歷代僧傳中「示寂夢」的書寫與特色

Abstract

示寂夢可視作一種死亡信息的傳遞，係做夢者透過夢徵獲知傳主或某位僧侶即將往生的訊息，根據夢境示現的徵兆，暗示高僧往生去處或驗證修行得道之必然。本文以梁慧皎《高僧傳》、唐道宣《續高僧傳》、宋贊寧《宋高僧傳》、到明如惺《大明高僧傳》進行研究，依夢象不同歸納出預知時至、聖者來迎、淨土祥瑞、傾毀異兆和託夢道別5種夢象類型。其中慧皎與道宣兩傳運用聖者來迎的感夢瑞兆最多，這些來自聖界的阿彌陀佛、觀音、祖師、天人等，皆是肯定傳主道業有成的聖顯之應，而非倚靠他力求得的結果；贊寧則以弟子夢見浮圖摧倒、佛殿傾毀的異兆，表達對貢獻卓越大師的不捨與崇敬；如惺則著墨於念佛往生西方淨土世界的鋪敘。從信仰角度來看，示寂夢可視為傳主個人生命的超越與突破，當傳主從夢中醒來，雖已得知即將往生的訊息，但因夢中經歷佛、菩薩顯聖的神祕經驗，彷彿獲得往生淨土的應許，面對死亡無有恐懼，能充滿信心地歸趣理想淨土。就文學角度而言，僧傳作者有意利用感夢情節的鋪排，為僧侶生命增添聖化的效果，藉由夢通虛實的交叉呼應與臨終前後的對比手法，讓讀者從高僧圓寂的過程中，體會一種崇高的死亡美感，而此種修行證道的書寫模式，亦具有極佳的宣教效果。

The Nirvana dream can be viewed as the delivery of a death message, which a dreamer received about the imminent death of an eminent monk. The dream would later be recorded in the monk`s biography. The signs revealed in the dream indicated place of rebirth of the dying monk or the verification of his accomplishment from his practice. This paper analyzes accounts of various versions of Nirvana dreams as recorded in Huijiao`s Biographies of Eminent Monks (Biographies, Gaoseng zhuan), Daoxuan`s Further Biographies of Eminent Monks (Further Biographies, Xu gaoseng zhuan), Zanning`s Song Biographies of Eminent Monks (Song Biographies, Song gaoseng zhuan) and Ruxing`s Ming Biographies of Eminent Monks (Ming Biographies, Da-Ming gaoseng zhuan), compiled in the Liang, Tang, Song, and Ming Dynasties, respectively. It categorizes the dream visions into five types, including predictions of the impending death, saints` welcome, the auspicious signs of the Pure Land, the omens of structures falling, and bidding farewell in dreams. Huijiao Biographies and Daoxuan`s Further Biographies recorded the most auspicious signs of saints` welcome. These saints included Amitabha, Avalokitesvara, ancestral masters, and Devas from the realm of the saints. These dreams all verified the accomplishments of the eminent monks by celestial manifestations, rather than relying on other powers. Zanning`s Song Biographies included many dreams foretelling the masters` imminent deaths received by the disciples, which involved stupas falling and Buddha halls being damaged. These omens indicated the difficult separations and homage to the masters who made tremendous contributions. Ruxing`s Ming Biographies focused on chanting Amitabha`s name for the eminent monks to be reborn in the Pure Land. From the perspective of faith, a Nirvana dream can be regarded as the transcendence and breakthrough of the individual life by an eminent monk. When the monk woke up from his dream, though he had received the message of his imminent death, he could accept the promise of being reborn in the Pure Land due to his mysterious experience from the manifestation of the Buddha and Bodhisattva. Therefore, he was not afraid to face death, and was confident in his faith in the ideal Pure Land. With regard to literature, the writers of the hagiographies intentionally described the plot of receiving dreams elaborately to sanctify the lives of eminent monks. They often led the readers to lofty aesthetic experience through the death of an eminent monk by developing an analogy between life and dream and a contrast between the moments before and after the death. This writing method of illustrating the accomplishments of eminent monks greatly facilitated the preaching of Buddhism.