Disciplinary Rituals in Dunhuang Buddhism

Zhan Ru is a Professor in Peking University’s School of Foreign Languages and vice president of the Peking University Orientalism Research Institute. His areas of research include Buddhist and Buddhist literature, the Indian Ministry of Buddhism, Dunhuang Buddhism, and the Buddhist system.

• List of FiguresConventions1 Introduction1.1 History of Indian Buddhist Vinaya Studies1.2 History of Chinese Buddhist Vinaya Studies1.3 A History of the Studies of the Disciplinary Rituals of Dunhuang Buddhism2 The Organization and Character of Dunhuang’s Buddhist Temples, Meditation Caves, and Araṇya2.1 Preamble2.2 Early Monastic Regulations in China2.3 Administrators (Gangguan 綱管) of Dunhuang Monasteries2.4 The Organizational Structure of the Three Meditation Caves2.5 The Principle of Dhūta (Austerities) and Its Social Function Reflected in Dunhuang’s Araṇya2.6 Characteristics of Dunhuang’s Buddhist Temples3 Evolution of the Ordination Platform and Dunhuang’s Fangdeng Daochang 方等道場 (Vaipulya Ordination Platform)3.1 Preamble3.2 The Origins and Formation of the Ordination Platform3.3 Transformation of the Ordination Platform3.4 Dunhuang’s Fangdeng Ordination Platforms and Lintan Dade 臨壇大德 (Ordination Platform Presiders of Great Virtue)3.5 Concluding Remarks4 Research on Dunhuang’s Precept Certificates, Rites for Conferring Precepts, and Ordination Licenses4.1 Preamble4.2 The Contents of the Baguan Zhai 八關齋 (Eightfold Purificatory Observance) and Their Receipt and Upholding4.3 Protocols for the Rites of Conferral and Receipt of the Baguan Zhai4.4 The Composition and Characteristics of Dunhuang’s Baguan Zhai Certificates4.5 Translation and Circulation of Scriptures on the Bodhisattva Precepts4.6 Ritual Procedures for the Conferring and Receiving of Bodhisattva Precepts4.7 Certificates for Bodhisattva Precepts4.8 Ordination Licenses5 A New Investigation of Upavasatha Texts and Upavasatha Procedures5.1 Origins5.2 Prātimokṣa and Upavasatha in Sectarian Buddhism5.3 Upavasatha Texts and Upavasatha Procedures in Dunhuang Buddhism5.4 Concluding Remarks6 Examination of the Dunhuang Summer Retreat6.1 Preamble6.2 The Vinaya Piṭaka ‘Retreat Khandhaka’ and the Form of Retreat in Early Buddhism6.3 Summer Retreat and Winter Retreat in Dunhuang Buddhism6.4 Concluding Remarks7 Stotra (Hymns) in Pure Land Teachings at Dunhuang7.1 Zanwen 讚文 (Extolment), Jizan 偈讚 (Extol Verse) and the Pure Land Extolment Texts7.2 Research on Extolment Verses of Pure Land Teachings7.3 Concluding Remarks8 Analysis of Dunhuang Zhaiwen, Zhai Gatherings, and Dharma Gatherings8.1 Presenting the Problematic8.2 The Origins and Evolution of Zhai 齋8.3 Zhai Gatherings and Folk Beliefs in the Tang and Five Dynasties8.4 Dunhuang Zhaiwen8.5 Zhai Wanwen 齋琬文 (Zhai Model Texts) and Buddhist Procedures8.6 Zhai Gatherings in Dunhuang8.7 Dunhuang Zhai Gatherings and Folk Beliefs8.8 Dunhuang Wuzhe (Non-Obstructing) Great Gatherings9 General Conclusion9.1 Features of Dunhuang Buddhist Communities9.2 Disciplinary Rituals and the State Control9.3 Multi-Facetted Beliefs about the Pure Land in Dunhuang9.4 Formation of Dunhuang Buddhist RitualsAppendix 1: Translations of Dunhuang Manuscripts and InscriptionsAppendix 2: Charts and ListsBibliographyIndex

Prof. Zhan Ru’s book Disciplinary Rituals in Dunhuang Buddhism is a major contribution to Buddhist studies and, more specifically, the history of Buddhism in Dunhuang. It is based on a careful analysis of first-hand resources and is bound to have a lasting impact on scholarship. It traces the links between Indian Buddhist institutions and their later forms in Dunhuang and China proper. The approach of looking at institutions and phenomena in a transnational manner works especially well for Dunhuang, which stood at the intersection of Chinese, Central Asian and Indic cultures. It is becoming increasingly obvious that one cannot study Dunhuang in isolation but has to consider its interactions with other regions, cultures and languages. Prof. Zhan Ru does a remarkable job in integrating often disconnected topics (e.g. Indian Buddhism, Dunhuang popular literature, lay associations, political history) into a coherent narrative. We are extremely grateful to Brill and the team of expert translators for making this book available for an international readership. -- Imre Galambos (University of Cambridge)