葛若思的文化轉譯：西方女性主義與藏傳佛教的對話

Abstract

當代邁向宗教多元，展開性別平等的對話實屬必要，因為在宗教內部中的性別體制似乎早已被質疑，女性主義性別意識與基督宗教造物者神聖的衝突更是重要的引言議題。當代女性主義宗教研究不但早已確定女性身體的救贖意義，更保障女性選擇宗教信仰的自由；然而，在新女性性別平等觀點出現之前，佛教女性成佛的故事、菩薩變性、藏佛代表諸法智慧的女神，雖先與基督宗教一神男性中心的主張有「性別平等」的差異外，至今仍能源源不絕提供女性宗教學者重新整理多元文化下宗教自由與女性靈性的論述，使得異教女神信仰作為女性主義挑戰基督宗教男善女惡的辯論主軸，更是紮實、著力。\n 本論文希望透過「譯本和異文化」、「父神和女權」、「女神和女佛」、「終極真實和女性靈性」，此四層次閱讀葛若思(Rita M. Gross, 1943-2015)的女性主義佛教思想，了解她先如何將女性主義性別意識擴及到佛教信仰體系下無我、不二和方便法的價值觀，再以女性主義反父權和男神一神思想，建構出佛教化的女性主義性論述，助益了解為何基督宗教文化下受父權壓迫的女性選擇信仰佛教女神，而這更能回溯西方女性主義宗教學者在介入異信仰體系時，其女性主義「譯」言位置建構的方式是如何與「異」信徒邊緣處境串聯出宗教上文化轉譯的意義。這個文化轉譯是先將佛教三身對位為西方的終極真實，再以女性主義性別意識確定男尊女卑不平等的普世現象，隨後刻意將女性身體與女神空相聯繫在一起，完整出女性主義佛學化的性別論述。在女性主義和藏傳佛教的對話過程中，葛若思提出女性自我定義信仰價值的加值化(revalorization)，進而合理化西方女性主義僭越異宗教傳統的性別體系，先顛覆基督宗教以男神為主軸的信仰認同，再實踐其所謂的性別空性和「佛教即女性主義」的論述。\n 本論文指出性別平等作為女性靈性論述中同聲複調的終極真實，在女性主義本質論之下，突顯父神文化挫敗女信徒的自我價值和信仰認同的基督宗教神學傳統。葛若思以藏傳伊喜措嘉(Yeshe Tsogyel, 757 – 817)一世成佛、大乘無我和空性說做為新自我和女性定位的渡船，不但批判了西方、一元、基督宗教男神觀中的性別二分價值，也文化轉譯出藏傳佛教活佛轉世的(後)現代性。本論文中，也輔以80年代以降女性主義神學家(如戴莉Mary Daly)的女性主義神學性別論點，指出葛若思的佛學性別研究一方面是建立在批評基督宗教男善女惡之上，一方面是建構女性成佛和女佛轉世的思想，作為她在此兩大宗教性別觀所另外開拓出的中介觀點(liminality)，以肯定葛若思在父權壓抑、性別(不)認同和女性靈性中所開創的學術貢獻。\n 論文第一章為緒論，包括研究動機、問題意識和研究方法三小節。第二章介紹葛若思的生平和著作；第三章整理葛若思女性主義佛教研究的學術淵源，第四章以三個面向(非女性主義思維方式、女性主義思維方式、女性主義和翻譯研究)深入葛若思的佛教研究。第五章以葛若思對基督宗教、女性主義神學家、美國佛教徒和東方佛教徒等四個角度的批判，來了解葛若思的女性主義信仰。第六章綜論葛若思女性主義宗教研究的影響；第七章為結論，對葛若思女性主義化的佛教研究提出展望和建議。

With assured theology-as-male-oppression statements by feminist religious scholars, de-gendering and re-gendering belief systems of the other have been flourished; the current intercultural religiousness and interfaith dialogues, in fact, contributed to this de- and re- phenomenon. While the feminist-theologians or thealogists are articulating that feminine principle should dominate the Ultimate Reality and the Sacred, asking for a gender-balanced Church lineage, demanding more gender-based comprehensions when reading the Bible, or exploring diverse values from goddess traditions, from where several shortened distances between the Supreme Being and the female devotees could be possible, Rita M. Gross (1934 – 2015) has converted to Tibetan Buddhism, and declared that “Buddhism is feminism” marks her comparative studies to be a work of revalorization, asserting that gender is as nondual as the Buddhist egolessness, as skillful as a bodhisattva’s upaya, as ultimate as the dynamic emptiness, and being physically female is also potential to gain the Buddhist enlightenment and achieve Buddhahood in one lifetime. What, then, should have been hybridized between the theological and biblical inferiority of women in the western society and the ultimate femaleness that Gross as a feminist Buddhist grounded? And how can this western, white, American female scholar articulate her Buddhist belief and meditative practices to the eastern, Asian, Buddhist culture by learning second-handed, English-written Buddhist doctrines? In terms of cultural translation as inter-engaged ultimate truths, Gross’ being a feminist religious scholar seems to be not less provoking than inspiring. \n In this dissertation, I plan to understand Gross’ feminist-Buddhist studies, from where the concepts such as interfaith dialogue, comparative religious patterns, cultural translation, thealogical issues, and female spirituality help a lot in clarity and insight to Gross’ feminist-identified and feminism-oriented analyses on the nonduality of gender, gender as upaya and emptiness, and the interrelationship between a female Buddha and her western devotees.\n Chapters one and two are a brief introduction about the biographical, academic and social contexts of Rita Gross and her Buddhist studies. Chapter three gives a multi-faced exploration that has interlinked to Gross’ feminist-Buddhist scholarships, relating to the Cobb-Abe Christian-Buddhist dialogue, the ideas of religious diversity from Paul Knitter and John Hick, the various types of feminist theologian scholars and thealogians. Certain Buddhist concepts like nonduality, bodhicitta and Buddhist sense of gender, liberation, equality are briefly mentioned so as to perceive her anti-theological and post-patriarchal standing grounds. \nChapters four and five focus on Gross’ feminist methodology and two main statements: Buddhism is feminism and the heart of Vajrayana is feminism, dealing with the talents how Gross’ feminist religious beliefs deconstruct the western, male-dominated, monotheistic tradition by translating Yeshe Tsogyel (757 – 817), the Buddha Mother, to a gender-as-emptiness, ultimate value system, indicating a non-Christian alternative faith or a goddess devotion could be established in the near future. Within her re-reading and interpreting the life experience of this Buddha Mother with Tibetan Buddhist doctrines on motherhood, physical value and thealogical ideals, Gross re-evaluates the mythic, Tibetan, historical wife-queen figure into the feminist, thealogical, universal prototype for the global sentient.\nChapter six highlights on Gross’ Buddhist-feminist contributions to the contemporary, the postmodern and to the eastern. The conclusion, chapter seven, provides a holistic perspective about Gross’ Buddhist feminist issues with some concerns relating to feminist Buddhist studies.