“首届世界佛教论坛”征文

试论佛教“平等慈悲"理念的现世价值

中国人民大学 陈冠桥

提要：佛教，作为对人类的终极关怀提供的解脱之道，是一个庞大复杂的信仰体系、哲学体系与价值体系。“平等慈悲"是佛教关于人与人、人与自然的基本理念。其现代价值日益得到充分阐发，本文认为把佛教“平等慈悲"理念运用于缓解人类社会矛盾，必将有助于提升人类的精神素质，满足人类的新需要，进而促进人类社会的和平共处和共同发展。

关键词：平等  慈悲  和谐  发展

On the Practical Value of Buddhist Concepts of Equality and Mercy

Chen Guanqiao

Abstract：
    Buddhism, as the ultimate path to the cessation of suffering of mankind, is a huge, sophisticated belief system, a philosophy system, and a value system. As a religious belief gradually accepted by billions of people, it has continued over 2500 years, and even particularly in China, it has gone through a history over 2000 years. That has demonstrated its consistent vitality and permanent value. However, we must be aware that the reestablishment and role of Buddhism in a future society are not only a huge difficult theoretical issue, but also a serious pressing one concerning practices.
    The fate of Buddhism relies on her positive concern about the society, and its value consists in her impact on the human society in the 21st century. Since its departure from the stone ages, the human society has made some unprecedented progresses. But we have noticed that the human beings have been provided the ability to destroy the earth and the nature at the same time. On the one hand, the social progresses are attributed to the mankind themselves. On the other hand, the mankind themselves have been a threat to the human society's survival and development.     Meanwhile, as we see, modernization involves a wide range of changes such as materialistic life, social system and mental conception. In the effort of modernization, the current society has been suffering from various negative effects such as the crisis of beliefs, the degradation of morality, and the lack of conscience. The severe deprivation of humanity has become a major barrier to human progresses and one of the sources of many social problems. That is an unprecedented superior historic opportunity for Buddhism, which regards the universe as a harmoniously functional unity and pursues the transcendence of life, to shape people's souls, and then regulate the relationships between human beings and those between human beings and the nature.
    “Equality and mercy"is a fundamental concept of Buddhism about the relationships between human beings and those between human beings and the nature, the fundamental ethics of Buddhist doctrines, whose roles in the modern society have more and more recognized and enhanced. Equality addresses the respect to other people and other beings without discrimination. And mercy means unconditional concerns about other people and living beings. Equality is the theoretical basis of mercy, and mercy is a moral representation of equality. This paper considers the Buddhist “equality and mercy" as a key to solve social conflicts. Applying them to alleviate the social conflicts will definitely help improve the spiritual quality of mankind, satisfy their new demands, and then advance the society's peace and development.

引     言

经济全球化进程的加速和全球信息网络化的形成，必将加速推动东西方文明和价值观的碰撞和交融，也必将使不同宗教的交往和会遇日益频繁。宗教常常与现实的国际斗争和冲突相交织，是国际关系和世界政治中的一个重要因素。如何加强宗教对话，化解宗教冲突，也是摆在世界宗教徒面前的一项重大课题。科学技术是一把“双刃剑"，人类在不断取得进步的同时，我们也看到，当前人类社会存在着信仰危机、道德堕落、良心丧失等负面现象，精神的空虚，心灵的贫困，是一种人文精神危机，一种价值危机。人文精神的严重失落成为了当今人类进步的重大障碍，也成为人类社会诸多问题的根源之一。这给佛教提供了调整人的心灵，进而调整人与人的关系、人与自然的关系的空前的历史契机。通过对21世纪人类社会的审视，我认为，佛教的“平等慈悲"理念正契合解决人类社会矛盾的需要。

一、“平等慈悲"理念的内涵意义

“平等慈悲"理念是佛教关于人与人、人与自然的基本原则，是佛教教义的基本伦理。平等是指对他人、对其他生物的尊重；慈悲是对他人、对其他生物的关怀。平等是慈悲的思想基础，慈悲是平等的道德体现。

(一) 平等观平等与差别相对举，是无差别的意思。远在早期印度佛教时期，出身于刹帝利的释迦牟尼就反对婆罗门坚持的四种姓制度，主张婆罗门、刹帝利、吠舍和首陀罗“四姓平等"，宣扬种姓平等观。后来佛教经论还宣扬佛、法、僧三宝，以及心、佛、众生三法平等的思想，认为三宝和三法各自在本质上是无差别的、一致的。佛教还强调众生一律平等，所谓众生平等，是指众生都具有佛性；众生无高低之别，不论亲怨，一视同仁；众生值得怜悯，对众生要有普遍的无差别的爱心。佛教典籍还宣扬“平等大悲"的思想，主张以普遍、平等无差别的悲心怜悯一切众生，不舍一切众生。

中国佛教也极力推崇佛教的平等思想，宋代僧人清远说：“若论平等，无过佛法。唯佛法最平等。” 佛教的平等观体现了生命观、自然观与理想价值观的统一。佛教强调宇宙间一切生命的平等，关爱生命，珍惜生命，尊重生命；又主张无情有性说，敬畏自然，珍爱自然，摄护自然；还宣扬众生与万物以解脱为终极目标，以进入清净、美妙、庄严的佛国净土为最高理想。这都表现了佛教平等意义的广泛性、普遍性和神圣性。 (发布者: 欢迎投稿，网站:无量光佛教网，讨论请进入:佛教论坛)