儒家话语下的宗教与信仰

http://www.chinese.cn 2009年10月28日 16:59世界汉学大会官网
字号：大中小
刘梦溪 中国艺术研究院
Liu, Mengxi, Chinese National Academy of Arts
原文Original
儒家话语下的宗教与信仰
1，中国人有信仰吗？照说不是个问题。其实一直是一个问题。所以成为问题，是由于迄今为止，绝大多数西方人都认为中国人没有或者缺少信仰。中国人自己回答这个问题，也没有十足的底气。学术界更长期存在争论，至今仍未能在这个问题上给出妥切的答案。
中国不是有佛教和道教吗？难道不是信仰吗？
这里，需要对信仰一词稍作分疏。所谓信仰，应该指一种带有宗教意味的终极关怀。佛教自东汉传入中国之后，经历了繁复的本土化的过程。它在中国社会裂分为两条途径。往知识阶层里面走，出现禅宗，禅宗流于智辩，其信仰的成分大大减低。往民间社会走，出现世俗化的趋向，香火虽盛，信仰却不能说是牢固不移。民间宗教的适用性取向和为我所用的特点甚为明显。
至于道教，属于自然宗教性质，神出多门，不易取信。如果以西方的宗教理念来衡量，终极关怀一词宜乎与佛道二教无缘。
2，那么儒家呢？这涉及学术界的一个争论，就是儒家到底是不是宗教。我个人不赞成把儒家宗教化。大史学家陈寅恪先生也明确讲过“儒家不是真正的宗教”。
儒家虽不是宗教，但儒家一向有重“教”的传统。“教”是儒家思想的应有之义。其“教”应解释为教化之“教”。因此唐宋以还盛行“三教合一”的说法，可以看作是“教化”思想的殊途同归。因为佛教和道教，实际上也担负着对其拥虿和信众的教化任务。
儒释道“三教”对“天生蒸民”的态度，都是以“教”而“化”之相期许。
中国文化的这一特异之点，使得中国历史上从来没有宗教战争，中华民族也从来不排外。这也就是，孔子的弟子子夏为什么能够讲“四海之内皆兄弟也”。孔子还说：“夷狄入中国，则中国之。”试想这是何等气魄！《易经》的系辞则说：“天下同归而殊途，一致而百虑。”《中庸》也说：“万物并育而不相害，道并行而不相悖，小德川流，大德敦化，此天地之所以为大也。”所谓“大”者，就是能容能化。
这是儒家的文化态度，也是儒家的包容精神，同时也是中华民族的文化态度和中华民族的包容精神。
3，问题是应该对这种现象作怎样的解释。
大史学家也是大思想家陈寅恪说：“中国自秦以后，迄於今日，其思想之演变过程，至繁至久。要之只为一大事因缘，即新儒学之产生，及其传衍而已。”（陈著《金明馆丛稿二编》页282）按佛教的说法，佛陀出世是一件“大事因缘”。陈寅恪先生把宋代新儒学的产生与传衍，看作是中国思想史的“一大事因缘”。这样说的道理何在？主要因为通过宋儒的改造融解过程，终于使外来之佛教完成了实现中国本土化的最关键的步骤。
儒家从先秦两汉一直到宋代，经过几个发展阶段。春秋战国时期是思想家的思想。汉代儒学成为和社会制度结合起来的学说。宋代大儒朱熹出来，创建理学，使儒学成为系统的哲学思想。宋明理学吸收了道教和道家的思想，吸收了佛教特别是禅宗的思想，实现了空前的思想大汇流。由于是儒释道三家融合过的思想，所以可以称作“新儒家”。
4，儒家为什么有如此的包容性？我认为，主要由于儒家不是真正的宗教。不是宗教，所以没有排他性。孔子思想涉及历史、文化、制度、人伦各个方面，但对宗教与信仰问题他似乎有所保留。他的名言是“祭神如神在”、“敬鬼神而远之”、“未能事人，焉能事鬼”、“未知生，焉知死”，以及“子不语怪力乱神”等。他雅不情愿在这个问题上多发表意见。
“祭神如神在”最多是要求祭祀的人应该对神保持一种礼敬的态度，而不是必然的信仰。因为当孔子这样说的时候，已经对信仰对象作了一种假设，而信仰对象是不能够假设的。“敬鬼神而远之”也是表达对鬼神的一种礼敬的态度。
我们由此看到了孔子思想在宗教与信仰问题上所有的和所没有的东西。
有的，是礼仪和礼敬，没有的，是终极意味的信仰。
5，孔子强调“执事敬”、“修己以敬”、“行笃敬”。孟子释“义”的时候也说“行吾敬而已”。早期儒家已经把“敬”视作社会人伦甚至生之为人的基本价值。宋儒深悟此理，更大张旗鼓地提出“主敬”的概念。“敬”既是道德伦理，又是中国人和中国社会普遍持久的人文指标，不妨看作是中国文化话语里面的具有永恒价值的道德理性。
孔孟等先秦儒家和宋儒提倡“主敬”，目的是要使中国人的文化性格庄严起来。如果说在宗教与信仰层面，儒家思想尚留有某种空缺的话，那么“主敬”思想的提出，应是一种恰如分际的补充。
何谓敬？敬是自性的觉照庄严。觉照系佛家语，有虚明照澈之意，也可以解做人的本性的庄严。所以《中庸》里说：“自诚明，谓之性。”又说“唯天下至诚，为能尽其性，能尽其性，则能尽人之性”，以及“齐庄中正，足以有敬”。“齐庄”就是庄严，也就是人性之庄敬。“至诚”则不失觉照，不为俗尘物欲所遮蔽。二程子则说：“当大震惧，能自安而不失者，惟诚敬而已。”（《二程集》下，页1227）当一个人遇到某种不可抗拒的意外，遭遇大的变故，身心受到大的震撼，却能够安稳自定，而不手足无措，只有牢固秉持诚敬之心的人，才有可能做到。
这种情境之下，诚敬已经成为当事人的不可移易的信仰。
6，所以二程子说：“君子之遇事，一于敬而已。”（《二程集》下，页1221）而切忌“简细故以自崇”，也就是不用一些无关紧要的细琐之事来安慰自己。也不自作聪明，“饰私智以为奇”。也就是不施用一些小技巧来搪塞蒙蔽自己。因为这些都是内心缺乏诚敬的支撑，亦即没有信仰。
信仰之境的“敬”，可以使一个人的意志不发生动摇。所以孔子说：“三军可以夺帅也，匹夫不可以夺志也。”怎样使得自己的“志”不被夺去？按马一浮先生的解释，“敬”就有这种奇妙的作用。他说：“何以持志？主敬而已矣。”（《马一浮集》第一册，页108》）又说：“以帅气言，谓之主敬；以不迁言，谓之居敬；以守之有恒言，谓之持敬。”
这是告诉我们，如果要让此一“诚敬”之心守之有恒，持之不迁，则“居敬”和“持敬”是必不可少的修持功夫。“居敬”、“持敬”，才能“主一”。也就是二程子之一的弟弟伊川所说的：“主一者谓之敬。”（《二程集》上，页315）如此来解释、界定“敬”，显然已使“敬”的价值义涵带上了终极的意味。
7，诚和敬是连同在一处的。不诚则不敬，不敬也就没有诚。二程子说：“诚然后能敬，未及诚时，却须敬而後能诚。” （《二程集》上，页92）诚敬，诚敬，敬则诚，诚则敬，二者是一而二、二而一的关系。而且诚与信可以互训。按《说文》：“信，诚也。”段注曰：“诚，信也。”无诚则不信，反之，无信亦无诚可言。中华文化立国之大本和立人之大德，无非诚信二字。益信“敬”之为德具有终极价值，是不诬也。
“敬”还与礼仪的重建密切相关。孔子说：“为礼不敬，临丧不哀，吾何以观之哉？”如果用一个概念范畴来表达礼仪的内涵，那就是“敬”。中国自古号称礼仪之邦，主要是有“敬”存焉。
8，“敬”的反面是放肆，是怠惰，是漶漫。故马一浮说：“圣狂之分在敬与肆之一念而已。”所谓“一念”，即是内心深处的一点灵明，也就是唤醒“敬”的觉照。
因之，信仰是终极，诚敬是本体，功夫在约束。
所谓“约束”，就是“约之以礼”。所以孔子说：“博学于文，约之以礼，亦可以弗畔矣。”意即一个知识广博的人，如果懂得用礼仪来约束自己，便不至于做出不合适的举动来（《论语·雍也篇》）。孔子还说：“以约失之者鲜矣。”（《论语·里仁篇》）意思是，由于约束自己而发生过失，这种情况太少见了。
“约之”，也就是建筑在理性自觉基础上的自省之道。孔子说的“为人谋而不忠乎？与朋友交而不信乎？”都是需要自省的内容。自省的目的，是要保持诚敬忠信。忠信有疑，就是诚敬有疵。改变之道，在于“克己”，在于“修己”。孔子“克己复礼”一语，释证缤纷，莫衷一是。其实“复礼”就是复性，也就是恢复诚信，重构“敬”的价值本体。
而做到了诚敬和诚信，也就达到了“仁”的境界。然则圣人“克己复礼为仁”的“六语掾”，意在斯乎？意在斯乎？
9，所以我认为，“敬”之一字，足可唤醒个体生命的人性尊严，足以维持社会人伦的基本价值。“敬”既是道德伦理，又是中国人和中国社会永恒的人文指标，也是中国文化背景下具有终极价值的道德理性。
中国人不是没有信仰。我们的信仰不在彼岸，而是在此岸。即事即理，即心即理，即性即佛。不必登舟，无须拾筏，此岸同样可以实现超越。中国人精神信仰的特点，是不离开自身，不著意外求。
译文Translation
Religion and Faith in the Context of Confucianism
1. Do the Chinese people have a faith? Allegedly this is not a question, but in fact it has always been an important question. This is a question because the great majority of westerners until this day think that the Chinese people do not have or lack a faith. And the Chinese who answer this question usually do not have enough stamina or courage. In the academia this question has been debated for a long time, but until this day no proper answer has been given.
Does China not have Buddhism and Daoism? Is there not faith?
Here I want to make a small clarification of the term “faith” (xinyang). What is meant by faith should be a kind of ultimate concern (zhongji guanhuai) with religious significance. Buddhism experienced a complicated inculturation process after it was introduced to China in the Eastern Han dynasty. In Chinese society Buddhism split into two branches, it entered the scholarly circles, and there emerged Zen Buddhism, but Zen turned into “awakening debates” (zhi bian), and its faith elements were greatly diminished. Buddhism also entered the world of the common people, and there appeared a tendency of secularization (suhua). Although many people burn incense, we cannot say that their faith is something solid and firm. The practical inclinations of this popular religion and the characteristics of “how can I utilize it” are very manifest.
As to Daoism, it belongs to the natural religions, there are many ways of contacting the spirits, and to have faith in this context is not easy. If we measure the concept of religion with western standards, then the idea of “ultimate concern” has almost nothing to do with Buddhism and Daoism.
2. And what about Confucianism? This has to do with a debate among scholars about whether Confucianism is a religion or not. I personally do not support the view of Confucianism as a religion. The great historian Chen Yinque has also stated once clearly that “Confucianism is not really a religion.”
Although Confucianism is not a religion (“zongjiao”), the Confucianists always had a tradition of emphasizing “jiao” (teaching). This “jiao” is an integral part of Confucianist thought, and it should be interpreted as “teaching” (“jiaohua”). Therefore there was the expression of “unify the three teachings” (“san jiao heyi”) in the Tang and Song dynasties, by which the three teachings are somehow seen as reaching the same goal by different routes, because Buddhism and Daoism actually are also shouldering the task of teaching and cultivating their supporters and believers.
The “three teachings” of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism have the common attitude of looking at a “Heaven giving birth to all human beings” (“tian sheng zheng min”), and they expected of each other to be “educational” and “transforming” (“jiao”, “hua”).
This special feature of the Chinese cultures explains the fact that there never occurred any religious wars throughout the whole history of China, and the Chinese people never had any attitudes of anti-foreignism. Thus Confucius’ disciple Zi Xia could say “All people within the four seas are brothers”. And Confucius has even remarked once: “If the foreign barbarians enter the Middle Kingdom, then let them become Chinese” (“yidi ru zhong guo, ze zhong guo zhi”). Just imagine what kind of imposing gesture this is! The Xici of the Book of Changes says: “The goal of the world is the same, but the roads to it are different, one achievement needs a hundred considerations” (“tianxia tong gui er shu tu, yi zhi er bai lü”). The Zhongyong puts it like this: “All things are born together and do not hurt each other, their ways are converging and not conflicting, a small virtue is like a creek, a great virtue is like persuasive change (“dun hua”), and this is why heaven and earth are so great.” Thus what is called “great” (“da”) is something that is tolerant and can “change” (“hua”).
This is the cultural attitude of Confucianism, which is also the Confucianist spirit of tolerance, which is at the same time the cultural attitude of the Chinese people and the tolerant spirit of the Chinese people.
3. The question is how we should interpret this phenomenon.
The great historian and thinker Chen Yinque said: “From the Qin Dynasty until today, the intellectual changes in China were very complicated and went through many long periods of time. The essence of it is just the different causes that came together and produced a great event, namely the birth of new Confucianism and its tradition, nothing else.” (Chen Yinque, Jin Ming Guan Cong Gao, 2nd. ed., p. 282). According to Buddhism, the birth of Buddha is a “great event as result of the different causes coming together”. Mr. Chen Yinque sees the birth and tradition of Neo-Confucianism of the Song Dynasty as the “great event” (“da shi yinyuan”) in the intellectual history of China. What is the reason for this judgment? Mainly it is because through the process of transformation and interpretation (of Buddhism), the Confucianists of the Song Dynasty could finally effect that Buddhism that had come from abroad made the most important move in the process of becoming inculturated in China (“Zhongguo bentuhua”).
From the pre-Qin period, the two Han Dynasties until the Song Dynasty, Confucianism underwent several stages of development. In the time of the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States it was the thought of thinkers. The Confucianists of the Han Dynasty presented a teaching that was linked to the social system of the period. Then appeared the great Confucianist Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty, and he created the Li Xue (Li School) which effected that Confucianism became a systematic philosophy. The Confucianists of the Li School of the Song and Ming Dynasties absorbed the thought of Daoist religion and Daoist tradition, and they also absorbed Buddhist thought, especially Zen Buddhism, and thus they could realize a great blending and mixing (“huiliu”) of thought which was unprecedented in history. Since this was the thought that had been “merged and combined” (“ronghe”) from the three traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, we can call it the “New Confucianist tradition” (“xin Rujia”).
4. Why does Confucianism have such a magnificent ability of accepting others? I think it is mainly because Confucianism is not really a religion. Because it is not a religion it does not have the habit of excluding others. Confucius’ thought covers history, culture, social systems, ethics and other areas, but he was somehow reserved as to the questions of religion and faith. His famous phrases are “sacrifice to the spirits as if they would be present” (ji shen ru shen zai), “respect the spirits and stay away from them” (jing guishen er yuan zhi), “If you cannot serve the people yet, how will you be able to serve the spirits?” (wei neng shi ren, yan neng shi gui?), “If you do not know about life, how will you know about death?” (wei zhi sheng, yan zhi si?), and “The master does not talk about capricious forces and strange spirits” (zi bu yu guai li luan shen) etc. Confucius did by no means want to voice his opinion in this question.
The expression “to sacrifice to the spirits as if they were present” does at most ask those who perform sacrifices to keep an attitude of proper respect towards the gods, and this does not imply a faith as a necessary requirement, because when Confucius said this he had already posed the object of faith as a kind of hypothesis, but the object of faith cannot be taken as a hypothesis. The word “respect the spirits and stay away from them” again is a kind of proper respect towards the gods.
From this we can see what Confucius’ thinking has or does not have in regard to the question of religion and faith. What the Confucians have are rites and proper respect, what they do not have is a faith with ultimate meaning.
5. Confucius emphasizes “to do things with respect” (zhi shi jing), “to cultivate oneself to be respectful” (xiu ji yi jing), “to act respectfully” (xing du jing). When Mencius explained the meaning of “justice” (yi), he said: “to act according to my respectful attitude, nothing else”. Early Confucianism has already seen “respect” (jing) as a kind of social ethics or even as the basic human value. The Confucianists of the Song Dynasty had a deep grasp of this principle, and they greatly developed the concept of “putting respect first” (zhu jing). “Respect” (jing) is both morality and the universal and perennial humanist feature of the Chinese and the Chinese society. We can also understand it as a moral reasoning of eternal value within the context of the Chinese cultures.
Confucius and the other pre-Qin Confucianists and the Confucianists of the Song Dynasty advocated to “put respect first” (zhu jing), and their aim was to make the cultural features of the Chinese people more imposing. If we say that regarding religion and faith there is still some gap or deficiency within Confucianist thought, then the emergence of the principle of “putting respect first” was a proper and fitting complement of this gap.
What now is “respect” (jing)? Respect is the awakening and solemnity (juezhao zhuangyan) of one’s own nature. Awakening (juezhao) is a Buddhist expression, it has the meaning of “sublime brightness and transparent illumination” (xu ming zhao che) and can also be interpreted as the “solemnity” (zhuangyan) of the original nature of man. Thus the Zhongyong says: “The bright honesty of the self is called nature”, and “only if the world arrives at honesty, the people can thoroughly unfold their own nature, and if they can unfold their own nature, they can unfold the nature of other people”, and “equality, dignity, moderation, propriety, these are enough to have respect” (qi zhuang zhong zheng, zu yi you jing); “equality and dignity” is exactly what is meant by “solemnity”, and this is the “solemn respect” (zhuang jing) for human nature. As to “arriving at honesty” (zhi cheng) is nothing else than “awakening” (jue zhao), it means not to be obscured by secular things and sensual longings. The two Cheng brothers said: “If there are great disruptions and fear, and in this situation somebody can keep his peace undisturbedly, then it is only because he is honest and respectful (cheng jing).” (see Er Cheng Ji, second volume, p. 1227). If somebody encounters some irresistible forces from outside, if he runs into a great misfortune, if his body and heart are thoroughly shaken, but if he can keep his inner peace and composure, if he is not feeling helpless, this shows that only people who have a heart that firmly clings to honesty and respect (cheng jing) are able to do so.
In such a situation honesty and respect (cheng jing) have already become the unchangeable faith of the person in such these circumstances.
6. This is why the two Cheng brothers say: “If a gentleman encounters something, he first is respectful” (Er Cheng Ji, vol. II, p. 1221), and he will avoid to “use small things for his self-respect” (jian xi gu yi zi chong), which means he will not console himself with unimportant trifles. He will also not think that he is clever himself, he will not “cover up his own wisdom with something unusual” (shi si zhi yi wei qi), which means he will not deceive himself by some small tricks, because these things would be a sign that he lacks the support of honesty and respect in his heart, which is to say that he has no faith.
The “respect” of the dimension of faith can effect that the intentions of a person are never shaken, thus Confucius says: “Three soldiers can defeat a general, but the will (zhi) of a common person cannot be defeated.” What can be done to make that one’s “will” (zhi) is never defeated? According to the explanation of Ma Yifu, the principle of “respect” (jing) has this marvelous function. He says: “How to keep one’s intention (chi zhi)? To put respect first (zhu jing), that’s it.” (Collection of Ma Yifu’s Works, vol. 1, p. 108). And he adds: “To control words of anger is to put respect first (zhu jing). Not to change one’s words is to reside in respect (ju jing). To stick to permanent words is to keep respect (chi jing).”
This tells us that if we want to make this heart of “honesty and respect” a permanent attitude, we must keep it unchangingly, thus we will “reside in respect” and “keep respect”, and this is a necessary practice. “Residing in respect” and “keeping respect” are necessary for “putting respect first”, and this is exactly what the younger of the two Cheng brothers, Yi Chuan meant when he said: “To put someone else or something else first means to have respect” (Er Cheng Ji, vol. I, p. 315). If we interpret and define “respect” in this way, the meaning of the value of “respect” obviously has already taken on the meaning of an ultimate significance.
7. Honesty (cheng) and respect (jing) are together; if one is not honest he is not respectful, and without respect there is no honesty. The two Cheng brothers say: “After honesty one can have respect, and if someone is unable to achieve honesty, he must be respectful, and then he will be able to be honest.” (Er Cheng Ji, vol. I, p. 92). Honesty and respect, respect by honesty, honesty be respect, and these two are one in two, two in one. Besides that they can mutually enlighten each other. According to the Shuowen, “faith is honesty” (xin, cheng ye). The commentary of Duan says: “honesty is faith” (cheng, xin ye). Without honesty there is no faith, and without faith there is no honesty. The great foundation of the culture of the Chinese and the great virtue of the education of the people is nothing else than these two words: honesty and faith (cheng, xin). And it is not wrong to believe that “respect” as a virtue has an ultimate value.
Furthermore, “respect” has a close link to the rebuilding of “rites and propriety” (liyi). Confucius says: “How should I look upon people who are disrespectful during the rites and do not mourn at a funeral?” If we use a category to express the meaning of the rites, then it is “respect”. Since the old days China used to call herself a “land of rites and propriety” (liyi zhi bang), and this mainly was because of the existence of “respect” (jing).
8. The opposite of “respect” is intemperance, laziness, arrogance. Thus Ma Yifu says: “The difference between a saint and a rascal is only the difference of the one thought (yi nian) between respect and intemperance.” This “one thought” (yi nian) is the scintilla animae, the sparkling point of the soul, which can be inspired to the awakening (jue zhao) of “respect” (jing).
Therefore, this faith is ultimate, honesty and respect are its essence, and restraint (self-control) is the practice of it.
What we call “restraint” (yue shu) is the “restraining it through the rites” (yue zhi yi li). Thus Confucius says: “Whoever is widely versed in letters and knows how to submit his learning to the restraints of ritual is not likely to go far wrong” (Lunyu, Yongye). This means that a person who has vast knowledge and knows how to restrain himself by the rites will not make an improper move. And Confucius also says: “Few are those who err on the side of strictness” (Lunyu, Liren), which means that very seldom there is a situation of somebody making a mistake by restraining himself.
“To restrain it” is the way of self-awareness which is based on a rational self-consciousness. Confucius says “Can we not be loyal when we are concerned about others? Can we lack faith when dealing with friends?”, and this all points to the need of self-awareness and self-reflection (zi xing). The goal of self-reflection is to keep honesty, respect, loyalty, and faith. If loyalty and faith are not reliable, then honesty and respect are deficient. The way of improvement is “self-conquest” (ke ji) and “self-cultivation” (xiu ji). Confucius’ phrase of “self-conquest and restoration of the rites” (ke ji fu li) has received manifold interpretations, and there is no standard version of what it should mean. In fact, the “restoration of the rites” (fu li) is exactly to restore one’s nature (fu xing), and this means to revive honesty and faith, it means to reconstruct the essenctial value of “respect” (jing).
If we achieve honesty and respect, honesty and faith, then we arrive also at the dimension of “benevolence” (ren). Now, what do the “six words” of our saint (Confucius) mean, when he says “self-restraint, restoration of the rites, pursuit of benevolence” (ke ji fu li wei ren)? Just what is the meaning?
9. Thus I think that this word “respect” (jing) is sufficient to awake the human dignity of the life of the individual person, it is sufficient to maintain the basic values of the ethical system of society. “Respect” (jing) is both an ethical concept and the eternal humanist feature of the Chinese people and of Chinese society, and it is the moral rationality which possesses an ultimate value in the context of the Chinese cultures.
The Chinese people do not lack a faith. Our faith is not in the world beyond but in this world. Each thing embodies this principle (li), each mind embodies this principle (li), each nature embodies the Buddha (ji xing ji fo). We do not need to wait for the boat, we do not need to abandon the raft, and on this side of the river we can still realize transcendence. The characteristics of the spiritual faith of the Chinese people is not to leave the self, it is not to insist on the search for something outside.