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Chanyuan qinggui and Other “Rules of Purity” in Chinese Buddhism

T. Griffith Foulk

Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright (eds)

in The Zen Canon: Understanding the Classic Texts

This essay examines an entire class of Zen literature, the so called qinggui (J. shingi) or “rules of purity.” It demonstrates that the qinggui is actually several genres, some written to regulate ... More

This essay examines an entire class of Zen literature, the so called qinggui (J. shingi) or “rules of purity.” It demonstrates that the qinggui is actually several genres, some written to regulate one particular monastic community and others intended more broadly for all Chinese Buddhist communities. This essay traces the historical origins of this broad genre, its steady development, and its relations to early Buddhist vinaya. Its goal is to clarify the relations between these widely used texts, and show how changing social and political contexts are reflected in them.Less

Introduction: Rethinking Ritual Practice in Zen Buddhism

Dale S. Wright

in Zen Ritual: Studies of Zen Theory in Practice

The ritual dimension of the Zen tradition in East Asia took the particular shape that it did primarily by means of thorough absorption of two different cultural legacies in China, one—the Confucian ... More

The ritual dimension of the Zen tradition in East Asia took the particular shape that it did primarily by means of thorough absorption of two different cultural legacies in China, one—the Confucian —indigenous to China and one entering East Asia from India and Central Asia in the form of the Buddhist tradition, and influence Zen even today. The introduction places the Zen ritual tradition in relation to the growing interdisciplinary field of critical ritual studies. Relevant contemporary ritual theories include those that focus on the non‐intellectual dimensions of life, where the emotive and bodily dimension of learning and culture are given greater appreciation, and theories of ritual change that attempt to see how rituals tend to evolve over time without practitioners necessarily being aware of that transformation.Less

Introduction: Toward a History of South China Sea Buddhism

Jack Meng-Tat Chia

in Monks in Motion: Buddhism and Modernity Across the South China Sea

The introduction sets out the purpose of the book, which is to study Chinese Buddhist migration in the twentieth century, highlighting the connected history of Buddhist communities in China and ... More

The introduction sets out the purpose of the book, which is to study Chinese Buddhist migration in the twentieth century, highlighting the connected history of Buddhist communities in China and maritime Southeast Asia. This chapter introduces the term “South China Sea Buddhism,” referring to the forms of Buddhism in maritime Southeast Asia—which use Mandarin Chinese, Southern Chinese dialects, and Southeast Asian languages in their liturgy and scriptures—that have emerged out of Buddhist connections across the South China Sea. It challenges the conventional categories of “Chinese Buddhism” and “Southeast Asian Buddhism” by focusing on the lesser-known Chinese Buddhist communities of maritime Southeast Asia. Finally, the chapter discusses the sources and outline of the book.Less

Science and Medicine in Chinese History

Paul S. Ropp

in Heritage of China: Contemporary Perspectives on Chinese Civilization

This chapter discusses Chinese Taoism and Buddhism that contrast very sharply with the Judeo-Christian tradition. It argues that it was largely their continued possession of religious writings that ... More

This chapter discusses Chinese Taoism and Buddhism that contrast very sharply with the Judeo-Christian tradition. It argues that it was largely their continued possession of religious writings that gave them coherence as traditions over space and time and that this textual legacy makes them uniquely approachable to researchers from outside the Chinese cultural world. Despite its borrowings from Buddhism, Taoism had very ancient roots in China, and it retained a distinctly Chinese outlook, particularly with regard to social and political questions over which Buddhism came into conflict with Chinese ways of thinking. The collapse of the T'ang dynasty deeply affected Taoism and Buddhism. Both Chinese Buddhism and Taoism are generally much more interested in practice than belief. One can point to a Taoist “ten commandments” but not to any Taoist creed, and the same essentially holds true for Buddhism as well.Less

Coda: Monks in Motion

Jack Meng-Tat Chia

in Monks in Motion: Buddhism and Modernity Across the South China Sea

The preceding chapters have explored the histories of Chinese Buddhist migration, settlement, integration, and networks in the twentieth century. As noted in the introduction, there are two main ... More

The preceding chapters have explored the histories of Chinese Buddhist migration, settlement, integration, and networks in the twentieth century. As noted in the introduction, there are two main themes to this study. The first concerns the attempt to write a connected history of Buddhist communities in China and Southeast Asia. The other explores the role of Chinese diasporic monks in the making of Buddhist modernism in the Malay Archipelagic states of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. This concluding chapter weaves together the threads of each theme and offers some directions for future research.Less

Refuges and Refugees: How Du Fu Writes Buddhism

Paul Rouzer

in Reading Du Fu: Nine Views

While increasing attention has been paid to the role of Buddhism in Chinese literature and aesthetics, relatively little has been written on the place of the religion in the poetry of Du Fu. This ... More

While increasing attention has been paid to the role of Buddhism in Chinese literature and aesthetics, relatively little has been written on the place of the religion in the poetry of Du Fu. This essay examines ways in which the poet deploys Buddhist imagery and themes, particularly in occasional verse. It also argues that “Buddhist poetry” in China is best examined through social praxis (temple-visiting, poetic exchanges with monks, etc.) than through explicit or implicit philosophical discourse. Though Buddhism is by no means a prominent aspect in Du Fu’s work, examination of Buddhist motifs and situations in it gives us a useful guide for its cultural presence in Tang poetry overall.Less

Barth and Universal Salvation: A Mahayana Buddhist Perspective

Pan-chiu Lai

in Karl Barth and Comparative Theology

Pan-chiu Lai takes up the question of universal salvation in Barth, in conversation particularly with Chinese Buddhism, which recognizes a variety of entrances or “dharma-gates” to salvation. After ... More

Pan-chiu Lai takes up the question of universal salvation in Barth, in conversation particularly with Chinese Buddhism, which recognizes a variety of entrances or “dharma-gates” to salvation. After describing several aspects of the universalism of this Mahayana tradition, Lai turns to Barth and notes parallels in his own theology, including the provocative suggestion that what some scholars deem an inconsistency or change in Barth’s position over time may actually be an example of the Buddhist practice of “skillful means,” a change in teaching method in order to address a different concern. Finally, in considering Barth’s doctrine of election, Lai suggests that “Barth’s universalism is more fundamental to his own position, while his denial of universalism is merely his own skillful means which is made for the benefit of his audience.” Even so, from a Mahayana perspective Lai offers specific critiques of Barth’s “implicit universalism.”Less

Representing Childhood in Chinese Buddhism: The Sujati Jataka in Text and Image

Winston Kyan

in Little Buddhas: Children and Childhoods in Buddhist Texts and Traditions

Pictorial and textual representations of the Sujati Jataka in medieval China illustrate more than the perfection of generosity that is the central message in numerous jataka tales; the specific ... More

Pictorial and textual representations of the Sujati Jataka in medieval China illustrate more than the perfection of generosity that is the central message in numerous jataka tales; the specific description of a young boy cutting and offering his flesh to his starving parents involve complicated social and cultural issues of self-mutilation, cannibalism, and the parent-child relationship that illuminate the construction of childhood in medieval China. Focusing on visual representations of this narrative from Mogao Caves and original translations of this story from the Sutra on the Wise and Foolish and the Sutra on Repaying Kindness, this chapter situates representations of the Sujati Jataka into shifting attitudes toward childhood authority and parental responsibility that take place in medieval Chinese Buddhism from the sixth to eighth century, when tensions between Buddhist ideals of renouncing the family and Confucian imperatives of filial piety were particularly intense.Less

The Tantric Teachings and Rituals of the True Buddha School: The Chinese Transformation of Vajrayāna Buddhism

Tam Wai Lun

in Tantric Traditions in Transmission and Translation

This chapter aims to explore how the Tantric teaching of a new Buddhist school called the True Buddha School has changed and adapted itself in a Chinese context. The founder of the school, Lu ... More

This chapter aims to explore how the Tantric teaching of a new Buddhist school called the True Buddha School has changed and adapted itself in a Chinese context. The founder of the school, Lu Shengyan (b. 1945), studied with a Chinese Tantric master with a Tibetan name of Thubten Dorge (19212006), who was a disciple of a Tibetan lama in the Gelugpa tradition. He also received empowerments from other Tibetan teachers, including Shakya Zhengkong, a noted lama of the Tibetan Sakya School, H. H. the 16th (Gyalwa) Karmapa (1924–1981), and the 12th Tai Situpa Rinpoche, Pema Donyo Nyinje Wangpo (b. 1954) of the Kagyu Karma School. In addition, Lu studied with Pufang, a Chinese master of the Shingon tradition in Taiwan. As the result of Lu’s wide exposure to Tantric Buddhism, the True Buddha School represents one of the most comprehensive systems of Tantric Buddhist practices.Less

Introduction Why Study Nuns?

Chün-Fang Yü

in Passing the Light: The Incense Light Community and Buddhist Nuns in Contemporary Taiwan

This book examines the spiritual lives of Buddhist nuns at the Incense Light community in contemporary Taiwan. Taiwanese nuns today are highly educated and greatly outnumber monks, characteristics ... More

This book examines the spiritual lives of Buddhist nuns at the Incense Light community in contemporary Taiwan. Taiwanese nuns today are highly educated and greatly outnumber monks, characteristics unprecedented in the history of Chinese Buddhism. This book explores how and why a young woman becomes attracted to Buddhism and decides to become a nun; what kind of training she receives at a seminary once she joins the sangha; what kind of work she does upon graduation; and what sorts of problems and setbacks she experiences. By answering these questions, we can get a sense of the bigger picture of Buddhism in Taiwanese society. This introduction discusses the history of Buddhist nuns in China; the text The Lives of Nuns (Biqiuni zhuan), written by the monk Baochang, and its profiles of nuns; updates to The Lives of Nuns; and accounts of nuns in literature.Less

Chan Compendiums from the Song Dynasty

Alan Cole

in Patriarchs on Paper: A Critical History of Medieval Chan Literature

This chapter examines vast compendiums in Song-era Chan literature that present information about many hundreds of past Chan masters. The Song compendiums functioned as museums of sorts, museums ... More

This chapter examines vast compendiums in Song-era Chan literature that present information about many hundreds of past Chan masters. The Song compendiums functioned as museums of sorts, museums which held idealized images of the past masters in a kind of suspended animation. Considered more broadly, it would seem that very old Chinese assumptions about the quasi-presence of ancestors joined forces with new and evocative literary styles that gave readers an enhanced sense of being in the company of the patriarchs as they read through these highly fictionalized “histories.” Thus, it was that with the new literary talents of the Song, past masters could be made to live alongside ordinary Chinese Buddhism, thereby providing attractive and inspiring examples of a Buddhism that could never exist in the real world, but could, in literary form, enhance more traditional forms of Buddhism and advance various real-world agendas.Less

Over the Borderline: Integrating Religion Approaches

Ira Helderman

in Prescribing the Dharma: Psychotherapists, Buddhist Traditions, and Defining Religion

This chapter surveys clinicians’ integrating religion approaches to Buddhist traditions. Here psychotherapists seek to incorporate Buddhist and psychotherapeutic elements in such a way that both ... More

This chapter surveys clinicians’ integrating religion approaches to Buddhist traditions. Here psychotherapists seek to incorporate Buddhist and psychotherapeutic elements in such a way that both remain recognizable. Some believe that common elements or shared ultimate aims make Buddhist and psychotherapeutic “compatible.” Others design methods to overcome what they otherwise portray as fundamental incommensurables (e.g., dissonances between Buddhist and therapeutic conceptions of the self). At times, therapists explain their integrative efforts to be what they call “hybrids” consistent with those of previous locations of Buddhist transmission (e.g., medieval China). The chapter considers whether scholarly concepts such as hybridity or religious repertories used to describe historical religious mixing could be useful in describing these contemporary activities. Or, alternatively, whether the combinativeness here is unique and without historical precedent: the bricolage of the religious and the not-religious, scientific or biomedical. To some therapists, integrating Buddhist and psychotherapeutic frames necessitates asking questions of definition (whether Buddhist traditions are properly classified as religious; psychotherapy as not-religious, etc.). Some take up cultural rhetoric surrounding the term “spirituality” in this context to argue that their activities are neither religious or not-religious.Less

Conclusion: Remembrances of Futures Past

Justin R. Ritzinger

in Anarchy in the Pure Land: Reinventing the Cult of Maitreya in Modern Chinese Buddhism

The conclusion summarizes the monograph’s findings, retracing the reimagining of the cult of Maitreya, its origins in Taixu’s encounter with anarchism, and its decline and subsequent revival. It then ... More

The conclusion summarizes the monograph’s findings, retracing the reimagining of the cult of Maitreya, its origins in Taixu’s encounter with anarchism, and its decline and subsequent revival. It then offers thoughts on the significance of these findings for scholarship. It is hoped that the monograph puts to rest the notion that the reform movement was demythologized and deritualized; contributes to the project of placing modern Chinese Buddhism more firmly in historical context, particularly in relation to other religious movements; highlights the need to reappraise Buddhism in post-retrocession Taiwan; and illustrates the potential of a Taylorian approach to the study of alternative modernities and the role of religions in their formation.Less