【作者】 万丽丽；

【导师】 蔡德贵；

【作者基本信息】 山东大学 ， 中国哲学， 2008， 博士

【摘要】 上帝创物与道生万物分别是当今两个备受瞩目却又出现时间、地点乃至主旨迥异的思想系统——巴哈伊教与老子哲学的基本命题。但其表述类似,具体涵义也有几分相似之处。在全球化背景下,对这样两个命题进行比较,探寻二者的本质和异同所在,不仅有较高的学术价值,也有着重要的现实意义。它既有利于减少不同文化间的误解与敌意,促进世界的和平与稳定;也能有效地增强、完善人类自身的文化建设,促进世界的进步和发展。实际上,无论是上帝创物还是道生万物,其基本内容都不外乎四个方面:第一,何为上帝或道,为什么说他创或它生了万物,他或它有什么性质。第二,上帝是如何创或道是如何生万物的。第三,上帝创或道生了什么样的万物。第四,万物与上帝或道的最终关系如何,是统一还是分离?如果是统一的,又如何统一?巴哈伊的上帝创物与老子的道生万物在上述几方面既可以找到许多类同点,也可以找到明显的差异。首先,就第一方面即上帝和道的性质及本质而言:不管是巴哈伊还是老子都坚持上帝或道是超越时空、感官和概念的;他或它是一切事物的起因、原动力和指导原则,但自身却对他物没有任何需求,他或它是绝对的;同时他或它又遍在于宇宙万物,其作用无边无际,其影响永久永恒。不过,在巴哈伊那里,上帝虽然创造了万物并借万物显示了其属性,但其本质却永远外在于、高超于万物,从未分离、下降到万物之中。二者之间没有任何一条直接的交流纽带。而在老子那里,作为“本根”,生化万物的道并不在万物之外单独地存在,而是就内在于万物之中,并通过万物的生长变化显现其存在。道不离物,物不离道,道物不二。巴哈伊的上帝不仅是外在的,而且是圆满的,具有严格意义下的最高量的积极实在性,包含了一切名与属性,是完美之源。宇宙万物都从他那里流溢出来,并由此获得自己的存在与本质。老子的道则不同。老子说:“道冲,而用之或不盈”,“道冲”即是形容“道”状为“虚”体。道虽然是虚状的,却并非空无所有,而是贯注着生命之气,含藏着不解的能量和创造性。无论是巴哈伊还是老子,他们对世界统一性的探讨都没有限于生成论而且转向了本体论。在他们的经典中,上帝或道不仅是世界的本源,宇宙的创造者;也是世界的本质,宇宙赖以存在的依据。不过,在我们看来,巴哈伊中那个无形体、独一至上、主宰一切的上帝显然是个精神本体。说的更确切一点,这个上帝乃是至大的主观意志。而老子的道虽然虚无缥缈、神秘难测,但却决非“上帝”或任何其他的人格神。它无私无欲,无仁无义,没有什么感情或价值观念,实是内在于万物之中的生成依据——自然法则,自生法则。其次,就第二方面即上帝创物和道生万物的过程而言:无论巴哈伊还是老子都坚持万物的产生是从无中生有、一中生多。不过,从上帝创物或道生万物之过程的本质看,前者可谓源生,后者则是化生。在巴哈伊那里,一切被造物都是上帝迹象的显现,都发源于他而非他本身,而他本身却无穷的高超于万物之上。从万物的角度讲,上帝永远是与它们有别的、在它们之外独立存在的推动力,即他生力。老子则不同,在他看来,道体混成,万物莫不蕴藏于其中,迄乎道运而成万物,犹如一树从根分出干、枝、条、叶来,可见万物是从道中化生出来,并以不同方式分有了道的本性,道就是宇宙万物的自生力、内生力。从巴哈伊的上帝与老子的道在创生过程中的作用方式看,前者是有为,而后者是无为。有为不等于能为,而是有心而为,依我而为。巴哈伊讲,上帝是完满的实体,出于爱,他创造了万物,目的是为了使每一种造物都能反映出他的一种或多种属性。可见,上帝创物是受其本质决定的,并从一开始就是有目的的、主动的。事实上,从诞生到运行,万物无不时时刻刻经由了上帝意志的运作并是为了他本身的缘故。无为不是不为,而是无心而为,顺物而为。老子曾论道体为虚,道既然是虚空,那么它就没有自己的实体,没有实体自然也就没有利益,没有创造万物的动因。因此,虽然客观上道的确生养了万物,指导着它们的存在、运作和发展,但这一切都是无心而为。同时,道对天地万物也没有什么意志可言,万物的春生夏长,秋枯冬藏,完全是自然而然的现象,是本性如此,并没有外来力量的干扰。道完全是听任万物自然发展变化,不施人为。从巴哈伊的上帝与老子的道在创生万物之过程中的表现来看,上帝是强势的、专横的、张扬的。具体说来就是为所欲为,依其意愿行事,凭其喜好命定一切,而又无所不能。巴哈欧拉说,谦卑是上帝惟一没有的属性,这从另一个方面证明了此论断。与上帝在万物生成过程中的主动与强势相比,道在这一过程中的表现则是被动的、柔弱的。《老子四十章》曰:“弱者道之用”即守柔是道的效用,表现在生成万物上就是“善利万物而不争”。与上帝的耀眼夺目相比,道的存在是默默地、无声无息的。不过,道虽然是被动的、柔弱的,其作用却“绵绵若存,用之不勤”。如果说在巴哈伊那里,上帝之于万物体现了一丝父性,那么在老子这里,道之于万物则体现了强烈的母性。再次,就第三方面即万物的分类和依据而言:无论巴哈伊还是老子都坚持上帝或道在创或生物的过程中除了赋予万物以不同的外貌形态即形外,更重要的是赋予了它们源自上帝或者道的属性即质,而这才是万物之产生和存在的根本,也正是这一根本才使得一物与他物区别开来。这一根本在巴哈伊处就是灵魂,在老子那里即是德。然而,巴哈伊的上帝本质上是一有目的、有喜恶的主观意志;同时,他外在于万物,万物之生于他乃是源发的过程,这就决定了尽管同来于上帝,但万物在地位上是不平等的。事实上,巴哈伊不仅多次明确承认了此点,而且认为这种不平等是合理的,进而宣扬万物要守本分,不逾距。根据巴哈伊的看法,人是创物中最高贵的存在,是上帝按照自己的形象创造的,具有动物、植物所没有的思智或说认识唯一真神的理解力。当然,如果细分的话,先知地位又略高于凡人。作为上苍的圣使,先知是上帝与万物联系的中介,具有属物与属灵的双重本性及上帝代理和凡人的双重身份。至于上帝与万物,在巴哈伊眼里,二者根本没有任何可比性,在上帝面前万物皆是奴隶或仆役。甚至于存在于他们之间的主从关系也是上帝降赐给人们的仁慈恩宠的标志。与巴哈伊的上帝不同,老子的道本质上是一自然法则,它无意志,无欲望,自然也就没有私心和倾向性。同时,道内在于万物,万物之生于它乃化生的过程,犹如一根上长出的树干枝叶,虽然表面上千差万别,但却是同质的。这似乎暗示着万物在本体论意义上是平等的。所以老子书中虽然常讲“四大”、“圣人”、“愚人”等,但这只是从道德境界上对人所做的评价,并不意味着人非与物等、高于物,也并非意味着人有身份、等级上的划分。甚至不但一切事物之间相互平等,道与万物之间也是平等的,老子的“四大”把“道”与人同视为一大,从另一个角度也可引申为承认人具有与道同值的意义。最后,就第四个方面即万物与上帝或道的统一而言:无论巴哈伊还是老子都坚持:上帝创物或道生万物实际是一起点与终点相统一的圆圈性的往复运动,即万物既始源于上帝或道,也将归复于上帝或道。上帝或道的这种终结性在现实生活中突出地表现为:以上帝或道为人类认识的最高目标和行动的最高准则。然而,尽管万物的最终目标都是归于、统一于上帝或道,但由于巴哈伊之上帝与万物的外在隔离性和老子之道与万物的内在同一性,它们各自统一的程度是不同的。在巴哈伊那里,人和上帝的统一最终只是“合一”,用巴哈伊的话说就是“同在”或“亲近上帝及到达了他的尊前”。而在老子那里,人却可以真正的与道为一,即“玄同”于道。此时道在人中,人亦在道中,人道混而不分,同而为一。在人类追求与上帝或道统一的实际过程中,无论巴哈伊还是老子都坚持知行合一,而其中最为巴哈伊与老子所共同强调的是认识上的去知与行动上的节欲。根据巴哈伊与老子的观点,在人的本性中不仅潜藏着上帝的属性或道的本质,也潜藏着认识并归于上帝或道的能力。而这些质能之所以不能展现,很大一部分原因是人们后天所获得的知识及由此而生出的欲望阻隔了这种可能性。因此,要想认识并接近上帝或同于道,必须净化人的心灵,清除一切邪知妄欲。事实上,巴哈伊和老子并不是要人们去除一切知识或绝对地禁欲、绝欲。对人们追求一般知识的愿望和基本欲求的行为,他们是理解的、肯定的。他们只是希望不要让伪知遮蔽了真知;不要纵欲以致让欲望成为人们与道或上帝之间的阻碍。尽管如此,巴哈伊和老子关于万物与上帝或道的统一方式还是有根本区别的:前者是外求,后者是内求。以巴哈伊的先知和老子的圣人为例,一个是无可替代的中介,受人仰慕;一个是人人皆可成就的典范,被人冷落。同样是最高存在代言人的先知与圣人,在实际生活中的地位作用如此不同,这恰恰从另一个侧面证明了巴哈伊与老子在人统一于上帝或道之方式方面的巨大差异。更多还原

【Abstract】 "God creates the world" and "Tao bears the world" are basic propositions of Baha’i and Lao Tze’s philosophy which are two eye-catching but entirely different thought systems respectively in their birth dates,places and subjects.But their ways of illustration are similar and have some similar aspects in specific connotation. Under the globalization background,to compare and explore the essence,difference and similarity of the two propositions not only has high academic value,but also has important realistic meaning.It is not only propitious to reduce intercultural misunderstanding and hostility,promoting world peace and stability,but also to strengthen and perfect the cultural construction of mankind oneself availably, promoting the progress and development of the world.Actually,regardless of"God creates the world" or "Tao bears the world",their basic contents both include four aspects:firstly,what is God or Tao? why do we say that he creates or it bears the world? what property does he or it have? secondly, how does God create or Tao bear the world? thirdly,what kind of world does God create or Tao bear? fourthly,what is the ultimate relation of the world and God or Tao,is it unity or separation? if it is unity,then how to unify? We can both find out many points of similarity and obvious difference at the above-mentioned aspects in "God creates the world" of Baha’i and "Tao bears the world" of Lao TzeFirstly,in regard to the first aspect of God’s or Tao’s property and essence: regardless of Baha’i or Lao Tze,they both insist that God or Tao surmounts timespace,sense and concept;he or it is the cause of things,original motive force and guideline,but has no need on other things by himself or itself,he or it is absolute and unconditional;at the same time,he or it lies in the cosmos,his or its function is limitless and boundless,his or its influence is permanent.However,as to Baha’i,although God creats the world and displays his nature through the world,his essence is forever outside of and higher than the world,he has never separated or descended to the world.The two have no direct ties of exchange.But as to Lao Tze,as the "root",the Tao which bears the world is not existent singly outside of the world,but is in the world,and displays its existence through the growth,change of the world.Tao does not leave the world,the world does not leave Tao,Tao and the world are not separate.God of Baha’i is not only outside of the world,but also brimful;he has the active substantiality of the tallest quantity in strict meaning,includes all the names and properities;he is the source of perfection.Everything of the cosmos flushes from him,and acquires their own existence and essence through this.Lao Tze’s Tao is then different.Lao Tze says:the Tao is like an empty vessel that yet may be drawn from without ever needing to be filled.Tao is like an empty vessel is to describe the shape of Tao as "void".Although the shape of Tao is void,it is not quite bare,but filled with the spirit of life,hidden with energy and creation of no solution.Regardless of Baha’i or Lao Tze,their studies of world oneness are not limited to the creation theory,but turn to the ontology.In their classics,God or Tao is not only the origin of the world,the creator of the cosmos;but also the nature of the world,the basis that cosmos depends on to exist.However,in our eyes,the only highest invisible body in Baha’i Faith which dominates everything-God-is spirit essence obviously.To he a little more accurate,this God is the biggest subjective will.Although the Tao of Lao Tze is visionary,mysterious and difficult to master,it is definitely not God or any other personality spirit.It has no privacy or desire,no benvolence or righteousness,no affection or concept of values,it is really the creation basis inside the world-the physical law,self-creating rule.Next,in regard to the second aspect,namely,the process of"God creates the world" and "Tao bears the world":both Baha’i and Lao Tze insist that the creation of the world is to make a thing out of nothing,to creat many out of one.However,as to the nature of the process of "God creates the world" and "Tao bears the world",the former can be said to derive from,the latter then is to convert from.As to Baha’i,all the created things are God’s evidence of presence,all the things originating from him but not equal to him,he holds aloof from the world endlessly by himself.To speak from the angle of the world,God is an independently existent motivation which is different from and outside of them forever,namely,the outside force.Lao Tze is then different,in his eyes,Tao is a body mixed,the world is contained in it,everything on earth are born by Tao,as if a trunk,branch,bar,leaf is generated from the root,it is thus clear that the world turns out from Tao,and obtains Tao’s natural characters in different ways,Tao is the self-creating and internal creating power of the cosmos.As to the functional ways of God of Baha’i and Tao of Lao Tze in the the process of creation,the former is yu-wei,the latter is wu-wei.Yu-wei is unequal to ability,but has the intention,and do so depending on himself.Baha’i says,God is a satisfactory entity,he creats the world because of love,his purpose is to make each creation reflect his one kind or many kinds of characters.It is thus clear that,that God creates things is subjected to his nature;he is purposeful and active from the start.In fact,from creation to motion,the world is operated according to the will of God at any moment and for the sake of his cause.Wu-wei is not to do nothing,but to have no intention,and do so following the ways of the world.Lao Tze once said that Tao is void,now that Tao is void,it has no entity by itself,then it has no benefits,and no motive to create the world.Therefore,although objectively speaking,Tao creates the world definitely,and guides their existence,operation and development,all these are not intentional.At the same time,Tao has no will on the world yet;the spring creation,summer growth,autumn withering and winter storage of things,is an involuntary phenomenon completely,it is out of nature,not interfered by a foreign power.Tao completely resigns to the natural development and change,no factitiousness.As to the behaving of God of Baha’i and Tao of Lao Tze in the process of creation,God is pre-eminent,arbitrary,he likes to spread things around.To say in a specific way,he does things as he pleases,behaves depending on his will,settles everything according to his favor,but he is also omnipotent.Baha’i says, humbleness is the only character which God does not have,this proved that judgement from another aspect.Compared with God’s initiative and pre-eminence in the process of creating the world,Tao’s performance in the process then is passive and weak."The 40th chapter in Lao Tze" says:"Weakness marks the course of Tao’s mighty deeds",that is to say,remaining mildness is the functional way of Tao,its performance in the creation of the world is "be good at benefiting the ten thousand creatures;yet itself does not scramble".Compared with the dazzling of God,the existence of Tao is silent and obscure.However,although Tao is passive and weak,its function is "it is there within us all the while;draw upon it as you will, it never runs dry".If we say that,there is a little sense of fatherhood in the case of God to the world in Baha’i,then a strong sense of matherhood is incarnated in the case of Tao to the world in Lao Tze.Furtherly,in regard to the third aspect,namely,to say of the classification and basis of the world:regardless of Baha’i or Lao Tze,they both insist that in the process of creating or bearing the world,besides endowing the world with different outward appearance namely forms,more importantly,God or Tao gives them the character namely the nature coming from God or Tao,and this is just the basis of the world’s creation and existence,and it is exactly this basis that makes a thing different from another.This basis is the soul in Baha’i,and the outflowing operation in Lao Tze.However,essentially,the God of Baha’i is a purposeful subjective will with favor and hate;at the same time,he is outside of the world,the case of the world from him is the process of origination,this decides that,although everythings come from God,they are unequal in status.In fact,Baha’i not only admits this definitely for many times,but also thinks that this kind of inequality is reasonable,then blazons forth that everythings should do their devoir and not break the rules.According to the viewpoints of Baha’i,human beings are the noblest existence ever created,they are created by God according to his own image and have the wisdom that animals or plants do not have,or we can say,the intellect to understand the uniquely true immortal.Certainly,if to subdivide,the status of the prophets is slightly higher than the ordinary mortal.As the saint of heaven,the prophet is the agent contacting God and the world;he has the double natures of the world and the spirit,the double status of the God agent and the ordinary mortal.As for God and the world,in the eyes of Baha’i,the two are basically uncomparable,at the presence of God,everythings are all slaves or servants.Even the relation of a master and a slave existent between them is also the mark that God declines to give people kindness and grace.Different from God of Baha’i,Tao of Lao Tze is a physical law essentially,it has no intention or desire,then has no selfishness and tendencies naturally.At the same time,Tao is an internality of the world,the fact that everything is born from it is a process of converting,they are like tree trunks,branches and leaves from the root,although they differ in thousands of ways superficially,but are consubstantial. This suggests that the creation apparently is equal on the ontology meaning.Lao Tze often speaks of "The Four Great","sage","fool" etc.in his book,but this is only an evaluation of people in their moral state,it doesn’t mean that people are not equal to things or higher than things,it doesn’t mean that people can be divided according to status,grade yet.Even of that,not only all the things are equal mutually,Tao is equal to the world.In his "The Four Great",Lao Tze regards Tao and people as "Great" together,we can extend from another angle that he admits people have the equal value with Tao.Lastly,in regard to the fourth aspect,namely,the unity of the world with God or Tao:regardless of Baha’i or Lao Tze,they both insist:"God creates the world" and "Tao bears the world" are reciprocating and circling movements with the start point and terminal point mutually unified,namely,the world not only starts from God or Tao,it will also return to God or Tao.The summative judgement of God or Tao manifests itself in an outstanding way in real life that:to regard God or Tao as the tallest cognitive target of human beings and the tallest action standard.However,though the final targets of the world are all to return to,or to unify with God or Tao,because of the outer segregation between God of Baha’i and the world,and the internal identity between Tao of Lao Tze and the world,they are different in the degree of integration respectively.As to Baha’i,the integration of people and God only ends up in "united as one",it is "coexistence" in the words of Baha’i or "to be intimate with God and arrive at his front".But as to Lao Tze, people can be really united with Tao,namely,mysteriously equal to Tao.At this time,the Tao is in the person,the person is as well in the Tao,the Tao and the person is mixed together,they may not be divided,but equal to one.In the actual process of mankind pursuing the unification with God or Tao, both Baha’i and Lao Tze insist the unity of knowledge and practice.Among them, what Baha’i and Lao Tze emphasize mostly together is the discarding of knowledge in cognition and the controling of desire in action.According to the standpoints of Baha’i and Lao Tze,not only the property of God or the essence of Tao is hidden in the nature of human beings,the ability of understanding and returning to God or Tao is also hidden inside.That these qualities and abilities can’t unfold themselves, should mostly be blamed on the knowledge postnatally acquired by people and the desire deriving from it,which obstructs this kind of possibility.Therefore,in order to know and approach God or be equal to Tao,a person must purify his mind and get rid of all evil knowledge or absurd desire.In fact,Baha’i and Lao Tze do not require a person to do away with the whole knowledge or be abstinent absolutely.They are understandable and affirmative to the wishes and actions of people pursuing general knowledge and basic desire.They just don’t hope to let false knowledge cover true knowledge;do not be lechery to let desire become the hobble between people and Tao or God.For all that,there is fundamental difference concerning the integrating way of the world with God or Tao between Baha’i and Lao Tze:the former is outer exploratin,the latter is internal exploratin.Take the prophet of Baha’i and the sage of Lao Tze as an example,one is an admirable and unreplacable agent,the other is a model that everyone can achieve,who is often ignored by people.Although prophets and sages are both the spokesperson of the tallest existence,their status and functions are very different in real life.This proves the huge difference between Baha’i and Lao Tze in the ways of people integrating with God or Tao from indirect sources.更多还原