs from this cause; / These two certainties are mutually non-obstructive, / They actually complement each other. / What is there more marvellous than this?" Jinpa 另译数颂,Tsongkhapa, chap. 8。 ↩

  15. 宗喀巴《三主要道》第十至十二颂。英译见 Geshe Lhundup Sopa and Jeffrey Hopkins, Practice and Theory of Tibetan Buddhism, New York: Grove Press, 1976, p. 41(在四世班禅引导文内);Jinpa, Tsongkhapa, chap. 8,译作"at some point when, without alteration and at once, / The instant you see that dependent origination is undeceiving / If the entire object of grasping at certitude is dismantled, / At that point your analysis of the view is complete"。 ↩