Religions of China in Practice

Donald S. Lopez

Princeton University Press, Apr 7, 1996 - Religion - 499 pages

This third volume of Princeton Readings in Religions demonstrates that the "three religions" of China--Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism (with a fourth, folk religion, sometimes added)--are not mutually exclusive: they overlap and interact with each other in a rich variety of ways. The volume also illustrates some of the many interactions between Han culture and the cultures designated by the current government as "minorities." Selections from minority cultures here, for instance, are the folktale of Ny Dan the Manchu Shamaness and a funeral chant of the Yi nationality collected by local researchers in the early 1980s. Each of the forty unusual selections, from ancient oracle bones to stirring accounts of mystic visions, is preceded by a substantial introduction. As with the other volumes, most of the selections here have never been translated before.


Stephen Teiser provides a general introduction in which the major themes and categories of the religions of China are analyzed. The book represents an attempt to move from one conception of the "Chinese spirit" to a picture of many spirits, including a Laozi who acquires magical powers and eventually ascends to heaven in broad daylight; the white-robed Guanyin, one of the most beloved Buddhist deities in China; and the burning-mouth hungry ghost. The book concludes with a section on "earthly conduct."

Contents

• Introduction Stephen F Teiser: 3
• Deities and Ancestors in Early Oracle Inscriptions Robert Eno: 41
• Ancient Philosopher Master of Immortality and: 52
• The Lives and Teachings of the Divine Lord of Zitong: 64
• City Gods and Their Magistrates Angela Zito: 72
• The Earliest Tales of the Bodhisattva Guanshiyin: 82
• A Sūtra Promoting the Whiterobed Guanyin as Giver of Sons: 97
• Zhu Xi on Spirit Beings Daniel K Gardner: 106
• The Inner Cultivation Tradition of Early Daoism Harold D Roth: 123
• The Scripture of the Yellow Court: 149
• An Early Poem of Mystical Excursion Paul W Kroll: 156
• Declarations of the Perfected Stephen Bokenkamp: 166
• Seduction Songs of One of the Perfected Paul W Kroll: 180
• Answering a Summons Stephen Bokenkamp: 188
• Visions of Mañjuśrī on Mount Wutai Daniel Stevenson: 203
• Ny Dan the Manchu Shamaness Kun: 223
• Teachings of a Spirit Medium Jean DeBernardi: 229
• Spellbinding Donald Harper: 241
• Record of the Feng and Shan Sacrifices Stephen Bokenkamp: 251
• The Scripture on the Production of Buddha Images Robert H Sharf: 261
• The Purification Ritual of the Luminous Perfected: 268
• Saving the BurningMouth Hungry Ghost Charles Orzech: 278
• The Law of the Spirits Valerie Hansen: 284
• Shrines to Local Former Worthies: 293
• Daoist Ritual in Contemporary Southeast China Kenneth Dean: 306
• Three Lahu Ritual Texts: 327
• A Funeral Chant of the Yi Nationality Mark Bender: 337
• Abridged Codes of Master Lu for the Daoist Community: 347
• The Scripture in Fortytwo Sections Robert H Sharf: 360
• The Scripture on Perfect Wisdom for Humane Kings Who Wish: 372
• The Buddhism of the Cultured Elite: 381
• Buddhist Ritual and the State: 390
• Biography of a Buddhist Layman Alan J Berkowitz: 397
• Daoism: 399
• A Scripture of the Ne People: 405
• Supernatural Retribution and Human Destiny: 423
• Stories from an Illustrated Explanation of the Tract of the Most: 437
• Record of Occultists Alan J Berkowitz: 446
• Imperial Guest Ritual: 471
• Cynthia Brokaw: 490
• The Inner Cultivation Tradition of Early Daoism 123: 491

About the author

Donald S. Lopez, Jr., is Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan. Donald S. Lopez, Jr., is Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan

Bibliographic information

• Title: Religions of China in Practice; Princeton Readings in Religions
• Author: Donald S. Lopez
• Editors: Donald S. Lopez, Jr., Donald S. Lopez
• Publisher: Princeton University Press, 1996
• ISBN: 0691021430, 9780691021430
• Length: 499 pages
• Subjects: Religion / Buddhism / General; Religion / Eastern; Religion / General; Religion / Spirituality; Religion / Taoism