因為環境困頓與人事離別的緣故，李贄從四十歲開始接觸儒釋道。這種接 觸，不同於之前為科舉、為士人的求學心態，而是李贄藉此希望明瞭生死，尋 求生命的解釋，他稱之為「學道」或「求道」。一方面，他企圖說明生死的意 義；另一方面，則是可以為此解脫生死。畢竟就李贄看來，人生充滿了苦難， 俗事塵網，淪肌浹髓，導致他講生死，著重的是生之苦，而不只是死之悲。所 以他傷生，所以他感嘆有身則有患，為了要脫離這種困境，他參佛、學儒、論 道。可以這麼說，對他而言，探索三教是立基於生存的感受，他念茲在茲的， 都是對生死之學的關懷。那麼，他究竟如何在三教中探求「自家性命下落」？ 在這層意義之下，他最後的死亡，又該怎麼樣看待？如何解釋？本文的研究， 即是試圖回答這樣的問題。

Because of the human predicament and bereavement, Li Zhi came into contact with Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism at the age of forty. Far from access to getting selected in the imperial examination, this contact, considered by Li Zhi as “learning the way of Dao” or “in search of Dao,” is actually an endeavor to comprehend life and death. He tries to grasp the meaning of life and death on the one hand and transcend it on the other hand since for him life is full of mundane plights and traps. Such a probing insight into the phenomenon of life and death results in his emphasis on the hardship in life rather than the sorrow in death. He laments the physical life which is deeply inseparable from the misfortunes, hence his contact with Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Here, it would be proper to say that his exploration into these three domains is based on his understanding of the living and his preoccupation is invariably the phenomenon of life and death. So, how does he “locate one’s lifetime” in terms of the three religious domains? And following this, how should we interpret his death? This paper will try to answer these questions.