Compassionate Trickster: The Buddha as a Literary Character in the Narratives of Early Indian Buddhism

摘要

Throughout the narrative literature of early Indian Buddhism, we findnthe Buddha using tricks to help people along the path to awakening.nThese tricks, which involve both deceptions and illusions, enable thosenwho experience them to put an end to defilements through unmistak-nable and often funny encounters with their own impermanent limit-nations. This article asks how such tricks relate to the Buddha’s othernactivities as a compassionate teacher of the Dharma. By placing thenBuddha’s trickster-like qualities at the forefront of our investigation, wencome to see the Buddha as an embodiment of the unconditioned, whosenparadoxical status directly accounts for the transformations he works innothers’ lives. The category of the trick, though not indigenous tonBuddhism, highlights structural similarities underlying all the Buddha’snactions, thus easing the tension that seems to exist between his role as anteacher of sober sermons and a performer of awesome miracles.