论《释氏源流》的文化价值

《释氏源流》是明代流传甚广的佛学著作,又是百余年来被人忘却的古籍。它记录了佛教东传的曲折过程,廓清了佛教的本质和教义,并从佛教本位出发,极力将儒教、道教纳入佛教的体系,强调佛教文化对中国传统文化的影响。研究《释氏源流》对于把握中国佛教史,了解历代僧人为传播佛学付出的艰苦努力,进而研究佛教的文化价值是不无意义的。

On the Cultural Value of The Origins of Buddhism

As Buddhist masterpiece widely spread in the Ming Dynasty of China but almost forgotten over the past hundreds of years, The Origins of Buddhism records the difficulties and setbacks in the introduction of Buddhism from the East into China and expounds Buddhist nature and doctrine. Starting from Buddhism itself, furthermore, the book makes its supreme effort to bring Confucianism and Taoism into the Buddhist system and places emphasis on the effects of the Buddhist culture on the traditional Chinese culture. The research on the book is of great significance not only for proper understanding of the Buddhist history of China and the extreme hardship and difficulty different generations of Buddhist monks went through in spreading their religion, but for studying the cultural value of Buddhism.