本文以唐釋道世編撰的《法苑珠林》為依據，從「《法華經》的文獻性紀錄與『法華故事』的開展」、「法華故事所展現的修行義」、「法華故事所顯現的救贖義與主導義」等三方面進行分析，指出（一）《法華經》的相關敘述由來已久，在唐前已由簡短的文獻性記載，逐漸演變成具有情節的法華故事；（二）《法苑珠林》中的法華故事更為具體，多由「感應」的範疇朝向「經驗」跨越；感應神異事蹟與《法華經》之間的關連也更明確，不再與其他佛經或修行方法並置，而修行經驗與效應則不僅止於自身，尚可旁及他人，並且可從現世延續到來世。（三）《法苑珠林》中的法華故事多強化《法華經》本身的神力，並凸顯《法華經》作為救贖之道的主導義，同時擴大了故事的經驗者與救贖的對象。 With the stories about the practice of the Lotus Sūtra in the Fayuan Zhulin (FYZL) as the main subject of analysis, this essay will explore the cultural meanings of these stories. This analysis is done will a focus on three major issues: how the tradition of the writing of the Lotus Sūtra stories was established, how the importance of Buddhist practices of the Lotus Sūtra stories was described in these stories, and through what kind of depictions was the salvation power of the Lotus Sūtra revealed. The conclusions will be presented as follow. First, the tradition of writing the Lotus Sūtra stories had been established by Tang dynasty, and the process of the evolution of this tradition from a simple explanation of historical materials to plotted stories can be traced. Second, the Lotus Sūtra stories play an increasingly important role in the FYZL compared to earlier texts. Substantial features of the Lotus Sūtra stories in the FYZL include a shifting emphasis from treating the Lotus Sūtra as a subject of religious piety to viewing it as a text that can be practiced for specific religious experiences. The religious experiences were also depicted to be mainly triggered by the practice of the Lotus Sūtra in contrast to the narrations prior to the FYZL in which the practice of the Lotus Sūtra was treated merely as a type of practice along with the practice of other Buddhist Sūtras. Furthermore, many Lotus Sūtra stories in the FYZL also emphasize the efficacy of the Lotus Sūtra in benefitting the practitioners’ afterlives. Third, the Lotus Sūtra stories in the FYZL not only stressed the superior power of the Lotus Sūtra for salvation, but also extended the range of religious experiences as well as the types and numbers of subjects being saved.
