「佛為阿那律穿針」故事的敘事模式

Abstract

現代佛教文學作品中，奚淞〈穿針〉及梁寒衣〈穿過長夜的針孔〉兩篇文章，皆採用〈增壹阿含第三十一卷‧力品〉佛陀為 阿那律穿針的故事：因為在佛陀座前打瞌睡，而立誓終不再坐睡的阿那律，眼力消耗致殘。人的身體構造類同，「身體乃是可被 認得的一個共享同情位置，其將讀者跟文本做連結」，凡人視力若要清朗皆靠健康明目，阿那律眼殘使我們得以想像其苦難。 奚淞與梁寒衣扮演著雙重角色─在閱讀原典時作為讀者，「當身體在揭露災禍和引發同感上的角色是清楚時」，他們首先感同 身受地體驗阿那律的眼殘。當這種同情共感引發寫作，則作為作者，他們透過有同有異地身體書寫策略，繼而再塑阿那律─或 平凡親近，或修持菩薩道，向讀者傳達其體悟的穿針意涵。

“Threading a Needle” and “A Needle Threading through the Dark Night,” written by Si Song and Liang Han respectively, are two modern Buddhist essays which discuss a classic story in Ekottarik gama. A Na Lyu falls into sleep while listening to Buddhist chants. Awakened by Buddha, A Na Lyu feels ashamed and swears that he will never sleep again. Insistent on going without sleep, A Na Lyu eventually falls blind.As humans the world over are familiar with the failings of the body, we can empathize with what it must be like to go blind. Readers can understand the fear that A Na Lyu must experience. Si Song and Liang Han Yi in this way play two kinds of roles. As readers, they sympathize with A Na Lyu. As writers, they refresh the image of A Na Lyu－who is ordinary or practicing Bodhisattva. By using different narrative skills, the writers inform the readers of the intention of “Buddha Threading a Needle for A Na Lyu.”