本文借艾略特（Eliot, T. S.）〈傳統與個人才能〉的標題形構方式，研討 施叔青《度越》（2016）如何在歷來有之的宗教／愛情書寫傳統裡再衍新題。 綜觀施叔青小說不乏挪用宗教資源作為社會背景（如：《行過洛津》描繪 鹿港廟宇建築、祭典、神祇及祖籍／郊商關係），或作為政權轉換之代表（如： 《風前塵埃》引入神道教和原住民泛靈信仰闡述日本與原住民的衝突，且融 入諸行無常觀點），雖隱含義理（如：《行過洛津》畫師以「地獄變相圖」為 亡女追魂，傳達聲色一場空），然曾為聖嚴法師撰《枯木開花》的作者，直至 《度越》甫以佛理為核心，貫串小說人物的前世今生，斯屬作者創作的一次轉 型；其次，古今中外以情慾／宗教對觀的文本豐富，作者為人物的糾結探尋出 口有何特殊呢？筆者認為作者正因深諳於此，故安插無數與愛情／神異相關的 前文本（如：清溪廟神、梵志吐壺），既可對照情節人物的境遇，同時羅列出既有書寫系譜，亦顯示其於此傳統基礎，更強化了每個人物對治情慾的方法有別；再者，情節結構亦經由若干經典與《比丘尼傳》省思女性地位――上述皆本文關注之面向，並嘗試以文字般若的角度省思作者認為創作可能影響修行的罣礙，最後，論證該書於當今臺灣文壇之特色與價值。

With the topic construction method in the “Tradition and the Individual Talent” by T. S. Eliot, this study explores how Shih Shu-Ching develops a new topic with her Transcending (2016) in the long writing traditions of religion and love. Her novels feature religious social background, regime change, and implied meaning. Her Walking through Luojin describes temple architecture, festivals, gods, and relations between ancestral hometown and business. The Dust before the Wind describes Shintoism and conflicts between the Japanese and the aboriginals, aboriginal animism belief, and impermanence formation. The painter in Walking through Luojin demonstrates the emptiness of sensuality by chasing a dead girl’s soul with “The Picture of Scenes in Hell.” Shih has written The Dead Wood Blooms for Master Sheng-Yen but only since Transcending has she started to focus on Buddhism and use it to string up the past lives and the present life of the characters. This is a transformation for her literary works. With the large number of texts about sensuality and religion, what is special about Shih’s exploration of religious solution for the tangles among the characters? This article deems that the author masters it so much that she arranges many pre-texts related to love and mysticism such as “The God of the Clear-Stream Temple” and “Fan Zhi Spews a Pot.” It compares the plots with the situations of the characters, lists the existing pedigrees, and reinforces the differences among the characters’ methods of treating passions on this traditional basis. It also reflects on women’s position with Biographies of Bhikshunis. With the articles mentioned above, this study holds that writing may hinder practices and shows the book’s characteristics and value in the world of Taiwanese literature today.