樓主
Newar Buddhism: Problems and Possibilities
尼瓦佛教：問題與（發展）可能性
by: Min Bahadur Shakya
明•巴哈杜如•釋迦（即釋迦教授）著
靜涵 中譯
OVER THE LAST FEW DECADES, the Kathmandu valley has become the meeting place of Tibetan and Western Buddhists for the study of Buddhism. Renowned Tibetan Buddhist masters are busy offering initiations, conducting seminars and teaching sessions. Serious Western Dharma practitioners participating in these initiations and seminars seem to be less aware of the existence of a strong Buddhist tradition practised by the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley. Very few of the Western and Japanese Buddhist have thought it worthwhile to explore indigenous Buddhist tradition in the Kathmandu Valley.
過去幾十年來，加德滿都山谷已經成為了西藏與西方佛教徒的研習佛教的聚集場所。知名的西藏佛教大師忙於傳法、開研習會與教導。而參與這些傳法與研習活動，正式皈依的西方佛教信徒，卻很少人知道還有ㄧ支重要的佛教傳承是由加德滿都山谷裡的尼瓦族所傳承的。很少西方與日本的佛教徒會想到探索位於加德滿都山谷裡，這個本地的佛教傳承。
Most of these Western Buddhists hold the view that Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism is in all respects exhaustive in character while Newari Vajrayana Buddhism is only a corrupt form of Buddhism and hence warrants no observation, investigation or research. Of course, this view is erroneous. One needs to carefully consider the situation in a logical way before making such a hasty conclusion.
大多西方佛教徒持著這樣的觀點：西藏金剛乘是所有佛教中最尊貴的，而尼瓦金剛乘是佛教裡面比較腐敗的，因此就不打算前往訪問、調查及研究。當然這個觀點是錯誤的。在做出這樣重要結論以前，我們需要合理而仔細的考察。
Some Problems in Newar Buddhism
尼瓦佛教裡的幾個問題
The Newari form of Buddhism may be the oldest living tradition of Buddhism in the world. Buddhism as practised by the Newari Buddhists of the Kathmandu Valley has some characteristic features not found in other Buddhist countries. It was the Buddhism of Shakyamuni as it manifested itself in the Himalayan region. Newar Buddhism can be classified along the tradition of Indian Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism which derives its lineages from the Siddha tradition of the Nalanda and Vikramashila Monastic Universities of India. This traditional Buddhism of Newars has recently become the subject of great interest and detailed study by Lienhard, Gellner. M. Allen, Bechert, and others. Although some observers professed as early as the last century the hasty disappearance of this form of Buddhism, it has proved to be remarkably durable an important factor in its conservation and social structure.
在這世界上尼瓦佛教可能是傳承上最久遠的。而加德滿都山谷裡面的尼瓦族人所修持的佛法具有一些特色，這些卻是世界上其他佛教國家所看不到的。它是在喜馬拉雅區域，由釋迦牟尼佛所傳下來的佛教。尼瓦族的佛法，可直接追溯於悉達(Siddha)的那爛陀寺與超岩寺佛教大學的傳統。尼瓦佛教近來引起幾位佛教學界的學者，分別是：連赫德、蓋那爾與貝卻等人高度的興趣與詳細研究。雖然這幾位調查者在上個世紀的研究很早就為人所知，這只說明了尼瓦族是一個具有悠久歷史的民族與悠久的社會結構。
Some observers have found it to be in a pitiful condition. Not being able to cope with the modern situation the Shakyas and Vajracharyas are taking little interest in their own traditional religion and culture. The Vajracharyas are beginning to neglect taking Acharya Diksa (master initiation) with the result that there is a conspicuous decline in the number of Buddhist priests. The patrons (Skt. Jajaman) pay too little respect to these Buddhist priests because of their ignorance of Buddhist doctrine. These Vajracharyas get little remuneration in return for their services to their patrons in life cycle rituals. Thus, they are compelled to take up various secular professions. These are the obvious reasons for the decline of the traditional Buddhism of the Kathmandu Valley. Furthermore, most of the Bahas and Bahis (Buddhist monasteries) of three illustrious cities, owing to the lack of proper conservation, are in a dreadful state of dilapidation. Nowadays, we see these Bahas and Bahis being replaced by concrete buildings. In addition, the rare Buddhist manuscripts which Nepal takes pride in, are being sold in the common markets for exorbitant prices. We also see the ancient Buddhist sculptures and thankas, being exported to foreign markets. For all these reasons, scholars have begun to speculate about the hasty disappearance of this traditional Buddhism by the end of this century.
有些觀察家則發現到他們有ㄧ個窘境：他們並不處理這個民族內兩個重要的姓氏（階層），分別是釋迦與瓦吉拉恰力(梵文意思是金剛乘行者)所持有的宗教文化，這樣的文化並未深入研究。結果從幾位能夠持有持有阿闍黎學處的大師，屬於瓦吉拉恰力族人的數目明顯減少。就因為他們被佛教學界所忽略，使得佛教信徒的施主對於這些傳教的阿闍黎們很不恭敬。這些瓦吉拉恰力族們因為是依靠宗教儀式賴以維生，卻只能收到很微薄的供養。因此他們不得不放棄自己本業，改做世俗的行業。這就是加德滿都村落屬於尼瓦族佛教傳承變少的主要原因。更嚴重的是，造成了擁有眾多佛教僧院的巴哈斯(Bahas)與巴喜斯(Bahis)等三個著名的城市因為缺乏適當的保存，造成了荒廢的情況。今天我們則看到了巴哈斯與巴喜斯這兩個城市更換了很多鋼筋水泥建築。除此以外，還有尼泊爾引以為傲的佛教抄本以過高的價格在一般市場販售，此外我們也看到古老的佛經寫卷與唐卡出口到國外地方。因為這些理由，學者們推斷這個佛教的傳承將會在本世紀末消失。
The importance of Newari Buddhism
尼瓦佛教的重要性
The importance of Newaris in South Asian Buddhist History has been discussed at great length by Lienhard in his paper "Nepal ! The Survival of Indian Buddhism in a Himalayan Kingdom." Similarly in 1898 Prof. Sylvian Levi, who wrote "Le Nepal", discussed the survival of Sanskrit Buddhism in the Kathmandu Valley. He, with the help of Pt. Kulaman Singh of Kvabahal, translated into French the Mahayana Sutralankara of Arya Maitreyanath. Buddhism disappeared in India. The Theravada tradition flourished in Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand whereas the Vajrayana/Mahayana traditions were kept alive in Tibet, China, Japan, Korea and Nepal.
尼瓦佛教在南亞佛教史上是很重要的，這在連赫德的研究報告《尼泊爾，一個殘存印度佛的教喜馬拉雅王國》當中有相當的長度來討論。同樣地在1898年，法國著名的佛教學者，列維教授曾經寫過《尼泊爾ㄧ書》，也討論到在加德滿都村落裡面所殘存印度佛教。他獲得了來自克瓦巴哈的庫拉曼•辛格的協助，以法文翻譯了在印度消失了的，聖彌勒菩薩所做的《大乘經莊嚴論》。正當此時，上座部在斯里蘭卡，緬甸，泰國等地流行，而大乘佛教則為西藏，中國，日韓與尼泊爾等地流傳。
How Buddhism disappeared in India is still the subject of great controversy. How Newars kept Vajrayana Buddhism alive in the Kathmandu Valley is an interesting topic in itself. These are some of the topics:
到底，印度佛教是怎麼在印度消失的，仍然是一個極具爭議的主題。而尼瓦族人在加德滿都山谷是怎麼保存印度佛教的金剛乘，這也是一個有趣的問題。這裡有幾個主題：
-Westerners, many lay people, educated, urban, more wealthy people need/want teachings and practices that have been adapted to lay life, i.e., non-celibate people with family and jobs.
西方人，有錢，住在郊區，受教育的許多在家人，需要教導與修持來調整他們的在家生活，如非單身主義的人們、家庭與工作。
-Newari Buddhism is unique because it has survived without a permanent, celibate Sangha.
尼瓦佛教是特別的，因為它沒有出家僧伽的體系。
-It has something unique to offer lay people seeking high level practice and teachings but unwilling or unable to ordain as monks or nuns permanently.
尼瓦佛教有一些獨特地方，如提供在家人，那些不願也不想受剃度而成為永久性的出家比丘與比丘尼，他們尋求更高階層的修行與教導。
Nepal as the Land of Buddhas
佛國尼泊爾
The Kingdom of Nepal, endowed with enchanted snowy peaks, lakes and caves, has been aptly described as the land of the Buddhas. The discovery of three Ashokan Pillars has revealed the native towns of three Buddhas, namely: Krakuchchand, Kanakamuni, and Shakyamuni at Gotihawa, Niglihawa, and Lumbini respectively in the South-West Terai regions of Nepal.
尼泊爾王國，一個賦予了長年覆蓋著雪的山峰，湖泊與洞穴，巧妙地描繪成一個佛的國土形象。三座阿育王石碑在此豎立是彰顯了與三尊佛陀有關的鄉鎮，分別是迦葉佛、卡納卡牟尼佛與釋迦牟尼佛分別在：歌帝哈瓦、尼格利哈瓦與藍毗尼園，這些城鎮都在尼泊爾的塔拉伊西南方。
Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Shakyamuni Buddha is a sacred place for Buddhists from all over the world. A veteran Asian traveller writes, "as millions of Christians look to Jerusalem for inspiration, as millions of Muslims turn to Mecca, so do the millions of Buddhists see the sacred kingdom of Nepal." Nepal is a holy land not only because it is the birthplace of the Buddha Shakyamuni, but also because it is the land where the self existing primordial one Swayambhu, was created. If we study Nepalese historical records, we can see that the Kathmandu valley was the center of Buddhist learning in the medieval period.
對於全世界的佛教徒來說，藍毗尼園是佛陀的誕生聖地。一個老練的亞洲旅行家這樣寫著：「百萬的基督徒到耶路薩冷去朝聖，百萬的回教徒去麥加，而百萬的佛教徒會來到尼泊爾。」但尼泊爾不僅是一個聖地，為佛祖釋迦牟尼佛的出生地，更因為它是一塊本來就被創造為，"（佛教）根本的土地"，一個「斯瓦亞布」。如果我們研究尼泊爾的歷史，就不難認識到加德滿都的山谷在中世紀時期就是佛法研究的中心。
At that time Buddhism was in its height or apex of glory. This is corroborated by the inscription of NS. 350 (1230 AD) found in Guita Vihara of Patan written on the statue of Dipamkara Buddha. It runs as follows:- Vikhyata Lalitpuriti Nagari Diskhu Sarvasvapy Vidyabhyam (Trans: Lalitpur is famous in all directions for its academic life.)
在那個時期，佛教是崇高而榮耀的。根據明確的證據顯示，在帕丹的古伊塔寺內發現一座公元1230年時期的燃燈佛佛像，上面有ㄧ段文字寫著「拉力普魯是在十方裡面最有名的(佛法)教學中心。」
Nepal as a treasure trove of Sanskrit Buddhist Manuscripts
作為貴重寶物－梵文寫卷的尼泊爾
In 1824,Mr. Brian Hodgson, a British diplomat in Nepal, discovered a great number of Sanskrit Buddhist manuscripts in Nepal. The existence of these before his time was unknown, and his discovery has entirely revolutionized the history of Buddhism as it was known to Europeans in the early part of this century. Copies of these works, totaling 381 bundles, have been distributed so as to render them accessible to European scholars. Prof. Jayadeva Singh writes in his "Introduction to Madhyamika Philosophy".
1824年，巴利安•霍格森先生，一個英國外交官來到尼泊爾，發現了大量的梵文佛經寫卷。在他以前並沒有人知道這些東西，因此引發了佛教史上的革命性的震撼，並在該世紀前期在歐洲廣為人知。這些被發現的梵文寫卷總共有381捆，並為歐洲學者們在佛教學術做出貢獻。賈揚德瓦教授在《中觀哲學導論》裡面介紹：
Books on Mahayana Buddhism were completely lost in India. Their translation existed in Chinese, Japanese and Tibetan. Mahayana literature was written mostly in Sanskrit and mixed Sanskrit. Scholars, who have made a study of Buddhism, hardly suspected that there were also books on Buddhism in Sanskrit.
「屬於大乘佛教的佛典，在印度是完全消失的。他們的翻譯本現在存在於中國、日本與西藏。這些大乘佛教的文獻都是用梵文與混合梵文寫程。凡是做佛教學研究的學者很少會去懷疑佛典是用梵文寫的。」
In similar matter, Dr। Suniti Kumar Chatterji writes,
同樣的情況，蘇尼提•庫瑪爾•洽特爾吉博士則寫道：
"One great service the people of Nepal did particularly the highly civilized Newars of the Nepal valley, was the preservation of all the manuscripts of Mahayana Buddhist literature in Sanskrit. it was the contribution of Sri Lanka to have preserved for humankind the entire mass of the Pali literature of Theravada Buddhism. This was also on to Burma, Cambodia and Siam. It was similarly the great achievement of people of Nepal to have preserved the equally valuable original Sanskrit texts of Mahayana buddhism."
「尼泊爾人一個偉大貢獻就是在尼泊爾村落裡的尼瓦族，保存了很多大乘佛教的梵文原典寫卷。正如同斯里蘭卡人對佛教的貢獻在於保存整部的巴利文上座部佛典寫卷，緬甸人也是，柬埔寨人也是，還有泰國人。同樣的情況，尼泊爾人也對保存大乘佛教的梵文原典，為佛教做出了極大的貢獻。」
[此帖子已經被作者於2012/9/11 下午 09:56:43編輯過]
