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T h e Q h o s t P e s t i v a l

I N M E D I E V A L C H I N A

B Y

Stephen F. Teiser

P R I N C E T O N

U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S

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C o p y rig h t © 1988 by P rinceton U niversity Press Published by P rinceton U niversity Press, 41 W illiam Street,

P rinceton, N ew Jersey 08540 In the U nited K ingdom : P rinceton U niversity Press, G uildford, Surrey

All R ights Reserved

Library o f C ongress C a ta loging in Publication Data will be found on the last prin ted page o f this book

ISBN 0-691-05525-4

T his book has been com posed in L inotron B em bo

C lo th b o u n d editions o f P rinceton U niversity Press books are prin ted on acid-free paper, and binding materials are chosen for s treng th and

durability . Paperbacks, a lthough satisfactory for personal collections, are n o t usually suitable for library rebinding

Prin ted in the U nited States o f Am erica by Princcton U niversity Press, P rinceton, N ew Jersey

F r o n t i s p i e c e : M u-lien adm inistering the preccpts to his m o ther in front o f the B uddha and the assem bly o f m onks. Section from a Japanese scroll

dated 1346, th o u g h t to be based on a th irteen th-cen tury C hinese scripture. P ho tog raph by perm ission o f the K yoto tem ple, K onkoji, and courtesy o f the T o k y o N ational Research Institu te o f C ultural P roperties.

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To S. A. T.

C . J. R.

G. S. R.

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Contents

Preface xi

Acknow ledgm ents xv

Abbreviations xvii

o n e : Introduction 3

The Spread o f the Ghost Festival 3

The Significance o f the Ghost Festival 10

The Forms o f Religion in Chinese Society 15

The Place o f Buddhism in Chinese Society 2 0

t w o : T he Prehistory o f the G host Festival 26

A ntecedents in Indigenous C hinese Religion 27

T h e M onastic Schedule 31

Taoist Parallels 35

C onclusions 40

t h r e e : An Episodic H istory o f the G host Festival inMedieval China 43

T he C anonical Sources: T h e Yii-lan-p’en Sutra and The Sutra onOffering Bowls to Repay Kindness (ca. 400-500) 48

T sung L in’s Record o f Seasonal Observances in Ching-ch’u (ca. 561) 56

The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra (ca. 600-650) 58

H ui-ch ing ’s Commentary Praising the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra (ca. 636-639) 6 3

T ao-sh ih ’s M em orandum on O fferings to the B uddha (ca. 668) 6 6

Yang Chiung’s “ Yii-lan-p’cn Rhapsody” (692) 71

G overnm ent O fferings A ccording to the T ’ang liu-tien (ca. 739) 7 7

T h e C elebration under E m pero r T ai-tsung in 768 78

Poem s and C elebrations under E m peror T e-tsung (r. 779-805) 8 3

The Transformation Text an Mu-lien Saving His Mother from the DarkRegions (ca. HOI)) 8 7

T su iig -n ii's Commentary on the Yii-lan-p'en Siitra (ca. H30) 91

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T he Suppression o f Y ii-lan-p 'en in H44 95

The Lecture T e x t on the Ytl-hm-p'en Siitni (ca. H50) 99

C hih -y iian ’s " H y m n s in Praise o f Lan-p’en" (ca. 1020) 103

Postscript: T he Cihost Festival after T a n g T im es 107

f o u r : T he M ythological Background 113

An Exam ple 114

M u-lien’s B iography 116

H u n g ry G hosts 124

M others and M onks 130

C onclusions 134

A ppendix: T h e B u d d h a’s Asccnsion to the H eaven o f T h irty -th ree to Preach to H is M o th e r 136

f i v e : M u-lien as Shaman 140

T h e C hinese B ackground 141

T he B uddhist B ackground 147

M u-lien as Sham an 157

C onclusions 164

s i x : The C osm ology o f the G host Festival 168

T he C o sm ology o f The Trans formation T ext on Mu-lien Saving His Mother 170

G host Festival C o sm o lo g y in C o n tex t 179

C onclusions 190

s e v e n : B uddhism and the Family 196

T he Bonds o f K inship 197

T h e P ow er o f M onks 203

C onclusions 208

e i g h t : C oncluding Perspectives 214

A Sociological Perspective 214

A Uitual Perspective 217

An 1 listorical Perspective 221

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C haracter Glossary o f Chinese, Korean, andJapanese W ords 225

B ibliography 231

Index 265

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Preface

E v e n a b r i e f e x p e r i e n c e o f the ghost festival leaves an im pression o f spirited diversity. M y ow n encounter w ith the annual celebration began in Taiw an on Septem ber 5, 1979, w hen string after string o f firecrackers punctuated an already fitful n ight o f sleep. All m onth long hungry ghosts had been w andering the earth, released from their usual to rm ents in the dark regions o f hell to visit their families, w ho w elcom ed their ow n kin but w arded o ff stranger ghosts w ith noisem akers and sm oke. T he festivities reached their peak the next day, the fifteenth (also the full moon) o f the seventh lunar m onth . A form er teacher took m e on a visit to a small B uddhist tem ple called “ T he Linked C louds M editation H all” (Lien-yiin ch’an-yuan) in Taipei. The tem ple was staffed by a score o f nuns, w ho had ju s t the day before concluded their sum m er m editation retreat. People stream ed in and ou t o f the small chapel all m orning. Some jo ined the nuns in reciting B uddhist scriptures (sutras), som e com m issioned prayer slips dedicating m erit to the ir ancestors, w hile o thers s im ply bu rned incense, offered a sh o rt prayer, and left.

Fixing the shape o f the festival subsequently proved to be a curious task. In tracing the sm oke o f the ghost festival back to its hazy origins in early medieval C hina, I uncovered a surprising abundance o f sources: canonical sutras proclaim ing the origins o f the ghost festival; picture tales narrating the adventures o f a fearless ascetic nam ed M u- lien, w ho rescued his m other from purgatory; poem s and rhapsodies echoing a Taoist cosm ology; o ther sources attesting to the roles played by m onks and m erchants, em perors and com m on folk in the celebration o f the seventh m oon. These docum ents left no doubt that the sym bolism , rituals, and m ythology o f the ghost festival pervaded the entire social landscape o f medieval China.

Yet I also discovered that the dispersion o f the festival th roughou t Chinese society rem ained unexplored in m odern scholarship and alm ost unm entioncd in traditional historiography. U nderstanding the causes o f this vacuum helped directly in overcom ing it. The outstanding m ajority o f sources for the history o f Chinese religion w ere produced by people w ho shared an “ institutional” bias, either as officials and w ould-be officials predisposed against the B uddhist church or as h istory-w riting m onks w ho emphasized the canonical beginnings and orderly teleology o f the services held w ithin tem ple walls. In either case

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the “ diffused” nature o f Chinese religion and o f the ghost festival— its vitality in a broad range o f social contexts that we w ould not usually identify as distinctively “ religious”— was systematically denied.

As a com plex sym bolic event, the festival drew together every social class and expressed a challenging blend o f values. The m yths o f the ghost festival w ere no t defined in any single authoritative text or canon, nor w ere its ritual form s lim ited to a particular context. In light o f this diversity, largely suppressed in previous studies, m y analysis uses the festival as a focus o f w idely held values. It is only w ith such a focus that the m ultiple meanings that the festival assum ed for a broad range o f people in m edieval China begin to appear.

The “ theo ry” in this book will no t be found apart from the narrative used to docum ent, and to construct, the “ facts.” The concerns that gave rise to this study are located in the eclecticism that dom inates poststructuralist inquiry in a host o f fields (history, anthropology, literary theory) outside o f Sinology and Buddhist studies. To define the m any m anifestations o f the ghost festival I have draw n upon a num ber o f disciplines. In addition to the standard Sinological and B uddholog- ical tools, I have found anthropological concepts especially helpful for the light they cast on several topics that preoccupy the historian o f religion: sham anism and m onasticism , class and kinship, m yth and ritual. M y account attem pts to wed som e o f these global considerations to the distinctive tonalities o f the Chinese case.

The first part o f this book is m ore narrow ly concerned w ith the events that occurred annually on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth in m edieval China. C hapter T w o examines the indigenous antecedents to the ghost festival, Indie models for the m onastic m editation retreat, and the early history o f Taoist-sponsored celebrations. C hapter Three, the longest chapter, is an episodic presentation o f all evidence relevant to the ghost festival in medieval times. C hronologically arranged, it records the spread o f the festival in all o f its form s th roughout Chinese society. It includes translations o f a broad range o f texts— canonical and apocryphal sutras, com m entaries and lecture texts, liturgies, diary entries, poetry and prose pieces, oral tales, historical accounts— and it describes in detail several o f the better docum ented celebrations. Focusing on discrete events and specific texts, this chapter illustrates the m any m eanings that the ghost festival assumed for different segm ents o f T ’ang society.

A m ore synthetic and synchronic analysis is presented in C hapters Four through Seven, w hich explore the significance o f the ghost festival against the background o f Chinese religion and society. Each chapter addresses a particular aspect o f medieval Chinese religion: m ythol

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ogy, sham anism , cosm ology, and family religion. Each chapter may be seen as answ ering from a single perspective the question o f how the ghost festival became so w idespread in Chinese society. Taken to gether, the later chapters also offer the beginnings o f an interpretive history o f Chinese religion.

In translating from the Chinese, I have attem pted to follow the m edieval Chinese interpretation o f the text in question, a task that is com plicated by the large num ber o f foreign w ords in m edieval Chinese literature. In general, I have tried to make m y English version appear to a m odern English-speaking audience as the Chinese version appeared to a medieval Chinese audience. For the m ost part, w ords transliterated from the Sanskrit that sound foreign to the Chinese ear I have likewise rendered as foreign (Sanskrit) w ords in English translation. As for poetry, I regret that m y attem pts at translation never convey the rhym e and seldom rcflect the m eter o f the original.

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Acknowledgments

L ik e o t h e r r i t e s o f passage, authoring a book affirms one’s place in a broader com m unity. The labor o f this particular study w ould no t have been possible w ithout the contributions o f a num ber o f people, and I w ould like to express m y heartfelt thanks to som e o f them .

Even i f this book w ere not about filial piety, I w ould still begin by registering m y gratitude to m y parents. T heir loving support sustained m e through the long course o f training and casting about required before this particular project could begin. Likewise, V irginiajackson has for several years been a source o f inspiration and sustenance. H er ow n sacrifices allowed me several stretches o f uninterrupted w ork, while her poet’s eye made its gaze felt th roughout the w riting and rew riting o f this book.

Portions o f this w ork are based on m y doctoral dissertation, subm itted to the D epartm ents o f Religion and East Asian Studies at Princeton U niversity , w here m any m em bers o f the faculty shared unstintingly their know ledge and expertise. Alan Sponberg’s contributions as a B uddhologist and critical thinker have proven especially enriching. Denis T w itchett served as an invaluable guide to the com plexity o f medieval Chinese society as well as to the sources one uses to im agine that society. I w ould also like to thank the professional staff o f Gest O riental L ibrary, especially Diane Perushek, M in-chih C hou, and Soow on K im , w ho gave generously o f their tim e and skills.

1 was fortunate to receive the assistance o f three em inent scholars o f T ’ang civilization w ho shared their w isdom at the beginning stages o f this project. Raoul B irnbaum , V ictor Mair, and John M cRae read and com m ented upon early drafts o f several chapters, and I am grateful for their criticisms and encouragem ent. Portions o f this w ork were delivered in 1985 and 1986 as lectures at the U niversity o f California at Los Angeles, H arvard U niversity, and Princeton U niversity, w here audiences provided helpful com m ents and questions. The responses o f students enrolled in m y courses at M iddlebury College also helped in form ulating som e o f the broader points made in these pages.

Producing this book has proven to be an uncom m on pleasure, thanks to the readers o f the original m anuscript and above all to the skilled editorial hands o f M argaret Case at Princeton U niversity Press. H elp provided by other friends and associates in the form o f general criticisms, philological expertise, hospitality, and m irth I can only note

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A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

in passing: Leslie Daniels, Lorraine Fuhrm ann, H ow ard Goodm an, Peter G regory, Helen H ardacre, Hai-chiin H uang, D onald Lopez, Jacob M cskin, Peter Patel, Willard Peterson, Alexander Steiner, H ai-t’ao T ’ang, K yoko T okuno, and T im othy Tsu. The encouragem ent and corrections offered by these people and others too num erous to name have saved me from countless errors o f fact and expression. I alone am responsible for w hatever shortcom ings remain.

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Abbreviations

BEFEO Bulletin de I’Ecole Fran$aise d’Extreme-OrientC W T T T Chung-wen ta t z ’u-tienHJAS Harvard Journal o f Asiatic StudiesH R History o f ReligionsIBK Indogaku bukkyogaku kenkyiiJA Journal AsiatiqueJA O S Journal o f the American Oriental SocietyJAS Journal o f Asian StudiesMBDJ M ochizuki, Bukkyo dai jitenMDKJ M orohashi, Dai kanwa jitenO BD J O da, Bukkyo dai jitenP. Fonds m anuscrit dc Tun-houang PclliotPeking Peking collection o f Tun-huang m anuscriptsPW YF P ’ei-wen yiin-juS. Stein collection o f T un-huang m anuscriptsT. Taisho shinshii daizokydT F T T Ting, Fo-hsueh ta t z ’u-tienT H P T Tun-huang pao-tsangT H P W C Tun-huang pien-wen chiT P T ’oung PaoTT. Tao-tsangZ. Dai nihon zoku zdkydZS. Dai nihon bukkyo zensho

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O N E

Introduction

T h e S p r e a d o f t h e G h o s t F e s t iv a l

In t h e s e v e n t h m o n t h o f 840, the Japanese pilgrim Ennin (793-864) made his w ay southw est from M ount W u-t’ai (in present-day Shansi) tow ard the T ’ang capital o f C h ’ang-an. H is journal entry for the fifteenth o f the m onth describes a busy scene in the m etropolitan prefecture o f T ’ai-yiian:

Fifteenth day. O n the invitation o f the head o f Ssu-chung ssu, we w ent w ith the m endicants to their tem ple for the forenoon feast. After the feast we entered T u -t’o ssu and perform ed the yii-lan- p ’en service and then w ent to the prefectural [headquarters] to see the D ragon Spring. N ex t we w ent to C h ’ung-fu ssu and paid reverence. In all o f the B uddha halls, pavilions, and cloisters w ere arrayed displays; their radiant colors dazzled people, and their offerings w ere splcndorous. Everyone in the city had com e ou t to perform the ritual tour. A t tw ilight [the monks] released them selves [in repentance].1

T he residents o f T ’ai-yiian converged on C h ’ung-fu ssu to take part in the ghost festival, which in T ’ang times was m ost frequently called by its Buddhist nam e o f “yii-lan-p’en.” The festival com bined the interests " o f m onks, householders, and ancestors in an annual celebration o f renewal. M ost residents o f the city, laypeople w ith no exclusive religious affiliation, provided for the salvation o f their ancestors by m aking offerings to the m onastic com m unity (the Sangha). By donating gifts to the B uddhist establishm ent donors produced a stock o f m erit that was dedicated to their forebears, w ho received the benefits in the form o f a better rebirth and a m ore com fortable existence in the heavens or hells o f the o ther world.

In fact, it is probably the to rtuous conditions o f life in purgatory that

1 Nitto guild junrei gyoki, in O n o K atsutoshi, Nillo guho junrei gyoki no kenkyii, 4 vols. (Tokyo: Suzuki gakujutsu zaidan, 1964-69), 3:173, usually fo llow ing O n o ’s translation and annotation , 3:173-76; cf. E dw in O . Reischauer, trails., Bunin's Diary: The Record o f a Pilgrimage lo China in Search o f the Law (N ew York: Ronald Press C o ., 1955), pp. 268- 69.

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give the festival its o d d -so u n d in g nam e o f y u -lan -p ’en (M iddle Chinese “ w ua lan b w an ”).2 In Chinese the term fails to make literal sense, and for over a m illennium m ost native speakers have assumed that the term derives from a foreign w ord transliterated into Chinese sounds. In the popular understanding, “ yii-lan” is a foreign w ord describing the pitiable fate o f those hanging upside-dow n in the subterranean prisons o f hell, while “ p’en” is the Chinese w ord indicating a bow l or tray in w hich offerings are placed. Thus, “ yii-lan-p’en” is usually taken to mean the “ bow l” in w hich arc placed offerings to m onks given w ith the in tention o f rescuing one’s ancestors from the fate o f “ hanging upside-dow n” in hell.3

f O fferings to m onks w ere especially efficacious on the full m oon o f J the seventh m onth , since this was the day on w hich the Sangha ended I its th ree-m onth sum m er retreat. D uring this period m onks abstained I from contact w ith lay socicty and pursued an intensified regim en o f

/ m editation com pleted w ith the m onastic ritual Ennin refers to as “ releasing them selves,” confession and repentance o f their transgressions in fron t o f fellow m onks. H aving accum ulated ascetic energy in retreat, m onks released it in com m union w ith householders. M oreover, the festival was held ju s t at the tim e o f the autum n harvest. T hus the ghost festival no t only m arked the sym bolic passage o f m onks and ancestors to new form s o f existence, it also ushered in the com pletion o f a cycle o f plant life.

C om ing at the ju n c tu re o f the full m oon, the new season, the fall harvest, the peak o f m onastic asceticism, the rebirth o f ancestors, and the assembly o f the local com m unity , the ghost festival was celebrated on a broad scale by all classes o f people th roughout medieval Chinese society. Ennin reports great crow ds o f people, brightly colored decorations, and lavish offerings for north China in the year 840. T he m elding o f the festival w ith traditional practices may be judged in Yin Y ao-fan’s (ca. 814) allusion to the age-old folk practice o f divination. In a poem w ritten on the occasion o f the ghost festival he writes:

2 1 give Pulleyblank’s reconstruction o f the Early M iddle Chinese; E dw in G. Pulley- blank, Middle Chinese: A Study in Historical Phonology (Vancouver: U niversity o f B ritish C olum bia Press, 1984). K arlg ren ’s reconstruction in A ncient C hinese is “jiu la b ’u sn ," in A rchaic Chinese, “ * g iw o glan b ’w an ” ; B ernhard K arlgren, Grammata Serica Recensa, published in Bulletin o f the Museum o f Far Eastern Antiquities 29 (1957).

3 T h e e tym ology o f “ y ii-lan -p ’en” is discusscd at greater leng th below . T h e tw o earliest surv iv ing com m entaries on The Yu-lan-p’en Sutra bo th follow the popular u nderstanding; see Yii-lan-p'en ching tsan-shu (Hui-ching Commentary), T . no. 2781, 85:540a; and Yii-lan-p’en citing situ (Tsung-m i Commentary), T . no. 1792, 39:50f>c-7a.

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Sweep o ff the altar and heaven and earth stand stern,Toss the slips and ghosts and spirits ju m p startled .4

For south China, Tsung Lin’s (ca. 498-561) account o f yearly observances in the countryside describes the festive, even raucous atm osphere o f the celebration:

O n the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth m onks, nuns, religious, and lay alike furnish bowls for offerings at the various tem ples and m onasteries. The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra says that [these offerings] bring m erit covering seven generations, and the practice o f sending them w ith banners and flowers, singing and drum m ing, and food probably derives from this. . . . later generations [o f ou r time] have expanded the ornam entation, pushing their skillful artistry to the point o f [offering] cut w ood, carved bam boo, and pretty cuttings [o f paper] patterned after flowers and leaves.5

H ad the ghost festival been lim ited.to, a local cult phenom enon, it w ould hardly be know n to later history. Its ritual and m aterial connections w ith the m onastic com m unity secured its place in B uddhist histo riography, w hile its vital function in the ancestral cult and the local com m unity insured its survival into m odern times. A further index o f the spread o f the festival in China is supplied by the involvem ent o f the em peror and the state. For as m any years as not during the T ’ang dynasty, seventh-m onth offerings to both Buddhist and Taoist m onks at officially sanctioned temples in the capital cities and in the provinces w ere supplied ou t o f state coffers, w ith the benefits dedicated to everyone’s ancestors. T he m ost illustrious ancestors in the w hole em pire, how ever, w ere honored and aided in the rituals perform ed privately by the Son o f Heaven. T he ancestral tablets o f previous em perors, kept in the Imperial Ancestral Tem ple, were brought out, and offerings were m ade to them in bowls decorated w ith golden kingfisher feathers. In m ost years, after com pleting the ritual obligations to his ancestors, the em peror then jo ined in the festivities at the larger temples o f the city. T e-tsung’s (r. 779-805) reference to C hang-ching ssu as the “ m editation bureau” in a poem o f 791 illustrates well the integral place o f religion, ritual, and politics in the imperial celebration o f the ghost festival:

4 T ranslation from Y in Y ao-fan’s poem , “ O n W atching T aoist M asters Pace the Void on C h u n g -y iian ,” contained in Ch'iian t ’ang shih, cd. P ’eng T in g -ch ’iu (1645-1719), 12 vols. (Taipei: C h ing -w ei shu-chii, 1965), p. 5566. O n Y in see T ’ahg ts'ai-tzu chuan, Hsin W en-fang (ca. 1304) (Shanghai: K u-ticn w en-hsueh ch 'u -pan-shc, 1957), pp. 97-98.

5 Sec below , C hap te r T hree , for references and a full translation.

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People from all over crow d the imperial city,Lining the roads, form ing m any walls.

For the D harm a-feast m eeting in early fall,» We drive out to visit the m editation bureau.6

T he pervasiveness o f the ghost festival in medieval Chinese society w ent well beyond the multifaceted ritual o f renewal celebrated th roughou t the em pire by em perors and the com m on folk. M yths connected w ith the festival gripped the im agination o f medieval China, finding expression in genres ranging from oral tales to canonical sutras w ritten in the literary language.

M ost people learned the story o f the festival through the prosim ctric “ transform ation tales” (pien-wen) told by professional storytellers. Yii- lan-p’en is the subject o f the m ost famous o f such popular entertainm ents in the T ’ang, entitled The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Motherfrom the Dark Regions. T he transform ation text follows a disciple o f the Buddha nam ed M u-[chien-|lien (Sanskrit: M audgalyayana) as he searches for his deceased parents. M u-lien, the disciple o f the Buddha m ost adept at supernatural pow ers, uses his skills to try to find his parents, first in the heavens and then in the hells. H aving found his father leading a com fortable life in B rahm a’s Heaven, M u-lien passes through the gates o f the Yellow Springs and proceeds into the underw orld. M u-lien is d raw n deeper and deeper into the infernal regions in search o f his m other, nam ed C h ’ing -t’i. The bureaucrat-gods w hom he encounters along the w ay treat him m ost courteously in recognition o f his prow ess in m ystical flight, but none o f them know w here his m other has been reborn.

In style and substance The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother draw s a grucsom cly entertaining and edifying picture o f the underw orld . The audience know s from the start that C h ’in g -t’i has been reborn in the deepest o f all hells, Avici Hell, w here she suffers retribution for her evil deeds in a previous life. The focus o f the dram a, how ever, is on M u-lien’s journey , in the course o f which the purgatorial hells o f popular Chinese religion are described in terrifying detail. M u-lien meets the great King Yama, T i-tsang (Skt.: Ksitigarbha) B odhisattva, the General o f the Five Paths, messengers o f the M agistrate o f M ount T ’ai, and their num erous underlings. He shudders at the sight o f ox-headed gaolers forcing sinners across the great river running th rough the underw orld , and the prospect o f people being forced to em brace hot copper pillars that burn away their chests induces even

" See below , C hap te r T h ree , for references and a translation o f the entire poem .

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greater trem bling and trepidation. The tale is nearly at an end by the tim e M u-lien locates C h ’in g -t’i in Avici Hell, her body nailed dow n w ith forty-nine long metal spikes. A t this point the Buddha intervenes, sm ashing dow n prison walls and releasing the denizens o f hell to a h igher rebirth.

It is also in the last few scenes o f the tale that y ii-lan-p’en enters explicitly into the story. C h ’ing -t’i has been reborn as a hungry ghost endow ed w ith a ravenous appetite that she can never satisfy due to her needle-thin neck. In fact, M u-lien tries to send her a food offering th rough the norm al vehicle o f the ancestral altar, bu t the food bursts into flame ju s t as it reaches her m outh. To rescue her from this fate, the Buddha institutes the yii-lan-p’en festival: he instructs M u-lien to p ro vide a grand feast o f “ yii-lan bow ls” on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth , ju st as m onks em erge from their sum m er retreat. T he Buddha prescribes this same m ethod o f ancestral salvation for o ther filial sons to follow in future generations, and th.e story ends w ith C h ’in g -t’i’s ascension to the heavens.

The m yth related in o ther form s o f medieval literature differs considerably from the popular tale. The tortures and torm ents, even the basic structure o f hell, arc absent in tw o sutras accepted into the Chinese B uddhist canon, The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness and The Yii-lan-p’en Sutra. These sources make no m ention o f M u- lien’s sham anic flight or o f C h ’in g -t’i’s biography, focusing instead on the story o f the founding o f the festival by the historical Buddha. The B uddha’s instructions for carrying out the ritual are given in great detail, w ith special emphasis on the role o f m onks as interm ediaries be- twecn descendants and ancestors. The sutras reflect the interests o f a m onastic and self-consciously Buddhist audience, legitim izing the offerings given in the seventh m onth by tracing them back to the au thority o f the Buddha.

The Yii-lan-p’en Sutra was also a popular subject in the tem ple lectures that m onks gave to interested lay people during the T ’ang. Surviving portions o f The Lecture Text on the Yii-lan-p’en Sutra (ca. 850) expound at length upon the topic o f filiality. The duties o f sons tow ard their parents and the kindnesses bestow ed by senior generations (especially m others) upon jun io rs arc also discussed in com m entaries on The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, at least six o f which w ere w ritten prior to the eleventh century. Some com m entators adopted a refined literary style to provide a close exegesis o f the text, while others (notably T sung-m i |780-8411) drew 0 1 1 the full range o f traditional Chinese literature to dem onstrate how the ghost festival fulfilled the basic ideals o f Chinese religion.

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Given the pow er w ith w hich the m yth o f M u-lien and the ritual established after his exam ple affected the shape o f medieval Chinese religion, it is hardly surprising to find m yths and rituals o f the ghost festival persisting in o ther tim es and other places. The livelier versions o f the m yth related in T ’ang transform ation texts became the subject o f num erous plays, m orality books, and precious scrolls, all o f w hich supplied new genres for popular entertainm ent in early m odern China. By the tim e that sources allow a close look at local history it is clear that the festival itself, long held in conjunction w ith services honoring the “ M iddle P rim ordial” (chung-yiian) o f the Taoist pantheon, had taken on a great deal o f local color. An early eighteenth-century com pendium notes the diversity o f names given to the seventh-m oon festival: “T he Yii-lan A ssem bly” (yii-lan hut), “T he G host Festival” (kuei- chieh), “ T he Day [H onoring] the M iddle Prim ordial” (chung-yiian j ih ), “ Releasing [H ungry G hosts w ith] Burning M ouths” {fang yen-k’ou), “T he U niversal Passage [o f H ungry Ghosts O u t o f H ell]” (p’u-tu), “ G athering O rphaned Souls” (ch’iang-ku), “ Sending G rains” (sung ma- ku), and “T he M elon Festival” (kua-chieh). In som e regions rituals were perform ed in B uddhist and Taoist temples, in o ther regions at graveside, in clan halls, and inside or outside the hom e. In addition to the gifts given to the Sangha, offerings included grain, m elons, and other first fruits o f the harvest, cakes, rice, wine, incense, sheep, and m ock sheep m ade from flour. In som e places paper m oney and paper horses w ere sent by fire to the ancestors, while in o ther places (especially south China) lanterns were set adrift in boats.7 In m odern times the festival m ay be found in som e form or another in every area o f Chinese influence, from the sembahjang hantu ritual in Java to the p ’u-tu rite in H aw aii.8

M u-lien’s legacy is also evident in greater East Asia, w hence the ghost festival traveled from China in medieval times. T he legend o f M u-lien em erges at the very beginning o f Korean prose literature in the fifteenth-century collection Worin sokpo.9 Records o f seasonal observances in Korea from the late eighteenth century report tw o kinds ofcc l-

7 Sec the collation o f notices from local gazetteers in (C h ’in-ting) Ku-chin t'u-shu chi- ch’eng (com pleted 1725), ed. C h ’cn M eng-lei et al., 100 vols. (Taipei: W cn-hsing shu- tien. 1964), 3:692-94.

" For Java, see C laudine L om bard-Salm on, “ Survivance d ’un rite bouddh iquc a Java: la cerem onie du pu-du (avalambana)," B E FEO 62 (1975):457—86. For H aw aii, see D uane Pang, “ T he P ’u -tu R itual,” in Buddhist and Taoist Studies I, cd. M ichael Saso and D avid W. C happell, Asian S tudies at H aw aii, N o. 18 (H onolulu: U niversity Press o f H aw aii, 1977), pp. 95-122.

'' See M inn Y ong-gyu, " W iriti siltpo d ie isip-sam chan 'gw A n," Tongbattg hakchi6 (June 1963): 1- 18.

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ebration held on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth: one called paek-chong il (“ The Day on W hich O ne H undred Kinds fo f Food Are O ffered to the B uddha]”), and one called mang-hon il (“ Lost Souls’ D ay”), in w hich people offer fruit, wine, and other foods to the souls o f their deceased relatives.10

Further to the cast, y ii-lan-p’en (as urabon, obon, or bon) had becom e a part o f court Buddhism in Japan as early as 606, and on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth o f 659 historical records relate that, “ By a decree to the m inisters, the Em press had The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra expounded in all the temples o f the capital to repay [the kindness bestow ed by] seven generations o f ancestors.” 11 Tem ple records preserved in the Imperial Repository (Shosoin) at N ara provide tantalizing glim pses o f the actual adm inistration o f urabon. An inventory from Daianji dated 747 itemizes the m oney in different accounts: ou t o f a total am ount o f 6,473,832 cash belonging to the tem ple, the holdings o f the urabon account came to 17,510 cash.12 O ther docum ents establish that the seventh m onth was indeed a busy tim e for scribes in the tem ples o f the Japanese capital in the eighth century, w ith the w orst rush com ing betw een the tw elfth and sixteenth o f the m onth , w hen fresh copies o f The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra and The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness w ere in heavy dem and .13 In Japanese literature the story o f M u-lien’s experiences in hell w ent through num erous transform ations in a variety o f genres, including the collection o f Indian, Chinese, and Japanese tales com piled in 1407 by the m onk G ento, Sangoku denki (Recorded Tales from Three Countries).14 A t the local level, the festival flourishes in contem porary Japan, w here everything comes to a halt in the seventh m onth so that people can return hom e in tim e to perform the

10 See the e igh teen th-cen tury chronicle Tongguk sesigi by H o n g Song-m o, translated in K an J ie ’o n [K ang Chae-on], Chosen saijiki, T o y o bunko , Vol. 193 (Tokyo: H eibonsha, 1971), pp. 123-24.

11 In the year 606, feasts w ere held on 4 /8 (the traditional observance o f the B u ddha’s b irthday) and on 7/15; see N ihonshoki, N ihon koten bungaku taikei, Vols. 67-68 (Tokyo: Iw anam i shoten , 1967, 1965), 2:187. T h e notice for the year 659 is translated from Nihon shoki, 2:341; fo llow ing W illiam G. A ston, tran s ., Nihongi: Chronicles o f Japan from the Earliest Times to A .D . 697, 2 vols. (R utland: C harles E. T u ttle C o ., 1972), 2:263.

12 “ Daianji shizai ch o ,” reproduced in Ishida M osaku, Shakyo yori mitaru nara-cho biik- kyd no kenkyu, T o y o b u nko ronso , Vol. 11 (Tokyo: T o y o bunko . 1930), pp. 64-65.

See docum ents dated 743 and 763, respectively, in Dai nihon komonjo, hennen moiijo, ed. T o k y o tcikoku daigaku sh iryo hensanjo (Tokyo: T o k y o teikoku daigaku, 1901-40), 8:190-91 and 5:451-52.

u See Sangoku denki, G ento (ca. 1407), 2 vols., ed. Ikegam i J u n ’ichi (Tokyo: M iyai shoten , 1976-82), 1:122-29. For a su rvey o f Japanese legends o f M u-lien, sec Iw am oto Y utaka, Bukkyd setsuwa kenkyu. Vol. 4,Jigokti meguri no bungaku (Tokyo: K aim ei shoten , 1979), pp. 50-170.

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“ D ancc o f B on” (bon odori). O ne observer reports from a village no t far from Tokyo:

Then, the counterpart o f the m id-w in ter N ew Year’s holiday, one o f the tw o yearly Settlem ent Days when one paid o ff debts and gave servants their wages, there was the m id-sum m er Bon holiday, the All Souls festival-at the A ugust full m oon w hen for tw o or three nights running there w ould be dancing; the outside circle this way, the inner one that, round and round the frantic d rum mers, K anejiro’s buxom w idow bloom ing in the atm osphere o f sexual excitem ent and everyone conscious o f the electric charges betw een Sanetoshi’s eldest and K entaro’s girl every tim e the circles b rough t them together— and the young men ju m p in g into the drum m ers’ circle to take their show -off turn at singing, each vying to outdo the last in voice-pow er and intricate trem o los.15

T h e S i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e G h o s t F e s t iv a l

Setting aside for the m om ent its legacy in East Asian religion, a strong case can be made for the im portance o f the ghost festival m erely on the basis o f its diffusion th rough the entire fabric o f medieval Chinese society. Its pervasiveness during a period in w hich relatively little is know n about Chinese life— the social life o f the vast m ajority o f people left largely unrecorded in the surviving corpus o f historical sources com piled by scholar-bureaucrats— makes it an im portan t area o f study in the first place sim ply as a story yet untold. The French historian Jacques G crnet describes the trem endous gap in current know ledge o f medieval Chinese religion:

D evotional activities pose a basic and w ide-ranging problem , that o f the assimilation o f Buddhism by the Chinese w o rld ’s form s o f religious life. N either the philosophical and doctrinal borrow ings nor even the half-fearful veneration o f the sem i-barbarian m on- archs o f N o rth C hina for w onder-w ork ing m onks suffice to explain the general im pulse o f intense fervour felt by the Chinese w orld from the end o f the fifth Century onw ards. In short they do no t explain how Buddhism became in China a great religion. There took place at the level o f local cults and com m unities a subterranean activity about w hich very little is know n. T he results alone w ere to em erge into the light w hen B uddhism had becom e a

R onald P. D orc, Shinohata: A Portrait o f a Japanese Village (N ew York: Pantheon Hooks, 1978), pp. 223-24.

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Chinese religion w ith its priesthood, its faithful, and its places o fw o rsh ip .16

T he story o f the “ subterranean activity” o f the ghost festival told here is lim ited m ostly to the medieval period, typically though t to com m ence in the third century and to m erge indistinctly into “ early m odern” China in the ninth or tenth. While social historians arc still far from agreem ent over the nature o f the social, econom ic, and political changes that occurred tow ard the end o f the period ,17 there is a consensus that from the third to the eighth centuries Chinese socicty was com posed largely o f tw o classes: peasants bound to the land they w orked and m em bers o f endogam ous aristocracies from w hose ranks governm ent officials invariably came. A griculture and landholding w ere organized around a manorial system; theoretically the governm ent d istributed land to cach family o f the em pire, but in practice land came to be concentrated in estates belonging to pow erful clans and to the B uddhist church. Beginning in the ninth and tenth centuries, this structure began to change. A m oney econom y came in to existence, and w ith it there developed a mercantile class based in the cities. In the countryside, different form s o f land tenancy also evolved w hich, to gether w ith the em ergence o f an urban m iddle class, contributed to the dissolution o f the medieval family system. Social m obility also increased w ith the dem ocratization o f exam inations for governm ent service, the developm ent o f printing, and a broadening o f the system o f public education.

T he study o f the ghost festival undertaken here focuses especially on the T ’ang dynasty (618-907). M ost o f the docum ents I have been able to unearth on the early ghost festival date from this dynasty, and the

16 Jacques G ernet, A History o f Chinese C ivilization , trans. J . R. Foster (C am bridge: C am b rid g e U niversity Press, 1982), p. 215.

17 A m ong a m ountain o f studies, see especially: Patricia Buckley Ebrey, The Aristocratic Families o f Early Imperial China: A Case Study o f the Po-ling T s ’ui Family (C am bridge: C am b rid g e U niversity Press, 1978); M ark E lvin, The Pattern o f the Chinese Past (Stanford: S tanford U niversity Press, 1973); D avid Johnson , The Medieval Chinese Oligarchy (B oulder: W estview Press, 1977); Joseph P. M cD erm ott, “ C harting Blank Spaccs and D ispu ted Regions: T he P roblem o f Sung Land T enure ,” JA S 44:1 (N ovem ber 1984):13- 41; E dw in G. Pullcyblank, The Background o f the Rebellion o f A n Lu-shan (O xford : O x fo rd U n iversity Press, 1955); M ichio T anigaw a, Medieval Chinese Society and the Local “Comm u n ity ," trans. Joshua A. Fogel (Berkeley: U niversity o f California Press, 1985); D enis C . T w itc h e tt, “ T h e C om position o f the T 'a n g Ruling Class: N ew Evidence from T un- h u an g ,” in Perspectives on the T'ang, ed. A rthu r F. W right and D enis C . T w itch e tt (N ew H aven: Yale U niversity Press, 1973); and idem , “ In tro d u c tio n ," in The Cambridge History o f China, Vol. 3, Part 1, Sui and T 'ang China, 589-906, ed. D enis C . T w itch c tt (C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press, 1979), csp. pp. 8-31.

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T ’ang provides the m ost obvious examples o f the celebration o f the festival on the part o f the em peror and the B uddhist church. T he T ’ang is probably the m ost critical period in the assimilation o f Indie and C entral Asian culture from the west, its m ajor capital city o f C h ’ang-an serving as a cosm opolitan hub to m erchants and m onks, travelers and traders from all directions. The pantheons, philosophies, legends, and rituals “ im ported” in to China at the start o f the medieval period became in the T ’ang m ore fully accepted into the traditional patterns o f Chinese religion, w hich were themselves transform ed in the process. M any o f the basic form s o f later folk religion had surfaced by the late T ’ang: a B uddho-T aoist pantheon staffed by bureaucratic divinities; a system atized picture o f the afterlife in heavens and hells; the involvem ent o f B uddhist and Taoist m onks as ritual specialists at critical ju n c tures in the life o f the individual and the com m unity; and a com prehensive w orldview in term s o f w hich fate and retribution could be figured and the divinatory arts could be practiced.

C onfining the seventh-m onth festival to the recesses o f Chinese social history, how ever, w ould be rather poor history. T he m yth o f M u- lien and the ritual established at his request occupy a telling place in the history o f Chinese religion and in the com parative study o f religion and society.

T he tw o m ajor figures in the yu-lan-p’cn m yth are a m on k and a m other, neither o f w hom w ould appear to be very highly valued in a culture w here the m ost pervasive social and religious institution is based on the principles o f procreation and male descent. Even in its canonical versions, the sto ry concerns M u-lien saving his m other and not his father; rather than producing male descendants, M u-lien attends to the salvation o f his female ascendant. The m yth o f M u-lien is quite exceptional in its preoccupation w ith the state o f the m other after death, suggesting a course o f action alternative to bu t no t necessarily inimical to the ancestral p a triliny .18

If the ghost festival fostered the acceptance o f traditionally m arginal roles, it also affirm ed the m otivating ideal o f m ainstream Chinese life, filial devotion. M u-lien spares naught in bringing aid to his m other. In Avici Hell he even offers to trade places and suffer the tortures that she alone deserves. T he audience is show n that no m atter how self-sacrificing, children can never fully repay the kindnesses bestow ed on them by parents. C om m entato rs from medieval times to the present have iden-

See Stephen F. Teiser, “ M other, Son, and H ungry G host: G ender and Salvation in the M ytho logy o f M u -lien ," paper presented at the A nnual M eeting o f the A m erican A cadcm y o f Religion in A tlanta, N ovem ber, 198ft.

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tified filial devotion as the essential teaching o f the ghost festival. Fili- ality or “ politeness to the dead” is also the m oral o f the story in Juliet B rcdon’s em pathetic chronicle o f Chinese custom s in the 1920s. She w rites:

People w ho arc far from their ancestral tom bs— too far to m ake a personal visit— prepare paper bags filled w ith m ock-m oney. O n cach bag, a strip o f red paper w ith the nam e and date o f death o f the person for w hom it is intended is w ritten. These are laid on an im provised altar and, while the priests chant Sutras, m em bers o f the family in turn make deep k ’o t ’ous to the spirits o f their forefathers— even the little children w ho can not understand the m eaning o f their filial obeisance. T hey find it so hard to be serious when, after the mass is over, the bags are taken into the courtyard and set alight. “ O h, the pretty bonfire!” a small boy exclaims. “ Hush! Little D ragon,” whispers his m other, draw ing him aside into the shadow s to tell him the reason for this beautiful and touching custom . “ T o-day ,” she says softly, “ all the dead leave their tom bs and com e back to us. The sky is thronged w ith an invisible procession.”

“ W hy do they com e back, m other?” he m urm urs.“ Because, m y treasure, they love us and expect us to love and

serve them . Therefore, irrcvcrcnce is very w rong and cruel.” U n wise too, since naughty spirits arc also abroad these days, ready to harm little boys and girls w ho, for this reason, are forbidden to go ou t after nightfall during this festival.

“ Little D ragon ,” throughly sobered now , bobs his head in a je rky k ’o t’ou. It is his a ttem pt at an apology to spirits, bad and good. Thus, very tenderly, children in China are given their first lesson in politeness to the dead .19

T he involvem ent o f the dead also means that the ghost festival speaks to issues and problem s in fields less exotic and less bound to texts than B uddhology or the history o f Chinese religions. As a rite o f passage, the early autum n festival marks a shift in agricultural w ork and it signifies the end o f the m onastic retreat. In addition, it helps to effect the passage o f the dead from the status o f a recently deceased, threatening ghost to that o f a stable, pure, and venerated ancestor. Although it is observed on a yearly schedule not synchronized w ith the death o f any single person, the ghost festival m arks an im portan t tran -

Ju lie t B redon and Igor M itrophanow , The Moon Year: A Record o f Chinese Customs and I’eslivals (Shanghai: Kelly and W alsh, 1927), pp. 380-81.

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sition in the life o f the family, w hich is com posed o f m em bers both living and dead. Like m ortuary rituals perform ed in m any o ther cultures, the festival subsum es the potentially shattering consequences o f the death o f individuals under the perpetually regenerating forces o f the com m unity and the cosmos.

T he ghost festival also illustrates the Chinese answ er to a problem posed in all societies that institutionalize, for som e o f their m em bers, an ascetic way o f life. T he relationship between m onk and householder varied th roughou t the Buddhist-influenced cultures o f Asia. M ost Asian societies incorporated m onasticism by recourse to a circuit o f exchange in w hich lay people provided material support for the Sangha w hile m onks bestow ed religious benefits on lay people. T he Chinese solution no t only accepted m onasticism , it placed the rcnouncer at the very center o f secular life: in the ghost festival the participation o f m onks is deem ed essential for the salvation o f ancestors.

A nother issue raised in the transm ission o f Buddhism eastw ard from India was the relation betw een the Indian cosm ology assum ed in B uddhist thought and practice and the gods and concepts o f the afterlife assum ed in indigenous cultures. C ertainly kamis, nagas, nats, and im m ortals all learned to live w ith the B uddhist view o f things, and vice versa, but infinite variations were always possible. T he underw orld th rough w hich M u-lien travels in the popular versions o f the ghost festival m yth reflects an im portan t stage in the evolving cosm ology o f Chinese religion. Some deities o f foreign origin, like King Yama, had assumed a place under the adm inistration o f the age-old M agistrate o f M ount T ’ai, w hile others (like T i-tsang Bodhisattva) dispensed aid to hell dwellers and argued on behalf o f inm ates for exceptions to the harsh laws o f retribution. By T ’ang times, deities o f Chinese and Indian origin had jo ined forces in adm inistering a single karm ic law that extended from the w oeful states in w hich m ost ancestors w ere reborn to the blissful, less populated abodes o f heaven. As Joseph Edkins, describing the ghost festival in nineteenth-century Peking, writes:

T he belief in m etem psychosis am ong the H indoos connected itself w ith the Chinese sacrifices to the ancestors. T he tw o things com bined form ed an engine o f great pow er for affecting the public m ind .20

T he public m ind was also captured by the figure o f M u-lien, w ho united in one person the attributes o f an austere, far-seeing m onk and those o f a dem on qucllcr roving through the dark regions. These tw o

* 'Joseph Edkins, Chinese HiMhistn: A Volume o f Sketches, Historical, Descriptive, am! Criticiil (London: T riih n er and C o ., 1880), p. 268.

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sets o f attributes tended to appeal to tw o different audiences: m onks and state authorities on the one hand, w ho adm ired his ability to travel th rough different cosmic realms in staid postures and circum scribed settings; and on the o ther hand the vast m ajority o f Chinese people, for w hom M u-lien played the role o f spirit m edium , sending his spirit to do battle in w orlds above and below the earth. Like sham ans in o ther parts o f the w orld, the M u-lien portrayed in ghost festival tales satisfied sim ultaneously elite and folk conceptions o f sacred pow er.

T h e F o r m s o f R e l ig io n in C h in e s e S o c ie t y

To claim that the ghost festival in its m ythic and ritual form s suffused all classes o f medieval Chinese society is to make a further chain o f assertions concerning the very nature o f Chinese religion. U nlike the m odalities o f religion found in m odern industrial countries and in som e tribal societies, religion in China functioned in the first place within such institutions as the family, the com m unity, and the state, and only secondarily as an institution distinct from all o ther social groupings. In China the m ost recognizable form s o f religious activity— recognizable to us, i.e ., those for w hom either Church, Faith, or G od describes the lim its o f the sacred— were derivative and far less num erous than feasts held in the com m unity, or banquets given to honor the ancestors, or rites o f passage conducted in clan halls. M oreover, religion in China— “ religion” m eaning the family o f activities in w hich m yth and ritual, sym bol and cosm ology figure prom inently— m ore often than not affirm ed the im m anence o f sacrality and allowed for the realization o f a transcendent Way w ithin the bounds o f the profane. These facts require som e elaboration, since they have im portant im plications for the shape that the ghost festival took in traditional Chinese society and for the critical m ethods best suited to discern that shape.

In an in troductory w ork com posed largely on a train com m uting betw een Paris and Tonnerrc in 1922, Marcel Granct writes:

If religion w ere defined by the m ore or less explicit adherence by individuals to a dogm a, and their m ore or less great respect for a clergy, it w ould be equally as false to say that the Chinese practise tw o o r three religions as that they practise one. Indeed, in China there exist as alm ost definite beliefs only those about Ancestors, and if anyone deserves the title o f priest, it is a layman: the paterfam ilias.21

21 MarccI (iranet, The Religion o f the Chinese People, trails. M aurice Freedm an (N ew Y ork: H arper and Row, 1977), p. I4f>.

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T o a general French audience in 1922, as to any audience in this century, one o f the first prejudices to be put to rest in the study o f Chinese religion is the predilection to sort religions and to define the general phenom enon in term s o f a specific set o f credos w hich preclude the believer from giving allegiance to any other authority. T he point, echoed frequently by historians and anthropologists far rem oved from the oversight o f D urkheim and Chavannes, is not that the Chinese lack “ religion,” but that religion in China is not a differentiated function o f social life.22

T he m ost system atic elaboration o f this view point may be found in C. K. Yang’s w ork , Religion in Chinese Society (1961). Yang distinguishes tw o basic form s o f religion, institutional and diffused. Institutional religion, says Yang, possesses:

(1) an independent theology or cosmic interpretation o f the universe and hum an events, (2) an independent form o f w orship consisting o f sym bols (gods, spirits, and their images) and rituals, and (3) an independent organization o f personnel to facilitate the in terpretation o f theological views and to pursue cultic w orship. With separate concept, ritual, and structure, religion assumes the nature o f a separate social institution, and hence its designation as an institutional religion. O n the o ther hand, diffused religion is conceived o f as a religion having its theology, cultus, and personnel so intim ately diffused into one or m ore secular social institutions that they becom e part o f the concept, rituals, and structure o f the latter, thus having no significant independent existence.

To this Yang adds the equally im portant point that diffused religion in traditional China was the prim ary form o f religion:

the religious elem ent was diffused into all m ajor social institutions and into the organized life o f every com m unity in China. It was in its di ffused form that people made their most intimate contact with religion.23

22 In La Pensee chinoise (Paris: A lbin M ichel, 1968), p. 476, G ranet w rites further: “ It is often said that the C hinese have no religion, and som etim es taugh t that their m y tho logy m igh t as well be said to be non-existent. T h e tru th is that in C hina religion is n o t, any m ore than law, a differentiated Junction o f social activity. . . For sim ilar sta tem ents, see Jacques G crnet, Lcs Aspects cconomiqucs du bouddliisme dans la societe chinoise du Ve an X e siecle (Saigon: Ecole Fran<;aise d 'E x trcm e-O rien t, 1956), p. xiii; and Saw ada M izuho, Ji- goku hen: chugoku no nieikai setsu (K yoto: H ozokan, 1968). preface.

21 C . K. Yang, Religion in Chinese Society: A Study o f Contemporary Social Functions o f Religion and Some o f Their Historical Factors (lierkeley: U niversity o f C alifornia Press, 1961), pp. 294-95, 296; em phasis added in the last quo tation .

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The relevance o f Yang’s analysis to the subject o f this study is that it makes o f the ghost festival not som ething “ exotic,” “ cultic,” “ devotional,” “ folk,” or in any way marginal to Chinese religion, bu t rather som ething quite central to the fabric o f daily lifc o f the vast m ajority o f people in medieval China. While it did m ark an im portan t event in the yearly cycle o f life for m onks, yii-lan-p’en was even m ore firm ly anchored in the dom inant social institution in C hina^the family. Its rituals became part o f the system o f observances that united living and ancestral m em bers o f the family, reinforcing their reciprocal obligations and harm onizing the rhythm s o f family and m onastic life w ith the agricultural schedule. The m ythology o f the ghost festival gave voice to the basic w orldview o f medieval Chinese religion, a cosm ology no t argued system atically in treatises, but rather, assum ed in the practice o f ritual.

While the ghost festival was rooted in the prim ary form o f religious life, “ diffused religion,” it also reached into m ost areas o f “ institutional religion” as well. Indeed, if Yang’s analysis o f institutional and diffused religion in China is to be faulted, that is only because it tends to create too w ide a gu lf betw een the tw o poles. Given the way in w hich the seven th-m oon festival b rought the Sangha into the m idst o f family life, and the w ay in w hich state religion and the em peror’s ow n ancestral cult actively sponsored offerings on that day, perhaps it is best to view the ghost festival as spanning the entire spectrum betw een diffused and institutional religion.

Translated into the perhaps m ore familiar term s o f class analysis, the ideology and activities o f the ghost festival were shared by both elite and folk, the scholar-producing gentry class and peasant farmers. While the versions o f the M u-lien m yth and the styles o f its celebration were different for these tw o groups, the com m onalities are no less striking. The evidence supplied by this study o f the ghost festival attests to the largely hospitable interplay between folk and elite levels o f culture, a trait w hich has been attributed far m ore frequently to m edieval and especially early m odern China than to corresponding periods o f European h istory .24

A serious consideration o f the social contexts o f the ghost festival in m edieval China also dictates that special attention be paid to the nature o f the prim ary texts used in this study. It is an irrefutable but insufficiently appreciated fact that the m ajor sources on medieval China w ere

u See, for exam ple, D avid Joh n so n , A ndrew N athan, and Evelyn R aw ski, eds.. Popular Culture in Late Imperial China (Berkeley: U niversity o f C alifornia Press, 1985); and Peter Burke, Popular (Culture in liarly Modern lilt rope (London: T em ple Sm ith, 1978).

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w ritten by m em bers o f the elite: m onks or scholar-burcaucrats. In either case the authors o f alm ost all texts surviving from this tim e view ed the w orld from the perspective o f institutional religion: from w ithin the m onastery or through the eyes o f the governm ent. To use these sources w ith o u t radical criticism, or even to begin our study w ith these texts, is to lim it our field o f vision to that o f the m onk or the state official; it is to insure from the start that the place o f the ghost festival in the m ost pervasive form o f Chinese religion will rem ain obscured.

A trem endous am ount o f detail about the ghost festival— how long the celebrations lasted, how m any temples the average family visited, w hat pictures w ere used to illustrate M u-licn’s adventures, w hat prayers w ere said in receiving offerings, the clothes people w ore to festivities— is sim ply unrecoverable. M ost o f the m inutiae in w hich m odern historians take such interest will never be know n. By virtue o f their literacy, recordkeepcrs in traditional China had already lifted themselves into a social class that deemed the everyday life o f “ the people” to be unw orthy o f historical note. As D erk Bodde notes, in im perial China:

it was inevitable that w riting, although o f course used for m ultiple purposes, should have functioned above all as an adjunct o f governm ent. Essays, poetry , history, philosophy, and later on dram a and fiction: all o f these as well as other types o f w ritten expression were for the m ost part produced by men w ho, if no t bureaucrats themselves, w ere at least w ould-be bureaucrats, retired bureaucrats, o r the friends, relatives, o r hangers-on o f bureaucrats. This fact severely lim its our view o f prcm odern China. For it means that we have to see it through the eyes o f men w ho, w ith rare exceptions, tended to idealize, to treat w ith superior condescension, o r sim ply to ignore m any aspects— especially the m ore seam y aspects— o f everyday life essential to the great population mass know n as “ the people.”25

Literati took as little interest in folk observances as they did in folk literature, w hich “ was seldom w ritten dow n and less often preserved. Popular literature was, quite sim ply, beneath the dignity o f the fully literate.”26

H ow to sift and how to construe the literature on the ghost festival that does exist rem ains an im portan t issue. M any sources relevant to

25 D crk B odde, Festivals in Classical China: N ew Year and Other Annual Observances during the Flan Dynasty, 206 B .C .- A .D . 220 (Princeton: P rinceton U niversity Press, 1975), p. 2.

26 V ictor H . M air, “ Lay S tudents and the M aking o f W ritten V ernacular N arra tive : An Inven tory o f T un-h u an g M anuscrip ts," Chinoprrl Papers N o. 10 (19K1):92.

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the festival are contained in the Chinese B uddhist canon: sutras, com m entaries, and histories. M y interpretation o f this im portant set o f texts is pursued in light o f the recognition that, w hatever else they may be— repositories o f w isdom , literary exem plars, defining m arks o f a high tradition— canons arc social institutions. T he Chinese B uddhist canon was no t merely a “ useful organizing concept for pedagogy” or a set o f texts grouped together for reasons purely soteriological, literary, or philosophical. A canon is also, as H enry L. Gates rem arks, “ a m echanism for political contro l.”27

The canon in China was defined at the request o f the state by highly placed m em bers o f the B uddhist establishm ent. The m aking o f the B uddhist canon was a process o f disavowal as m uch as it was an enterprise o f creation: authority was established by selecting w hich existing texts w ere to be allowed “ into the canon” (ju-tsang) .28 Prior to the large-scale use o f w oodblock printing in later times, only a fraction o f texts judged noncanonical survived very long.

This is not to suggest that the apocryphal versions o f the M u-lien m yth threatened political subversion or advocated m aking prostrations to animals, as did som e w ritings, later banned from the canon, o f the Teaching o f the Three Stages (san-chieh chiao) in the sixth and seventh centuries. But the yii-lan-p’en sutras that were accepted into the Chinese canon did differ from noncanonical sources in their conform ity to a m onastic view o f orthopraxis, and they show ed little interest in the purgatorial cham bers o f the underw orld. M u-lien’s unruly side is kept under control, subordinated to the B uddha’s superior pow ers, and only in the com m entaries on the canonical sutras is there any interest, furtively displayed, in M u-lien’s m other’s previous life.

To escape the constraints o f a singularistic perspective, I construct m y picture o f the ghost festival beginning no t w ith canonical texts but w ith texts deriving from the milieu o f diffused religion. I attem pt to retrieve these popular texts out o f the jungle o f “ cult” and “ local relig ion ,” and to reestablish their position on hom e ground. M y goal in this respect is to place the ghost festival against the background o f a to

27 H enry L. Gates, J r ., “ C riticism in th e ju n g le ,” in Black Literature and Literary Theory, ed. H enry L. G ates, Jr. (N ew Y ork: M ethuen, 1984), p. 2.

* O n the definition o f the C hinese B uddhist canon and a s tudy o f several im p o rtan t noncanonical w orks, see M akita T airyo , G ikyo kenkyu (K yoto: K yoto daigaku jin b u n kagaku kenkyujo , 1976), esp. pp. 1-124. O n the fo rm ation o f the Pali, Chinese, and T ibetan B uddhist canons, see Louis Renou and Jean Filliozat, L'lnde classique: manuel lies ( tuiles itulit’ttnes, 2 vols. (Paris: Payot, 1947 and Paris: Im prim cric N ationale, 1953), Sections 1947-74, 2107-62, and 2033-44.

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tal social landscape, to view it not ju s t from the position o f the literati, but from as m any different social situations as possible.

The cache o f m anuscripts uncovered at Tun-huang in northw est China in the first decade o f this century makes this goal a realistic one. A m ong the roughly 42,000 pieces o f w riting are to be found several w ritten records o f the picture tale told to the masses by storytellers, The Transformation T ext on Mu-lien Saving His Mother, a sutra on yu- lan-p’en explicitly excluded from the canon o f Chinese Buddhism ; and a transcription o f an excgetical lccture on The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra. These and other sources provide im portant clues as to w hat com m on people in m edieval tim es found significant and entertaining about the ghost festival.

A nother w ay to avoid the lim itations o f traditional historiography is to com b th rough those sources m ore tangential to the official task o f history w riting . For m edieval China, this avenue leads through poetry, occasional prose pieccs, diaries, encyclopedias, and liturgical texts. The results o f this sifting do not prove inconsequential: the first certain reference to the celebration o f the festival in the countryside o f south China in 561; diary entries portraying discontent w ith the governm ent suppression o f offerings at Buddhist tem ples in 844; and several pieces— including one striking rhapsody by Yang C hiung (650-ca. 694) and one notably unim pressive poem by E m peror T e-tsung (r. 779-805)— w ritten on the occasion o f the ghost festival.

T h e P l a c e o f B u d d h i s m in C h in e s e S o c i e t y

A lthough the ghost festival is found only in East Asia in medieval times, m any o f its ritual and m ythological com ponents derive from lands to the w est o f China: not only India, but the m any kingdom s and trading centers o f C entral Asia so crucial in the dissem ination o f Indie and Aryan culture to the east. Indian B uddhist literature preserves a rich store o f talcs about M audgalyayana (Chinese: M u-lien) w ho, together w ith his best friend, Sariputra, jo ined the ranks o f the B uddha’s followers and quickly dem onstrated their prow ess in superhum an pow ers and in w isdom , respectively. In collections o f legends detailing the previous lives o f the B uddha’s disciples (avaddnas), M u-lien often plays the role o f seer, divulging to hungry ghosts and hell dwellers the atrocities com m itted in previous lives for w hich they now suffer the consequences. Y u-lan-p’en literature preserves and embellishes these aspects o f M u-lien’s character. Likewise, the Chinese celebration o f the ghost festival was based partly on the m onastic rain retreat, w hich in India and C entral Asia was held often, but not always, between the

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fourth and seventh m onths. O ther nonspecifically B uddhist aspects o f Indian culture found in the ghost festival include a w orld-disk cosm o- graph w ith vertically arranged planes o f existence, a system o f rebirth governed by karm a, and a reciprocal relationship betw een householders and rcnouncers. The list could go on.

By the tim e that it appears in the historical record (the sixth and seventh centuries), the ghost festival was thoroughly integrated into the traditional patterns o f Chinese social life. It did, how ever, preserve a trace o f the exotic: its odd-sounding B uddhist name. To the Chinese eye, “ yii-lan-p’en” in its w ritten form looks foreign. Passages from The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra m ake it d ear that “ yii-lan-p’en” is a kind o f “ p ’en” (“ bo w l” ) in w hich offerings are placed, but in the siitra the m eaning o f “ yii-lan” remains obscure (literally, “ cup iris” ). U nlike o ther foreign- sounding w ords in Chinese literature, the m ystery cannot be solved by reference to the original Sanskrit or Central Asian versions o f the text, since none now exist, i f indeed they ever did.

This single etym ological m ystery has dom inated all previous scholarship on the ghost festival. The vast m ajority o f books, articles, and research notes published on y ii-lan -p ’en is devo ted largely , i f no t w holly, to ascertaining the problem atic origins o f the Chinese w ord “ y ii-lan-p’en .” It is hardly an exaggeration to claim that m ost scholars have been obsessed w ith the search for the prim al w ord event in San- skritic and Indo-European languages that lies behind the Chinese disguise o f “ yii-lan-p’en .” The findings as well as the assum ptions o f this search, pursued by Am erican, Chinese, D utch, English, French, Germ an, and Japanese scholars, bear further discussion here.29

29 A n incom plete listing o f studies dealing w ith the e tym ology o f "y ti-la n -p ’en ,” w hich I sum m arize in the next three paragraphs, w ould include: Ashikaga E nsho, “ N o tes on U rabon (Yii Lan P ’en, U llam bana),” JA O S 71:1 (January-M arch 1951):71- 75; B redon, The Moon Year, p. 384; K enneth K. S. C h ’en, The Chinese Transformation o f Buddhism (Princeton: Princeton U niversity Press, 1973), pp. 6 1 -64 ;J.J.L . D uyvendak , “ T h e B uddhistic Festival o f A ll-Souls in C hina and Japan ,” Acta Orientalia 5:1 (1926):39- 40, 44; E rnest J . Eitel, Handbook o f Chinese Buddhism, second ed. (1904; rep rin t ed ., Peking: W en-tien-ko, 1939), p. 154b; Fan-i ming-i chi, Fa-yiin (1088-1158), T. no . 2131, 54:1112c; W ilhelm G rube, “ Z u r pekinger V olkskunde,” Verdffentlichungen aus dem Koniglichen Museum fu r Volkerkunde 7:4 (1901):78-79; H onda G i’ci, "Urabon kyo to jodo urabon kyo ,” in Butten no naiso to gaiso (Tokyo: K obundo , 1967); 1-ch'ieh-ching yin-i, H siian-ying (737-820), T . no. 2128, 54:535b; Ikeda C hotatsu , “ Urabon kyo ni tsu ite ,” Shukyd kenkyu N .S . 3:1 (January 1926):59-64; Iw am oto Y utaka, Bukkyd setsuwa kenkyu. Vol. 2, B ukkyd setsuwa nogenryu to tenkai (Tokyo: K aim ci shoten, 1978), pp. 373-93 and Vol. 4,Jigoku inegnri no bungaku (Tokyo: Kaimei shoten, 1979), passim ; V ictor H . M air, i'un-huang Popular Narratives (C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press, 1983), p. 224,

n. to line 11; M l i I ) | , pp. 243c-44b; M urase Yukihiro, C',civil nisshd, in N ihon zuih itsu zen- slu’i, Vol. I (Tokyo: K okum in toslio kabushiki kaisha, 1927), p. 555; B unyiu N anjio , A

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Three basic kinds o f explanation for the etym ology o f “y ii-lan-p’en” have been offered. T he first kind postulates Indo-European origins for “ y ii-lan-p’en .” A ccording to these theories, the original w ord represented phonetically by the Chinese was: the Sanskrit “avalambana” (B uddhist H ybrid Sanskrit: “ ullambana” ), m eaning “ hanging dow n, depending o n ” ; the Pali “ ullampana,” m eaning “ salvation, rescue, full o f m ercy” ; o r the Iranian “urvan” (carried to China in Sogdian form: “rw’n” or “ ‘rw ’n”), m eaning “ soul.”

A second explanation follows the standard Chinese understanding o f “ p ’en” as the Chinese w ord for “ bow l” and o f “ yii-lan” as a transliteration o f a foreign term for “ upside dow n .” O n this basis, “ yii-lan- p ’cn” may refer to the bow l into which offerings are placed to save ancestors from the fate o f hanging upside dow n in purgatory o r to the m anner in w hich offerings are som etim es made, by inverting the bow l o f offerings intended for w andering spirits. O ther interpreters accept “ bo w l” as the m eaning o f “ p ’en,” but suggest that the Chinese term is the shortened form o f a Chinese transliteration (p’en-tso-na) o f the Sanskrit w ord “bhdjana,” m eaning “ vessel.”

A third theory explains the m eaning o f “ yii-lan-p’en” by reference to spoken Chinese. Som e scholars have suggested that the sound “ yii- lan-p’en” represents a w ord different from the com m only accepted orth o g rap h y , nam ely “ y ii-lan -p ’enb, ” m eaning “ tray-shaped bam boo basket.” O thers suggest that the shortened sound “ yii-lan” represents either “ yii-lanb,” m eaning “ fish basket,” or “ yu-lanc,” referring to a cup o f nectar and a basket o f doughnuts. The shortened sound “ lan- p ’cn” has also been interpreted as “ magnolia bow l.” M y ow n survey o f popular usage in liturgy, lecture texts, and regional names for the festival merely affirm s that the m ore m elodious shortened form s o f “ yii-lan” and “ lan-p’e n ” are indeed quite com m on.30 It is as if the spo-

Catalogue o f the Chinese Translation o f the Buddhist Tripilaka (1883; rep rin t ed ., San Francisco: C hinese M aterials C ente r, 1975), p. 78; Paul Pelliot, Review o f Schlegel, “ Les T crm cs bouddhiques Y u-lan -p ’en ct Y u-lan-p’o ," B E F E O 1 (1901):277-78; Jean P rzy- luski, “ Les Rites d ’A valam bana,” Melanges chinois et bouddhiques 1 (1931—32):221—25; Sa- w ada M izuho, Jigoku hen: chugoku no tneikai setsu (K yoto: H ozokan , 1968), pp. 131-33; M arinus W illem de Visser, Ancient Buddhism in Japan, 2 vols. (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1935), 1:59-68; Yu-lan-p’en chingshu (Tsung-mi Commentary), T sung-m i (780-841), T . no. 1792, 39:506c-7a; Yu-lan-p’en ching shu hsiao-heng ch’ao, Y u-jung (Sung), Z . 1, 94:4, p. 375ra-b; and Yu-lan-p’en ching tsan-shu (Hui-ching Commentary), H ui-ch ing (578-ca. 645), T. no. 2781, 85:540a.

311 T h e popular hand b o o k o f com m on know ledge, Tsa-ch'ao, refers to "Y ii-lan Buddha bo w ls” (yii-lan fo -p ’en); Tsa-ch'ao, P. no. 2721, reproduced in N aba Toshisada, “ T o shobon zasho k o ,” (1942), reprin ted in Todai shakai Inmka slti kenkyu (Tokyo: Sobunsha,1974), p. 227. The Lecture T ex t on the Yu-lan-p’en Sutra m akes reference to "T h e Sutra on

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ken language reclaimed a philological disaster by dom esticating the foreign w ord.

In view o f the lack o f any hard facts on its Indie origins, the results o f etym ology (“ discourse about the true sense” ) m ust rem ain hypothetical. M y ow n analysis is o f a different order, intended not to replace bu t to supplem ent the standard Buddhological treatm ents. I have chosen to explore the m ost im m ediate context o f the ghost festival, the medieval Chinese society in w hich it was practiced. In fact, Chinese sources prom ise to yield a far greater wealth o f inform ation on all aspects o f the ghost festival than do the farther reaches o f Indo-European philology.

H ow to construe the B uddhist elements in the ghost festival remains— or should rem ain— an open question! W hich versions o f M audgalyayana’s biography arc relevant to the Chinese figure o f M u- lien? D id the ghost festival have particular affinities w ith one B uddhist “ sect” m ore than any others? H ow was the law o f karm a com bined w ith a bureaucratic adm inistration o f the cosmos? W hich elem ents prevail in the ghost festival, Indie or Chinese ones?

A nswers to these questions have varied w idely, but m ost o f them share the unspoken assum ption that Indie origins logically entail non- Chincscncss, that w hat is Indian is and always has been different from w hat is Chinese. If concern w ith the salvation o f one’s m other is found in B uddhist m ythology, then it could not have been truly Chinese. O r if the goal o f long life and happiness in heaven expressed in y ii-lan-p’en liturgy was originally a Chinese concern, then it conflicted w ith the norm ative claims o f Buddhism .

Even the m ost careful scholars and the m ost persuasive studies appear to assume an essential difference betw een Indian religion and Chinese religion.31 M y ow n analysis adopts instead a m ore fluid dcfi-

the Purity o fY u -la n " ( Yii-tan ch'ing-cbing citing), see Tttn-huang chiian-tzti, 6 vols. (Taipei: Sh ih-m en t ’u -shu , 1976), 2:1. “ Yii-lan A ssem bly” (yii-lan hui) is a frequent nam e for the gho st festival in later regional usage, see Ku-cltin I'tt-shu chi-ch'eng, 3:692-94. See m y bibliography o f prim ary sources for liturgical texts and com m entaries on “ L an-p’en .”

31 T h e m ost im portan t W estem -language study o f the place o f filiality in C hinese B uddhism begins w ith the sta tem ent, “ B uddhism started in India as a religion advocating abandonm en t o f fam ily, b u t it ended in C hina praising the v irtue o f filial p ie ty .” T he sam e stu d y concludes w ith the sta tem ent, “ T he accom m odation by the B uddhists to C hinese ethics is probably one o f the chief reasons w hy the foreign religion was so readily accepted by the C hinese despite m any features that w ere opposed to Chinese cu ltu re .” Sec K enneth K. S. C h ’cn, “ Filial P iety in C hinese B uddh ism ,” HJAS 28 (1968):81, 97. Scholars ranging from an thropolog ists to epigraphers have begun to question the traditional stereo type o f Indian B uddhism as asocial. See, for exam ple, Louis D um o n t, "W orld Renunciation in Indian R eligions," Contributions to Indian Sociology 4 (I960), re

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nition o f B uddhism and a less historically rigid understanding o f Chinese religion. To assume that Indian B uddhism was a self-existing w hole that could change into another entity (Chinese Buddhism ) only by a radical alteration o f its basic core is to preclude from the beginning any com prehensive understanding o f the ghost festival, in w hich elem ents originally deriving from India and from China w ere synthesized in a com plex and coherent whole.

T he un-N agarjunian view o f “ Iranian,” “ Indian,” or “ C hinese” essences results in a schizophrenic reading o f the ghost festival and, m ore generally, o f postclassical Chinese religion; it makes im possible a reading o f “ Chinese B uddhism ” as a coherent, sense-m aking system o f religion. For som e authors the festival remains an unconvincing m ixture o f the B uddhist no tion o f universal salvation w ith Chinese practicality and this-w orldliness.32 For others, the presum ed origin o f the festival in the m onastic retreat o f the D harm agupta sect in India o f the fourth and fifth centuries m arks its essential foreignness.33 Kvamoto Yutaka states m ost strongly the non-C hinese origins o f the ghost festival, reaching back beyond B uddhism to ancient Iranian religions. For him , no t only is the nam e o f the festival itself derived from the Iranian term for soul (im ported by Sogdians into China), but the very notion o f salvation expounded in T ’ang transform ation tales is an essentially Iranian idea. Iw am oto argues that the soteriological them es found in the canonical sutras derive from the m onotheistic and dualistic religions o f w estern Asia (Zoroastrianism , C hristianity, and M anichaeism), which w ere carried by Greeks, Shakas, Parthians, and Kushans from Iran to northw est India beginning in the second century a . d . M oreover, Iwam oto suggests that the m ythem e o f a son saving his m other from hell in ghost festival m ythology derives from the Greek m yth o f D ionysus descending to hell to rescue his m other, Semele, a m yth transm itted to China through the D ionysian cults popular in northern Asia.34

A consideration o f diffused religion in medieval times, how ever, appears to contradict the presum ption that Buddhism rem ained foreign to C hina. W hatever their origin, all o f the com ponents o f the ghost fes

prin ted in Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste System and Its Implications, revised ed ., trans. M ark Sainsbury et al. (C hicago: U niversity o f C hicago Press, 1980), pp. 267-86; and G regory Schopen, “ Filial P iety and the M onk in the Practice o f Indian B uddhism : A Q uestio n o f Sinicization V iew ed from the O th e r S ide,” T P 70:1-3 (1984): 110-26.

32 See, for exam ple, T suda Sokichi, Shina bukkyo no kenkyu (Tokyo: Iw anam i shoten ,1957), pp. 235-62.

33 See O gaw a K an’ichi, B ukkyo bunka shi kenkyu (K yoto: N agata Inm shodo, 1973), pp. 159-71.

34 Iw am oto , Jigoku megiiri no bungaku, pp. 184-99.

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tival had becom c a seamless part o f Chinese religion by the early T ’ang, if not earlier. To dem onstrate this assertion, as I a ttem pt to do in this study, is to allow for interplay between “ Indian” and “ C hinese” aspects in the religion o f medieval China; it is to understand m edieval Chinese B uddhism not as an uneasy layering o f essentially different strata, bu t as a com plex and com prehensive whole.

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T W O

The Prehistory o f the Ghost Festival

A t i t s p e a k in T ’ang tim es the ghost festival was celebrated on a grand scale by people from all walks o f life. The spread o f the festival in medieval times (to be described in detail in C hapter Three) may be attributed to a num ber o f factors. Later chapters discuss the place o f the M u- lien m yth in C hinese B uddhist m ythology and the B uddhist and Chinese understandings o f the figure o f the sham an, a role w hich M u- lien appears to have m astered. O th er chapters explore the cosm ology o f the ghost festival and show how ghost festival rituals w ere incorporated into the basic patterns o f Chinese life, providing a m ore efficient means o f com m unicating w ith the ancestors.

This chapter provides another kind o f historical explanation for the popularity o f the ghost festival in medieval times. It exam ines the precedents for holding celebrations on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth and discusses the character o f these earlier festivals. N o t surprisingly, in China this day had long been an occasion o f renewal, w ith em perors presenting their ancestors w ith the first fruits o f harvest and com m on people m arking the conjunction o f death and rebirth. The them es evident in these early celebrations, characteristic o f Chinese festivals in general, w ere to em erge as an im portant part o f the ghost festival in later times.

O th er precedents for the ghost festival originated outside o f China. The schedule follow ed by Chinese m onks, deriving largely from Indian sources, also included special celebrations on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth . For the Sangha, this was a day o f culm ination and release. T heir sum m er retreat having come to an end, m onks confessed their transgressions o f the Vinaya and donned new robes. For w orld renouncers, the day b rough t a relaxation o f ascetic practice and the beginning o f a new year. These m onastic custom s also constituted an im portan t factor in the spread and developm ent o f the ghost festival.

Buddhism was no t the only institutional religion in China. The Taoist church, at about the same tim e as the B uddhist church, began sponsoring celebrations on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth. This was a day o f judgm en t, during which gods o f the celestial hierarchy descended to earth to tally up people’s good and bad actions and

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to m ete ou t ju dgm en t accordingly. Celebrants m ade confessions and presented offerings to Taoist masters at Taoist temples. This chapter explores the history and sym bolism o f these rituals, since they w ere an im portan t ingredient in the medieval celebration o f the ghost festival.

A n t e c e d e n t s in I n d i g e n o u s C h i n e s e R e l ig io n

T he ghost festival was held on the fifteenth day o f the seventh lunar m onth , a day that carried num erous significations in traditional China. It m ust be rem em bered that the Chinese calendar was (until the founding o f the Republic) partly based on lunar phases and partly synchronized w ith the solar year. D erk Bodde writes:

T he traditional Chinese calendar . . . consists o f twelve m onths referred to by num ber, each beginning w ith the new m oon and reaching its m idpoint w ith the full m oon. These twelve lunations total 354 days, w hich means that individual lunations have a length o f either tw enty-nine or th irty days. Like the lunations themselves, the days included in them do not bear names bu t arc consecutively num bered.

In China, as elsewhere, the m ajor problem in calendar-m aking has been to reconcile as far as possible the in fact incom m ensurate m ovem ents o f the sun and m oon. . . . The Chinese solution has been to insert an intercalary m onth, usually at three-year but som etim es at tw o-year intervals, in such a w ay that seven intercalations occur every nineteen years. . . . The Chinese intercalary m onth does not com e at the end o f the lunar year. Rather it may be inserted betw een any tw o m onths (except the first, eleventh, and twelfth) in such a way as to insure that the W inter Solstice always falls in the eleventh m onth , the Spring Equinox in the second, the Sum m er Solstice in the fifth, and the A utum n Equinox in the eighth. The net result is a calendar w hose lunar N ew Year (first day o f the first lunar m onth) fluctuates from year to year anyw here betw een January 21 and February 20.'

Thus, while the fifteenth day o f the seventh lunar m onth (7/15) always m arked a full m oon, it varied considerably w ithin the solar and agricultural year. The fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth always fell between the Sum m er Solstice and the A utum n Equinox, and it was always associated w ith ripening, darkening, and decay, but its

1 I Jerk U odde, Festivals in Classical China (Princeton: P rinceton U niversity Press,1975), pp. 26-27. See also Joseph N eedham , w ith the assistance o f W ang Ling ct al.. Science and Civilization in China, 7 vols. (C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press, 1954—),

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coordination w ith the progress o f the sun was inexact. T he precise correspondence o f 7/15 w ith agricultural rhythm s was further attenuated by regional variation: in north China, early autum n m arks the beginning o f harvest, w hile in south China, a second planting o f rice is often made at this time.

T he agricultural processes and governm ental operations appropriate to each m onth are described at length in the Ytieh ling (“ M onthly O rdinances” ), which form s a section o f the early Han ritual book, the Li- chi (Book o f Rites). T he “M onthly O rdinances” presents an idealized picture o f the actions undertaken by the C hou ruler, w hose ritual observances w ere th ough t to link the Way o f heaven and the Way o f m an .2 The “ M onth ly O rdinances” w ere quite influential in the form ation o f H an ritual, and they provide a detailed and dependable picture o f the rhythm s o f the seventh m onth prior to the developm ent o f B uddhist and Taoist services.

T he seventh m onth m arks the beginning o f cooling w inds and frozen m orning dew. As the “ M onthly O rdinances” notes, “ C ool w inds come; the w hite dew descends; the cicada o f the cold chirps. [Youngl haw ks at this tim e sacrifice birds, as the first step they take to killing [and eating] them .”3

N o t only animal life, but plant life too begins the tu rn tow ard ripening and decay. T he “ M onthly O rdinances” describes the im perial celebration o f the inauguration o f autum n:

In this m onth there takes place the inauguration o f autum n. Three days before the cerem ony, the Grand Recorder inform s the Son o f Heaven, saying, “ O n such-and-such a day is the inauguration o f autum n. The character o f the season is fully seen in m etal.” O n this the Son o f H eaven devotes him self to self-adjustm ent; and on the day he leads in person the three ducal ministers, the nine high m inisters, the princes o f states [at court], and his great officers, to m eet the autum n in the western suburb, and on their return he rew ards the G eneral-in-Chief, and the m ilitary officers in the co u rt.4

2 T h e “ M onth ly O rd in an ces” arc also im bued w ith the schem a o f the “ five phases”(wu-hsing), a system o f th o u g h t that becam e popular only in the late C h o u and early H an dynasties, w hich thus belies an earlier provenance for the book. For in troduc tions to the theory o f the five phases, see Fung Y u-lan, A History o f Chinese Philosophy, 2 vols., seco nd ed ., trans. D erk B o dde (Princeton: Princeton U niversity Press, 1952-53), 2:11-16, 19-32; and N eedham , Science atid Civilization in China, 2:216-345.

3 Li-chi cheng-i (Taipei: K uang-w cn shu-chii, 1971), p. 143b; translation from Jam es Lcggc, trans., Li Chi: Book o f Rites, 2 vols., ed. C h 'u and W inberg C hai (reprin t ed ., N ew York: U niversity Books, 1967), 1:283-84.

4 Li-chi cheng-i, p. 143b; translation from Lcggc, L i Chi, 1:284. In five phases theory ,

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The same source also portrays the “ tasting” (ch ’ang) o f the first fruits o f harvest by the em peror and his ancestors in a ritual that jo ins the them es o f agricultural fertility w ith the conccrns o f the ancestral cult: “ In this m or\th the farmers present their grain. T he Son o f Heaven tastes it, while still new, first offering som e in the apartm ent at the back o f the ancestral tem ple.”5

O th er celebrations held during the seventh m onth used m ethods o f purification and the jo in ing o f the sexes to bring about w orld renewal. T he “ L ustration” (hsib) festival, for instance, was held on the fourteenth day o f the seventh m onth. O n this day in the Han dynasty large num bers o f people— apparently draw n from all classes o f society—<" converged on riverbanks under gaily eolored canopies to indulge in food, drink, and poetry .6

E ight days before the full m oon was the date o f the m eeting o f the tw o ill-fated constellation lovers, the C ow herd and the W eaving M aiden, which, at least by the end o f the second century a . d . , was m arked by popular celebrations.7'H aving been banished to opposite sides o f the M ilky Way, the C ow herd (C h’ien-niu) and W eaving M aiden (Chih-nii) were allowed to meet only one night per year. M edieval sources note a variety o f practices on this day. People gathered outside to w atch for b right lights and colors in the n ight sky, they set ou t feasts o f w ine and seasonal foods, and they sought divine assistance in the form o f riches and the birth o f sons.8

au tum n corresponds to the elem ent m etal and to the West. O th e r sources describe the ch’u-liu sacrifice, held after the inauguration o f au tum n, in w hich the em pero r kills gam e and then offers the m eat to his ancestors; see Bodde, Festivals in Classical China , pp. 327- 39.

5 Li-chi cheng-i, p. 143c; translation m ostly follow ing Lcgge, trans., L i Chi, 1:285. T he Chou-li m entions the ch'ang as one o f the four seasonal offerings to the royal ancestors; see Chou-licheng-i (Taipei: K uang-w cn shu-chii, 1972), p. 122c; and E douard B iot, trans.,Le Tcheott-li ou Rites des Tcheou, 3 vols. (Paris: Im prim erie N ationale, 1851), 1:422. For o th er H an references to the ch'ang ritual, see C W T T T , 4238:7.

6 T h e “ L ustra tion” festival o f the seventh m onth was linked to the festival o f “ P urgatio n ” <Ju-ch’u) held in the th ird m on th o f the year. O n these tw o festivals, see Lao Kan, “ Shang-ssu k ’ao,” Chung-yang yen-chiu-yiian li-shih yii-yen yen-chiu-so chi-k’an 29:1 (1970):243-62; Bodde, Festivals in Classical China, pp. 273-88; M arcel G ranet, Festivals and Songs o f Ancient China, trans. E. D . E dw ards (London: R outledge, 1932), pp. 147— 66; and W olfram E berhard , The Local Cultures o f South and East China, trans. A lide Eber- hard (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1968), pp. 33-43.

7 See K oininam i Ichiro, Chiigoku no shinwa to monogatari: ko shosetsu shi no tenkai (Tokyo: Iw anam i sho ten , 1984), pp. 13-94, esp. pp. 14-25.

* See Ching-ch'u sui-shih chi, T sung Lin (ca. 498-561), in M oriya M itsuo, Chiigoku ko saijiki no kenkyu (Tokyo: T cikoku shoin, 1963), pp. 356-59; Chitt-ku-yiian chi, Li Yung (d. 746), in M oriya, (,’hugoku ko saijiki no kenkyu, p. 443; and K om inam i, Chiigoku no shinwa to monogatari, pp. 14-25.

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All o f these festivals held during the seventh m onth exhibit a blending o f polarities that w e will see surface later, in a variety o f form s, in the ghost festival. C om m unication between generations is evident in the offerings presented by the preem inent descendant, the em peror, to his exalted ancestors, ju s t as the ghost festival jo ins the senior and ju n ior m em bers o f the fam ily through the exchange o f gifts. T he seventh m onth brings the W eaving M aiden her only chance to cross the celestial stream that separates her from the C ow herd, ju st as the ghost festival brings into being the bridge that allows the ghostly inhabitants o f the yin w orld to return to their loved ones in the yang w orld.

The ghost festival developed on the basis o f these indigenous practices, and the w idespread nature o f ghost festival celebrations in m edieval times is to be explained, in part, by these observances. The great span o f tim e separating them should not lead us a priori to assume discontinuities betw een earlier and later celebrations. In fact w hat is m ost striking arc the continuities, the shared themes and polarities in the Han festivals and the later festivals o f Buddhist and Taoist coloring. They all share the character o f the feasts described by M ikhail Bakhtin:

T he feast (every feast) is an im portant prim ary form o f hum an culture. It cannot be explained merely by the practical conditions o f the com m unity ’s w ork , and it w ould be even m ore superficial to a ttribute it to the physiological dem and for periodic rest. The feast had always an essential, m eaningful philosophical content. N o rest period or breathing spell can be rendered festive per sc. . . . T hey m ust be sanctioned not by the w orld o f practical conditions bu t by the highest aim s o f hum an existence, that is, by the w orld o f ideals. W ithout this sanction there can be no festivity.

The feast is always essentially related to time, either to the recurrence o f an event in the natural (cosmic) cycle, or to biological o r historic timeliness. M oreover, through all the stages o f historic developm ent feasts w ere linked to m om ents o f crisis, o f breaking points in the cycle o f nature or in the life o f society and man. M om ents o f death and revival, o f change and renewal always led to a festive perception o f the world. These m om ents, expressed in concrete form , created the peculiar character o f the feasts.9

T he similarities betw een pre-B uddhist and post-B uddhist feasts extend well beyond the trait o f concern for the dead, w hich de G root singles ou t as the principal and enduring indigenous contribution to the

'* M ikhail B akhtin , Rabelais and His World, trans. H elene Isw olsky (B loom ing ton : Indiana U niversity Press, 1984), pp. 8-9.

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ghost festival. After an exam ination o f Han dynasty observances in the seventh m onth , de G root writes:

It follow s from the above that if in fact B uddhist masses for the dead were celebrated th roughou t China in the seventh m onth , and if then all the inhabitants o f the M iddle K ingdom vied to celebrate the festival o f offerings in honor o f their deceased ancestors, then these cercmonies, how ever Buddhistic they m ay have becom e in ritual, already existed in China for m any centuries before B uddhism penetrated there. The priests o f the doctrine o f Shakya- m uni, w hen they began to invade China in the first tw o centuries o f our era, crected an exotic edifice upon this base, which was p ro vided them by the religion o f a people w ho always show ed extrem e concern for the destiny o f the dead .10

T here arc o ther continuities aside from an extrem e concern for the destiny o f the dead— w hich is surely no less “ B uddhistic” or “ Indian” than it is “ C hinese.” Forem ost am ong them may well be the conjunction o f the them es o f decay and regeneration. The seasons themselves provide a model for this conjunction, as autum n inaugurates a turn tow ard darkness and the beginning o f cold, at the same tim e that it m arks the ripening o f plant life and the expansivencss o f the harvest. The seventh m onth com bines im pending decay and death w ith a celebration dedicated to the ancestors, progenitors and providers o f life. M ale and female mingle, in the heavens and on the ground, as do householders and those w ho have renounced the life o f family and reproduction. T he celebrations held in the m iddle o f the seventh m onth are m arked by such unions both before and after the developm ent o f the ghost festival.

T h e M o n a s t i c S c h e d u l e

T he m onastic rituals associated w ith the ghost festival in China are based partly on Indian models. In India the B uddhist Sangha ended its sum m er rain retreat w ith a cerem ony o f confession and the donning o f new robes by m onks. In India, as in C hina, the end o f the sum m er retreat was an im portan t junctu re in the monastic schedule, w ith special celebrations m arking this seasonal event. But there is little evidence linking the event in India w ith the salvation o f the ancestors, and in China the role o f lay people in this celebration was considerably greater than in India. M oreover, Indian and Central Asian Sanghas observed

" 'J a n J .M . dc G roo t, Les heles annuellenienl ctlebrees A ISinoui, 2 vols., trans. C . G. C havanncs, A nnalcs du M usec G uim et, N o . 12 (Paris: E rnest Lcroux, 1886), pp. 405-6.

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the retreat at varying tim es, while the Chinese Sangha appears to have followed an unchanging schedule.

T he observance o f a rainy season retreat (Skt.: varsa, C h.: an-chii) was a com m on practice am ong m any groups o f w andering ascetics in India in the fourth ccntury B .C ." Vinaya sources show that the early B uddhist Sangha adopted the tradition o f non-B uddhist sects in observing a th ree-m onth retreat during w hich m onks undertook m ore strenuous religious practice and reduced their contacts w ith lay society .12 These Vinaya accounts describe how the Buddha instituted the retreat, allow ing m onks to choose during which three m onths out o f the four-m onth rainy season they w ished to observe the retreat. The B uddha instructed his disciples to rem ain in one place, to follow a m ore intensive course o f m editation and study, and to restrict as m uch as possible their in tercourse w ith lay socicty. Isolation and asceticism were not, how ever, to be pursued to excess; m ost o f the Vinaya accounts are filled w ith exceptions and extenuating circumstances. M onks were allowed to leave their place o f retreat if they restricted their travels to less than seven days; if they were called by lay people to receive gifts and preach the D harm a; if they m inistered to a m onk, nun, o r lay follow er w ho was sick; i f the settlem ent o f a m onastic schism dem anded their presence elsewhere; or if a novice desired ordination. T he Buddha also allowed his followers to break their isolation if they were attacked by beasts o r robbers, i f they were afflicted by fire or flood, or if they ran out o f food.

H aving spent ninety days in near-silent practice, chcck-by-jow l w ith o ther practitioners, m onks in India (and China) concluded the session by airing any grievances and grudges they m ay have harbored during the period. The settling o f accounts on the last day o f retreat was formalized in the cerem ony o f “ invitation” (Skt.: pravarana, C h.: tzu-tzu , or “ releasing oneself” or “ follow ing one’s bent” ). In this ritual, m entioned in the earliest strata o f the B uddhist canon, each m onk “ invites”

" See S ukum ar D u tt, Buddhist M onks and Monasteries o f India: Their History and Their Contribution to Indian Culture (London: G eorge Allen and U n w in , 1962), pp. 52-55; and E tienne L am otte, L'Histoire du bouddhisme indien des origines d I'ere Saka, Publications de l’ln stitu t O rien talistc dc L ouvain (1958; reprin t ed ., L ouvain-la-N euvc: Institu t O ricn - taliste, 1976), p. 66.

12 For V inaya accounts, all o f them very sim ilar, see IsalineB . H orner, trans., The Book o f the Discipline ( Vinaya-Pita ka), 6 vols., Sacred Books o f the B uddhists, Vols. 10, 11, 13, 14, 20, 25 (London: Luzac and C o ., 1949-66), 4:183-207; Shih-sung lii (Sarvastivadavi- naya), trans. K um arajiva (350-409), T. no. 1435, 23:173b-78a; Ssu-fen lit (Dharmagupta- vinaya), trans. B uddhayasas (ca. 408-412), T. no. 1428, 22:830b-35c; Mi-sha-sai-pu ho-hsi wu-fen lii (MahiSasakavinaya), trans. BuddhajTva (ca. 423-24), T. no. 1421, 22:129a-30c; and Ken-pen-shuo i-ch'ieh-yu-pu p'i-nai-yeh an-chii shilt (MCilasarvdstivddavinayavarfdvastu), trans. I-ching (635-713), T. no. 1445, 23:1041a-44c.

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other m onks to report anything in his w ord or deed that they may have found contrary to the rules o f discipline.'3 H aving offered h im self up for criticism , each m onk then publicly repents any offenses.

H aving purged themselves o f w rongdoing and the suspicion o f w rongdoing , m onks inaugurate the new season by donning fresh robes. T he distribution o f robes (Skt.: kathina, C h.: chia-ch’ih-na) is described at length in m ost Vinaya tex ts .14 These accounts provide extensive details on how a m onk is chosen to distribute cloth to his fellow m onks, w ho is eligible to receive new cloth, and how to make a suitable robe from the cloth. Interestingly, these accounts barely even m ention the lay people w ho donate the new cloth. T he early Indian rite thus stands in contrast to the kathina rite celebrated in contem porary Southeast A sia15 and to ghost festival celebrations in C hina, both o f w hich h ighlight the com ing together o f lay and m onastic com m unities at the end o f the sum m er retreat.

Chinese m onks in m any ways followed the m odel provided by their W estern contem poraries in Central Asia and India as recorded in the rules and examples o f the Vinayapitaka. B oth the Indian and Chinese m onastic orders observed a sum m er retreat and held rituals o f renewal

13 V ersions o f the Pravarana siitra are preserved in the Nikayas and the Agamas; see C aro line A .F. Rhys D avids and F. L. W oodw ard, trans.. The Book o f Kindred Sayings (Sanyutla-N ikaya) or Grouped Sayings, 5 vols., Pali T ext Society T ranslation Series, N os. 7, 10, 13, 14, 16 (London: O x fo rd U niversity Press, 1917-30), 1:242-44; Shoti hsin-sui ching (Pravaranasiitra), D harm araksa (ca. 265-313), T . no. 61; Hsin-sui ching (Pravarana- sutra), C h u T ’an-w u-lan (ca. 381-395), T. no. 62; Chung a-han ching (Madhyamdgama), G autam a Sam ghadeva (ca. 383-398), T. no . 26, l:610a-c; Tsa a-han ching (Samyuktd- gama), G utiabhadra (394—468), T. no. 99, 2:330a-c; Pieh-i tsa a-han ching (Samyuktagama), A nonym ous (ca. 350-431), T. no. 100, 2:457a-c; and Tseng-i a-han ching (Ekottaragama), G au tam a Sam ghadeva (ca. 383-398), T . no. 125, 2:676b-77b. T he Hsin-sui ching is the longest and m ost developed o f these texts, in w hich the B uddha and Sariputra lead the Sangha in the cerem ony o f pravarana. T h e cerem ony is also described in Vinaya sources; sec H orner, trans., The Book o f the Discipline, 4:208-35; T . no. 1435, 23:165a-73a; T. no. 1428, 22:835c-43b; T. no. 1421, 22:130c-33c; and Kett-pen-shuo i-ch’ieh-yu-pup'i-nai-yeli sui-i shih (Mulasarvdstivadavinayapravaranavastu), trans. l-ching (653-713), T. no. 1446. See also Natt-hai chi-kuei nei-fa chuan, l-ch ing (635-713), T. no. 2125, 54:217b-18a.

14 D u tt, Buddhist M onks and Monasteries, p. 55; Lam otte, Histoire, p. 66. For a s tudy o f this festival in V inaya sources, see C hang K un, A Comparative Study o f the Kathinavastu, Indo-E uropean M onographs, N o . 1 (G ravenhage: M o u to n , 1957).

,s O n the kaltteing ritual in B urm a, sec M elford E. Spiro, Buddhism and Society: A Great Tradition and Its Burmese Vicissitudes, second ed. (Berkeley: U niversity o f C alifornia Press, 1982), pp. 226-28. O n sim ilar K hm er rituals, see E veline P oree-M aspero , Etudes stir les rites agraires des camhodgiens, 3 vols., Le M onde d ’ou tre -m cr passe et present. Series 1, Vol. 14 (Paris; M ou ton , 1962-69), 3:598-607. For the T hai ritual o f kathin, see H ow ard K. K aufm an, Baitgkhaud: A Community Study in Thailand (Locust Valley: J . J . A ugustin , I960), pp. 185-89.

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at the end o f it. W orld renouncers prepared for the passing o f the new year— the B uddhist N ew Year (fa-la), beginning the first day after the sum m er retreat— by increasing their austerities and m ultiplying their ascetic energies. As the new year daw ned, they released themselves: they broke loose from the stringent rules o f sum m er, they unleashed the purified forces accum ulated during retreat, they opened themselves up to criticism from fellow m onks, they made a clean break from their past sins, they put on fresh garb. The end o f retreat was a tim e o f renewal.

B ut the Chinese Sangha far surpassed Indian and C entral Asian m onastic establishm ents in accentuating the themes o f renewal latent in the ending o f the sum m er retreat. The involvem ent o f lay people and the emphasis on agricultural fertility arc im portan t hallm arks o f Chinese practice to be discussed in later chapters. Here it m ay merely be noted that the tim ing o f pravarana, which varied considerably in the lands w est o f C hina, was made uniform throughout the M iddle K ingdom . In the Vinaya sources, the Buddha is reported to have given individual m onks the choice o f three out o f four m onths in w hich to m ake their retreat, and medieval Chinese w riters note that their contem poraries in the W est held the three-m onth retreat at various times, som e beginning in the fourth, fifth, o r sixth m onth, som e in the tw elfth .16 T he retreat in C hina, w hich had its ow n quite sizable climatic variations, seems to have been held consistently beginning in the m iddle o f the fourth m onth and ending in the middle o f the seventh m onth , as noted in p re -T ’ang sources.17

T he tim ing o f the retreat in China is hardly insignificant. In the first place, the m onastic schedule was calibrated on the basis o f the indigenous luni-solar calendar so that the release o f w orld renouncers always

16 See Kao-seng fa-hsien chum , Fa-hsien (ca. 399-416), T . no. 2085. 51:859b-c; Jan ies Legge, trans., A Record o f Buddhistic Kingdoms (1886; reprin t ed ., San Francisco; C hinese M aterials C enter, 1975), pp . 44—47; T a-t’ang hsi-yii chi, H siian-tsang (602-644), T. no. 2087, 51:872a, 875c-76a; Sam uel Beal, trans., Si-yu-ki: The Buddhist Records o f the Western World, 2 vols. (reprin t ed ., San Francisco: C hinese M aterials C enter, 1976), 1:38, 71-73; Nan-hai chi-kuei nei-fa chttan, I-ching (635-713), T. no. 2125, 54:217a-b; Yii-lan-p’en ching shu hsin-chi (Yiian-chao Commentary), Z . 1, 35:2, p. 121 rb; and Yii-lan-p’en ching situ hsiao- heng ch'ao (Yii-jung Commentary), Z . 1, 94:4, pp. 406vb-7ra.

17 See Fan-wang ching, a ttrib u ted to K um arajlva but probably w ritten ca. 431-481, T. no . 1484, 24:1008a. See also Ishida M izurnaro, trans., Bommo kyo. Button koza, Vol. 14 (Tokyo: D aizo shuppansha, 1971), pp. 221-24;Jan J.M . de G roo t, Le Codedu Mahayana en Chine: son influence sur la vie monacale et sur le monde la'ique, V erhandclingcn dcr K oninklijke A kadem ie van W ctenschappen te A m sterdam : A fdceling L etterkunde N .S ., 1:2 (A m sterdam : Johannes M iiller, 1893), pp. 69-71, 169; and Ching-ch'u sui-shih chi, T su n g Lin (ca. 498-561), in M oriya, (M g o k u ko saijiki no kenkyu, pp. 349-50.

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fell on the full m oon o f the seventh m onth, a day w hich, in C hina, had always seen the celebration o f rebirth and renewal. B uddhist m onks in China welcom ed the new year at a tim e w hen the w hole w orld around them passed through a special tim e o f regeneration. Second, the m onastic schedule in China m irrored precisely the festival year o f lay people: the m onastic N ew Year fell exactly six m onths after the popular celebration o f the secular N ew Year, held on the fifteenth day o f the first m onth. By configuring its annual round o f festivals as a perfect opposite to the secular calendar, the Chinese Sangha m arked its difference from the secular w orld as well as it inability to extricate itself from the formal patterns o f m ainstream society.

T a o is t P a r a l l e l s

T he B uddhist church was not the only organized religion to sponsor a festival o f ancestral offerings on the first full m oon o f autum n. Taoists also held a festival on this day, called “ chung-yiian,” the day on w hich '•? the “ M iddle P rim ordial” descended to earth to jud g e people’s actions. A lthough som e scholars assert that the Taoist festival originated prior to the B uddhist festival (which w ould make it an authentic episode in the “ prehistory” o f the ghost festival), it is m ore likely the case that the developm ent o f the Taoist festival was m ost strongly influenced by B uddhism . At any rate, by the T ’ang dynasty there existed a scriptural basis for the festival, and in at least a few instances, celebrations involving sacrifices for the imperial ancestors and prohibitions o f butchering w ere sponsored by the s ta te .18 B uddhist and Taoist elem ents were freely m ixed during the occasion, as were the term s “ chung-yiian” and “ yii-lan-p’cn ,” used as generic appellations for the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth. M ore im portantly , for m ost people, m aking offerings at a Taoist tem ple in no w ay precluded m aking offerings at a B uddhist tem ple; both were deemed efficacious in bringing aid to the ancestors.

Very few sources record the actual observance o f chung-yiian .19 O u -

'* For sta te sponsorship o (sati-yiiati (including chung-yiian) in 734 and 739, w hich p ro hib ited the slaughter o f anim als and called for offerings at T aoist tem ples, see Ryu Shi- m an [Liu C h ih -w an], Clmgoku iokyd no malsuri toshinko, Vol. 1 (Tokyo: O fusha, 1983), pp. 439—40; and T. H. B arrett. “ T aoism under the T ’ang ,” draft chapter for The Cambridge History o f Chinn, Vol. 3, Part 2, ed. D enis C . T w itch e tt (C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press, forthcom ing), M S pp. 43-44.

''' T h e paucity o f references to the actual observance o f chung-yiian probably reflects the scarcity o f historical sources on T aoism as m uch as it does the actual incidence o f chung-y iian celebrations in medieval tim es. For studies o f chung-yiian , sec Y oshioka Y oshitoyo, liokyd to bukkyo, Vol. 1 (Tokyo: N ihon gakujutsu shinkokai, 1959), pp. 369- 411, Vol. 2 (Tokyo: T oshim a shobo , 1970), pp. 229-85; Akizuki K an’ei, “ D okyo n o sa n -

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yang H siin’s (557-641) encyclopcdia, I-wen lei-chii (The Classified Collection o f Arts and Letters), reproduces an account o f celebrations held at B uddhist tem ples w ritten a century earlier and then quotes a Taoist source on chung-yiian:

A Taoist scripture says, “ The fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth is the day o f the M iddle Prim ordial [chung-yiian]. T he O fficer o f Earth chccks his figures, searching through the hum an w orld to distinguish good from evil. All o f the gods and assembled sages arrive together at the palace to decide upon the length [o f people’s lives]. G hosts from the hum an w orld sum m on the records, and hungry ghosts and prisoners all converge at once. O n this day grand dark-m etropolis offerings should be made to the Jade C apital M ountain: select m yriad flowers and fruits, precious gem s and rare item s, banners and jew eled vessels, delicacies and food, and offer them to all o f the assembled sages. All day and all night Taoist m asters should preach and chant this scripture, and great sages o f the ten directions together should sing from its num inous pages. All o f the prisoners and hungry ghosts can cat their fill, com pletely escape from suffering, and come back am ong hum ans.20

T he O fficer o f E arth (the M iddle Prim ordial) is an im portan t m em ber o f the bureaucracy that adm inisters heaven and hell. As one o f the Three Prim ordials (san-yiian; the o ther tw o arc the U pper Prim ordial and the Low er Prim ordial), he is responsible for adjudicating the records o f everyone’s actions and adjusting their life spans accordingly.

gen shiso ni tsu ite ,” Shukyd kenkyu 34:3 (January 1961):1; idem , “ Sangcn shiso no kcisci ni tsu ite ,” Tohogaku N o . 22 (1961):27-40. For broader studies o f m edieval T aoist festivals including chung-y iian , see Ryu, Chiigoku dokyo no matsuri to shinko, 1:387—486; and R o lf A. Stein, “ Religious T aoism and Popular Religion from the Second to the T w elfth C en tu ries ,” in Facets o f Taoism, cds. H olm es Welch and A nna Seidel (N ew H aven: Yale U niversity Press, 1979), pp . 53-82.

20 T ranslation from I-wen lei-chii, O u -y an g H siin (557-641), 2 vols. (Shanghai: C h u n g -h u a shu-chii, 1965), p. 80. In the paragraph before the one translated here, O u - yang cites the account in Ching-ch'u sui-shih chi, by T sung Lin (ca. 498-561), w hich describes celebrations in B uddhist tem ples and gives a sum m ary o f The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra. T h is passage is translated in C hapte r T hree, below. T h e account in I-wen lei-chii is repeated, w ith m inor variations and som e additions, in la ter encyclopedias: sec C h ’u-hsiieh chi, H su C hien (659-729) (Peking: C hung-hua shu-chii, 1965), p. 79; Po-shih liu-t’ieh shih- lei-chi, Po C hii-i (772-846), 2 vols. (Taipei: H sin-hsing shu-chii, 1969), pp. 71-72 (heavily abbreviated); and T'ai-p'ing yii-laii (com pleted 983), Li Fang, 12 vols. (Taipei: H sin- hsing shu-chii, 1959), p. 272a.

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He is assisted in the jo b by a host o f underlings w ho serve as record- kcepers, messengers, and jailers o f the m any spirits in hell.

The Three Prim ordials have a long and varied history in Taoism . T he “ T hree Prim ordials” designate the prim ordial forces o f heaven, earth, and man; the three suprem e gods o f the body; as well as the regions w here these gods dw ell in the body .21 In the case o f festivals dedicated to the san-yuan, the “ Three Prim ordials” are the personified forces o f the cosm os w ho govern its various spheres. A tripartite system o f cosmic governm ent— w ith thirty-six bureaus adm inistered by the U pper Prim ordial, O fficer o f Heaven; fo rty -tw o bureaus adm inistered by the M iddle Prim ordial, Officer o f Earth; and fo rty -tw o bureaus adm inistered by the Low er Prim ordial, O fficer o f Water— is described at length in a fifth-century text. This scripture, T'ai-shang tung- hsiian ling-pao san-yuanp’in-chieh kung-te ch'ing-chung ching (The Scripture o f the Exalted One o f the Sacred Jewel oj Penetrating Mystery on the Prohibitions and Judgment o f Merit o f the Three Primordials), also contains a long list o f the sins prohibited by the Three Prim ordials, ranging from criticizing the scripture and no t observing fasts to lying, adultery, and m urder.22 T he concept o f trinitarian rule (and o f offerings to the Three Officers [san-kuan], w hich preceded the developm ent o f the Three Prim ordials) probably goes back to the beginnings o f organized Taoism in the second century a .d ., w hen festivals were held on the fifth day o f the seventh m o n th .23

T he description o f chung-yiian in The Classified Collection o f Arts and Letters draws attention to the judgm en t o f hum an actions by the bureaucrat-gods o f the celestial and infernal adm inistration. O ther sources from the seventh century highlight the repentance rituals that w ere part o f the festivals o f the Three Primordials: “ D uring the feasts o f the Three Prim ordials people confess their transgression o f codes

21 Sec Poul A ndersen, The Method o f Holding the Three Ones: A Taoist Manual o f M editation o f the Fourth Century A .D ., Scandinavian Institute o f Asian Studies, Studies on Asian Topics, N o . 1 (London and M alm o: C urzon Press, 1979); the fou rth -cen tu ry text Chin-ch’iieh ti-chiin san-yuan chen-i ching, T T . no. 253; and Isabelle R obinet, Les Commen- taires du Tao to king jusqu’au V ile siecle, M em oires de l ’ln stitu t des H autcs E tudes C h i- noiscs. Vol. 5 (Paris; Presses U nivcrsitaires de France, 1977), pp. 149-203.

22 T ’ai-shang tung-hsiian ling-pao san-yiian p ’in-chieh kung-te ch’ing-chung ching, T T . no . 456. Tu K u an g -t’in g ’s (850-933) collection o f liturgies, T'ai-shang huang-lu chai i, contains a litu rgy for san-yiian celebrations, T T . no. 507, chs. 32-34.

21 See H enri M aspcro, Taoism and Chinese Religion, trans. Frank A. K ierm an, Jr. (A m herst: U niversity o f M assachusetts Press, 1981), pp. 34, 82; and Wu-shang pi-yao (com pleted 583), T T . no. 1130, chs. 44, 52, 56.

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and prohib itions.”24 Thus, the chung-yiian festival involved not only offerings to gods and ancestors, bu t also rites o f confession, which had long been an essential part o f Taoist services.

A long w ith Taoist rituals held on chung-yiian there also developed a set o f legends that justified and explained the celebration. As seen in such six th-century texts as T ’ai-shang tung-ltsiian ling-pao san-yiian yii- ching hsiian-tu ta-hsien ching (The Scripture o f the Exalted One o f the Sacred Jewel o f Penetrating Mystery on Great Offerings to the Three Primordials o f Jade Capital Mountain in the Dark Metropolis), the Taoist legends drew extensively on the B uddhist m ythology o f the ghost festival. The Taoist scripture includes a parallel cast o f characters as well as phrases em ploying the same locutions as The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra. In The Scripture on Great Offerings, the O riginal Celestial Venerable (Yuan-shih t ’ien- tsun), like the B uddha, em its rays o f light illum inating the dark regions o f the underw orld . E voking M u-lien’s request, the disciple o f the Celestial Venerable, the Exalted M aster o f the Way (T ’ai-shang tao-chiin), asks w hat sins the m any hell dwellers have com m itted to deserve their painful recom pense. T he Celestial Venerable proceeds to catalogue their previous offenses, and his disciple interviews the gods o f the various realms. The Celestial Venerable concludes by pointing the w ay to salvation. T he only w ay to liberate the denizens o f hell from their to rm ents is to present gifts to Taoist m onks. Just as the Buddha tells M u- lien, “ It is not w ithin your pow er as a single individual to do anything about it,” so too docs the Celestial Venerable inform his disciple that sinners in hell can only be released by collective offerings: “ It is not w ithin the pow er o f a single individual to liberate them .” 25

C hung-yiian m arked a breach in the norm al structure o f the cosmos w hen gods and goblins, ancestors and ghosts, im m ortals and hell dwellers all had a chance to visit the earthly realm o f hum ans for a day. It was a tim e w hen offerings to the ancestors— the m ainstay o f Chinese fam ily religion— w ere particularly efficacious. The Scripture on Great Offerings stipulates that food, fruit, cloth, banners, jew els, and other item s be offered to various sages and Taoist priests on chung-yiian. As a result o f these offerings one’s ancestors, w ho suffer as inm ates o f hell and as hungry ghosts, “ will obtain liberation and be fully fed; they will escape from all suffering and return to the hum an w o rld .”26 A short

24 Chai-chieh lu (late seven th century), T T . no. 464, p. 3v.25 T ranslation from Yii-lan-p'en ching (The Yii-lan-p'en Siitra), T . no. 685, 16:779b; and

from T ’ai-shang tung-hsiian ling-pao san-yiian yii-ching hsiian-tu la-hsien citing, T T . no. 370, p. 12. Y oshioka discusses a T un-huang M S. o f this source, S. no. 3061, in Dokyo to liukkyo , 2:231-49.

*' T'ai-sltang tung-hsiian ling-pao san-yiian yii-ching hsiian-tu ta-hsien ching, p. 12r.

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poem w ritten by Ling-hu C h ’u (765-837) gives voice to the privilege occasioned by chung-yiian:

“Presented to Honored Master Chang on Chung-yiian”

By luck the hum an w orld holds chung-yiian;W ithout offerings to the dark m etropolis, w e w ould be forever

separate.

Silent, quiet— incense burns in the im m ortals’ temple;T he learned m aster bow s to Jade Capital M ountain from afar.27

T he rup ture and linkage afforded by chung-yiian w orked both ways: gods and ancestors visited the hum an realm, and hum ans (at any rate the m ore ethereal am ong them) could visit the starry realms. O ne T ’ang poet, Lu K ung (ca. 770-845), expresses his wish for the w ings that w ould allow him to return to the jade palace along w ith the offerings sent there via the altar o f a Taoist temple. In “ O bserving B uddhist Services on C hung-y iian ,” he writes:

Seasons change at the start o f autum n;The Three Prim ordials flow on course.

C louds pad the sky-blue paces;A m em orial sent to th e jad e E m peror’s Palace.

Altar dotted w ith locust blooms,Incense whirls, cypress-seed wind.

Feathered garb rising through the mist,Jade hub cutting th rough space.

I long for a cloud-fed guest,I pity the poor bugs raised on jo in t-w eed .

Were I to receive the green satchel,I could visit the vaporous expanse.28

Lu K ung envies the divine messenger w ho asccnds to the higher heavens in the trappings o f im m ortality wearing a dress o f feathers and driving a jade-w heeled chariot. As a simple m ortal, he feels left behind, an unw illing com panion to thejo in t-w eed bugs, creatures w ho see nei-

27 T ranslation from C h ’iian t ’ang shih, 12 vols. (Peking: C hun g -h u a shu-chii, 1960), p. 3751. L ing-hu C h ’u was from H ua province (present-day Kiangsu) and held a num ber o f different posts both in the capital and in the provinces; see Chiu t ’ang slw, Liu Hsii (887- 946) (Peking: C lu ing-lu ia shu-chii, 1975), pp. 4459-65.

* T ranslation from C h ’iiati t'ang shih, p. 5268. A ccording to the b rie f b iography in Ch'iian I'iing shih, Lu was a con tem porary o f Po Cliii-i (772-H46).

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ther change nor the hope o f transcendence.29 W ithout proper authorization from the heavenly em peror (the green satchcl for carrying edicts on official business), Lu Kung m ust contcnt h im self w ith a merely earthly existence.

C o n c l u s i o n s

Lu Kung and other literati drew on a largely Taoist vocabulary in their poem s w ritten on the occasion o f chung-yiian, but in m any respects the celebrations held on the full m oon o f the seventh m onth w ere nondc- nom inational. Prior to the developm ent o f Buddhism and Taoism as organized religions in China, m em bers o f the ruling house had carried out ancestral sacrifices on this day. M oreover, the agricultural and cosm ological rhy thm s o f this tim e o f year w ere self-consciously articulated and w ere well integrated into Chinese family religion.

While the g row th o f Buddhism and Taoism as institutionalized religions changed the setting (Buddhist/Taoist temples) and the m edium (B uddhist/Taoist priests) o f these ancestral offerings, the underlying social, religious, and cosmological structures o f family religion rem ained strong. For the m ajority o f Chinese people in the medieval period, the festival o f yu-lan-p’cn/chung-yuan m arked the end o f g row th and the beginning o f harvest, events in which the ancestors w ere im plicated as both suppliers and recipients. G iving thanks and m aking offerings to the ancestors w ere the m ajor activities o f this im portan t day. Where these activities w ere carried out— in the hom e or in a Taoist or B uddhist tem ple— was no t an issue, for they could be carried out in any or all o f these settings, w ithout contradiction or dim inution o f their effects.

For the religious specialist the picture was som ew hat different. H aving developed rituals that com plem ented the preexisting base o f family religion, both the B uddhist and Taoist churches sought to distinguish themselves from each other and to claim privileged (if not exclusive) access to the ancestors. This drive tow ard self-definition, to define the history and function o f shared rituals in specifically Buddhist o r Taoist term s, accelerated during the T ’ang dynasty. T ’ang rulers took advantage o f the legitim izing sym bolism o f both Buddhism and Taoism and, at the same time, p itted these tw o churches against each other in order to check the pow er o f their m onastic orders and the size o f their tem ples and estates. Hence it is not surprising to find Buddhist historians in the early seventh ccntury disputing the authenticity and origin o f the

See I’W YF, p. 4249a.

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M iddle Prim ordial and the offerings made in his nam e at Taoist tem ples.30

The apologetic efforts o f Buddhist and Taoist historians need not blind us to the contours o f the broader picture: for m ost people the distinction betw een “ B uddhist” and “Taoist” aspects o f the festival was irrelevant. Even in the case o f later form s o f Taoist m editation based on chung-yiian, Taoist adepts insisted upon the unity underlying chung- yiian and yii-lan-p’en. A tw elfth-century m editation text, for example, provides instructions to the Taoist practitioner on the visualization o f the gods and spirits dwelling in his body. By calling on the appropriate gods residing in his body, the initiate uses this form o f m editation to refine his spirit and liberate it from its ow n internal prisons.31 T he esoteric ritual em ploys the paradigm o f “ refining” (lien) to describe the salvation o f the m editator’s spirit or soul, while the exoteric rituals perform ed in temples tend to picture the spirits being saved as ghosts or ancestors. B ut as C heng Ssu-hsiao (1239-1316) points out, although they utilize different techniques, the tw o rituals have a com m on goal:

From Taoism one studies the im m ortals’ art o f salvation by refining. From Buddhism one studies Ananda’s art o f giving food [to lost souls]. Since they both involve a caring heart, we need not ask w hether they derive from B uddhism or from Taoism . T heir com m on measure is salvation from the dark regions.32

C ontrary to the claims o f traditional historiography, it m ust be recognized that B uddhist and Taoist versions o f the seventh-m oon festival grew out o f a com m on structure, as the peaks o f tw o pyram ids sharing the sam e base. A t one level, for a small num ber o f people, offerings could be intended only for B uddhist o r for Taoist priests and not both. At another level, w here com m on people availed themselves o f w hichever tem ples and altars w ere closcst-to-hand, offerings were carried ou t in a form in w hich Buddhist and Taoist elements w ere no t distin-

See Fa-lin’s (572—640) criticism s in Pien-cheng Inn, T. no . 2110, 52:548b; and the account by H siian-i (ca. 690-705), w h o had earlier served in the ranks o f the T aoist h ierarchy, in Chien-cheng lun, T. no. 2122, 52:567a-b.

" See Ling-pao ta-lien nei-chih hsing-ch'ih chi-yao (th irteenth century), T T . no. 407; and Ju d ith M . Boltz, “ O pen ing the G ates o f P urgato ry : A T w elfth -C en tu ry T aoist M editation T echnique for the Salvation o f Lost Souls,” in Tantric and Taoist Studies in Honour o f It. A . Stein, Vol. 2, Melanges chinois et bouddhiques. Vol. 21 (Brussels: Institu t Beige des H autcs Etudes C hinoises, 1983), pp. 487-511.

M T 'ai-th i chi-lien nei-fa i-ltieh, C heng Ssu-hsiao (1239-1316), T T . no. 548, ch. 3, p. 40v.

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guishcd.33 It is precisely this synthesis o f different traditions— indigenous ancestral and agricultural patterns, the m onastic rituals o f Indian B uddhism , the descent o f Taoist gods— that accounts for the spread o f the ghost festival (or “ yii-lan-p’en ,” “ chung-yiian,” or w hatever prejudice historians use to label it) th roughou t medieval Chinese society.

33 Even Y oshioka, w h o insists on the “ th is-w o rld ly ” and T aoist orig ins o f the ghost festival, w rites: “ O f course, am ong the folk, offerings w ere m ade in a fo rm in w hich the teachings o f bo th B uddhism and T aoism w ere tho rough ly m ixed ,” Dokyo to bukkyo, 2:247. Erik Z u rch er suggests the m etaphor o f tw o pyram ids sharing the sam e base in “ B uddhist Influence on E arly Taoism : A Survey o f Scriptural E v idence," T P 66:1-3 (1980):146.

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T H R E E

An Episodic History o f the Ghost Festival in Medieval China

P e o p l e from all levels o f Chinese society took part in the ghost festival in medieval times, while the m yth o f M u-lien’s tour through hell was know n in every corner o f the em pire. It is the burden o f this chapter to provide a detailed historical account in support o f this assertion.

Very few materials on the practice o f the ghost festival are available in W estern languages, and previous studies in Chinese and Japanese have either been quite broad in their chronological coverage, o r have focused on canonical materials at the expense o f “ popular” ones, or vice versa.1 1 have, therefore, found it necessary to provide an episodic history o f the festival from the fifth through the tenth ccnturics, concentrating on the m ost thickly docum ented celebrations and on all versions o f the M u-licn m yth current in medieval times. An episodic arrangem ent has its draw backs as well as its advantages, but it is hoped that the latter outw eigh the former. The lack o f a continuous narrative voice in this chapter is intentional: by focusing on discrete events and specific texts, this approach illustrates the m any different m eanings that the ghost festival assum ed for people th roughou t T ’ang society. The docum entary style o f arrangem ent also dem onstrates the extent to w hich the ghost festival was em bedded in the familial, political, poetic, and recreational life o f medieval China, and w hy it has rem ained re-

1 S tandard trea tm ents o f the ghost festival in m edieval tim es include: C h ’en Fang- y ing , Mu-lien chiu-mu ku-shih dtih yen-chin chi ch’i yu-kuan wen-hsiieh chih yett-chiu. H isto ry and L iterature Series, N o . 65 (Taipei: T aiw an N ational U niversity , 1983); K enneth K .S. C h ’en, Buddhism in China: A Historical Surrey (Princeton: Princeton U niversity Press, 1964), pp. 282-83; Iw am oto Y utaka, Bukkyo setsuwa kenkyu. Vol. 4,Jigoku meguri no bungaku (Tokyo: K aim ei shoten , 1979); M ichihata R ydshu, “ C hu g o k u bukkyo no m in- shuka ,” in Chugoku bukkyo, Koza bukkyo , Vol. 4 (Tokyo: D aizo shuppan kabushiki kaisha, 1957), pp. 115-16; idem , Chugoku bukkyo shi, second cd. (K yoto: H ozokan ,1958), pp. 96-98; O g aw a K an’ichi, Bukkyo bunka shi kenkyu (K yoto: N agata bunshodo , 1973), pp. 183-86; O tan i K osho, Todai no bukkyo girei, 2 vols. (Tokyo: Y ukosha, 1937), 1:23—30; Saw ada M izuho, Jigoku hen: chugoku no meikai setsu (K yoto: H ozokan, 1968), pp. 128-35; and M arinus W illem dc Visscr, Ancient Buddhism in Japan, 2 vols. (Leiden: E. J . Brill, 1935), 1:75, 84.

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sistant to analysis for so m any ccnturies. A m ore synthetic and synchronic picture o f the festival is presented in later chapters.

To m ake the docum ents m ore accessible to general readers, w herever possible I offer translations and descriptions o f the historical context o f the docum ents and o f their authors. T he texts and episodes discussed below are arranged in chronological order. The bedrock o f historical sequence is som ew hat misleading, though, because m any o f the docum ents are copies o f texts or records o f oral traditions that began m uch earlier. T h e m anuscript o f The Transformation Text on Mu- lien Saving His Mother, for instance, may be dated only to around the year 800, while the storytelling traditions preserved in it probably extend back at least a few centuries before that.

Since m y narrative in this chapter sticks so closely to the texts, som e generalizations about the dispersion o f the ghost festival in medieval Chinese society arc offered here by way o f sum m ary. (Unless o therwise noted, further details and bibliographical references may be found in later sections o f this chapter.)

The-IocijS in w hich the ghost festival touched the lives o f m ost people in medieval C hina was the local B uddhist temple. In his sixth-centu ry account o f folk custom s in south China, Tsung Lin portrays great crow ds o f people from all walks o f life converging on Buddhist tem ples to make offerings for the benefit o f their ancestors on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth . T hejapanese p ilgrim -m onk Ennin describes a sim ilar scene in the local temples o f T ’ai-yiian (present-day Shansi) in 840.2 In the T ’ang m etropolitan areas poem s w ritten by courtiers and em perors m ake frequent reference to the crow ded streets o f C h ’ang-an and Lo-yang, as city dwellers jo ined the bustle o f processions that visited the temples o f the tw o capital cities. C om m oners b rough t their ow n offerings, governm ent officials carried offerings supplied by the state, and the em peror h im self came out frequently to view the festivities. M usicians and popular entertainers w ere also part o f the stir o f medieval celebrations, which united a m ood o f festivity and diversion w ith them es m ore abstractly serious and religious.

T he offerings supplied by com m on people, intended ultim ately for their ancestors via the agency o f the Sangha, included a w ide range o f brightly colored natural materials: paper flowers, carvings from w ood and bam boo, and seasonal delicacies. The state often used the occasion to send gifts to the officially sponsored temples th roughou t the em pire. Such gifts w ere supplied by the Central Office o f the Imperial W orkshop, while the m erit resulting from the donation accrued to every

2 See E nnin’s d iary en try for 7/15/840, translated in C hap te r O ne.

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A N E P I S O D I C H I S T O R Y

one’s ancestors. In som e years the offerings w ere sent to Taoist tem ples rather than B uddhist ones, bu t in either case people’s ancestors reaped the soteriological benefits. D onations o f large sum s o f m oney by rich lay donors w ere used to dress up the halls o f the tem ples and to provide a vegetarian banquet for all visitors. M ost o f these donations w ere given directly to the Sangha or transferred to the Sangha account at the close o f festivities, since it was the act o f bestow ing gifts on the Sangha (not the Buddha or the D harm a) that produced m erit to aid the d o n o r’s ancestors.

T he ritual of(offering was a small but very im portan t part o f a b roader celebration. T he actual act o f offering was accom panied by hym ns praising the Buddha, the D harm a, and especially the Sangha. Judging from an early Sung liturgical text, in tem ples lay people called upon M u-lien and other m em bers o f the Sangha to help release their ancestors from the torm ents o f purgatory. Prayers accom panying the offering often singled out the deceased individuals to w hom m erit was to be transferred. A eulogy dating from the late T ’ang, for instance, refers to tw o “ princes” w ho gave their lives on the w estern borders, presum ably in the service o f the state:

on the fine festival o f chung-yiian, an auspicious m orning at the beginning o f autum n, a sanctuary for the practice o f yii-lan is established. In setting out a feast for their salvation, it is m y earnest desire, as Great Guardian, C h ief o f Prcfcctural H eadquarters, to make m erit on behalf o f the tw o princes.3

T he fifteenth day o f the seventh lunar m onth m arked a tim e o f regeneration for people from all walks o f life. The sevcnth-m oon festival occurred right around the late-sum m er or early-autum n harvest. Vitality and rebirth also characterized the experience o f m onks at this tim e o f year. M em bers o f the Sangha ended their three-m onth period o f increased asceticism and isolation by confessing their transgressions to each other and then resum ing contact w ith the lay w orld. The jo in ing o f w orlds kept separate, w hich M u-lien achieves by traveling to hell, was also echoed in T ’ang poetry. Poems w ritten on the seventh m oon allude frequently to ethereal visitors from the m ysterious m ountains w est o f China and to sages and adepts ascending to heaven.

T he version o f the ghost festival m yth w ith w hich m ost people in medieval China were familiar was the story o f M u-lien’s fabulous tour

' Tim-huang iliiiitn-tzu (Taipei: Shih-m cn t ’u-shu, 1976), Vol. 6, N o . 135, p. 1. T h is eulogy is no t m entioned in o th er studies o f the ghost festival. T he identities o f the tw o princes and the d onor arc unclear, n o r am I certain o f the d o n o r’s official post.

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o f hell contained in The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother. The average person knew little o f the M u-licn presented in the sutras o f the B uddhist canon. People learned about M u-licn, not th rough the lectures or com m entaries o f B uddhist m onks, bu t from popular storytellers w ho used picture scrolls to illustrate the scenes they described in their prosim ctric tales. O ne such tale, The Transformation T ext on Mu-lien Sawing His Mother, was quite popular in T ’ang times. T he dram a enacted in this transform ation text concerns M u- lien’s search for his m other. M u-lien appears decidedly unm onkish: he battles the dem ons and deities o f the various hells, sw eating profusely, w eeping grievously, and pum m elling him self into unconsciousness w hen he is defeated. T he protagonist o f the text is clearly M u-lien, not the Buddha. Furtherm ore, the ghost festival itself fades into the background, superseded by the ogres and ox-headed soldiers w ho guard the m any cham bers o f hell.

T he m yth contained in the sutras directed tow ard a m onastic and literate audience is som ew hat different from the popular tale. The Yii-lan- p ’eti Stltra and The Sutra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness, tw o sutras probably dating from the fourth or fifth century, were accepted as part o f the Chinese B uddhist canon beginning in the sixth century. In these tw o b rief texts the story o f the ghost festival is a story about the founding o f yu-lan -p ’en by the historical Buddha, Sakyam uni, w ho teaches his fellow m onks their ritual duties tow ard lay people in the seventh- m onth festival. The sutras evince no interest at all in the previous lives o f M u-licn or o f his m other, nor do they address the subject o f the underw orld. T he canonical sutras supply a legitim ating m yth for the festival by returning to the authority o f the historical Buddha as creator o f the festival. It is no t accidental that the story is cast in the genre o f a “ su tra” w hich claims to represent the w ord o f the Buddha. In the eyes o f the Chinese Buddhist establishm ent, the authenticity o f y ii-lan-p’en depended on its connection w ith the historical Buddha.

Further indications o f the im portance o f the ghost festival to the m onastic com m unity may be gained from a consideration o f the com m entaries w ritten on The Yu-lan-p’en Sutra. Between the sixth and tenth centuries six com m entaries are attributed to Chinese m onks: C hi-tsang (549-623), Buddhatrata (ca. 618-626), Hui-ching (578—ca. 645), H ui- chao (d. 714), T sung-m i (780-841), and C hih-lang (871-947).4 O nly

4 O n C h i-tsang , sec Hsu kao-seng chuan, Tao-hsiian (596-667), T. no. 2060, 50:513c- 15a; M B D J, p. 530b; and Bussho kaisetsu dai jiten, ed. O n o G em niyo (Tokyo: D aito shuppansha, 1933-36), 1:216c. O n B uddhatrata (or C huch-chiu), sec Sung kao-seng chuan, T san -n ing (919-1001), T. no. 2061, 50:717c; and Bussho kaisetsu dai jiten, 1:216c. O n H ui- chao, sec Sung kao-seng chutm, T. 50:728c; M B D J, p. 280a-b; and Bussho kaisetsu dai jiten.

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those by H ui-ching and T sung-m i survive. H ui-ch ing’s com m entary m ay easily be judged a refined literary creation in its ow n right. In subjec t m atter it sticks closely to the text, and the sourccs it cites derive from the m ost erudite levels o f the B uddhist tradition. By contrast, T sung-m i’s com m entary is an openly apologetic w ork , placing the ghost festival at the very center o f Chinese society. It is addressed to a m uch broader audience than is H ui-ching’s com m entary, explaining and justify ing the celebration o f yii-lan-p’en in term s acceptable to lay and m onk alike. T sung-m i draw s on som e o f the m ore popular elem ents o f the yii-lan-p’en m yth not contained in the canonical sutras (e.g., the previous lives o f M u-lien and his m other). For Tsung-m i, the festival is the ultim ate expression o f filial devotion, a concept that he explains by reference to both Buddhist examples and to the classical texts o f indigenous Chinese religion.

Buddhist lay people also took a special interest in the ghost festival. This social group was m ore involved in specifically B uddhist activities than w ere com m on people. In addition to m aking offerings on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth , they also attended lectures given by B uddhist m onks on various sutras. Hence, their level o f involvem ent in identifiably Buddhist activities was greater than that o f o ther householders. In lectures given to such audiences on The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, filiality and charity were the m ajor topics o f discussion.

Inform ation conccrning the em peror’s celebration o f the ghost festival is also available in medieval sources. M any em perors appear to have participated in the festival in a style similar to that o f the com m on people: imperial visits to temples in the capitals to view the festivities arc reported for the reigns o f Em press Wu (r. 690-705), Em peror Tai- tsung (r. 762—769), and E m peror Te-tsung (r. 779-805). Furtherm ore, m ost em perors probably m ade visits not recorded in surviving sources.

T he historical record also perm its a fairly detailed reconstruction o f how the festival was observed in the imperial ancestral cult. T he spirit tablets representing preceding generations o f em perors in the T ’ang line w ere taken from their niches in the Imperial Anccstral Tem ple and m oved into the Palace Chapel. Here the em peror made offerings, probably sim ilar to the lavish donations given by kings and queens portrayed in apocryphal yii-lan-p’en literature, for the benefit o f the im perial patriliny. Som e em perors— the case o f Tai-tsung in the year 768 being a noticeable example— also used the occasion to make pro

l i f i c . O n C hih-lang , see Sung kao-scng chuan, T. 50:884c-85a; and Bussho kaisetsu dai jilen , 1:215d. T h e com m entaries by H ui-ch ing and T su n g -m i arc discussed at leng th in this chapter.

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visions for their m others’ salvation by sponsoring cerem onies at tem ples outside o f the official ancestral cult.

Surviving sources do not perm it the w riting o f a year-by-ycar chronicle o f im perial participation o r support provided for the ghost festival by the governm ent, w hich depended largely on the official attitude, always fluctuating, tow ard the B uddhist church. In som e years the em peror attended services as an observer, he made offerings for his ow n ancestors, and he saw to it that the state supplied offerings on everyone’s behalf. In o ther years the public celebration o f the ghost festival was prohibited, and item s donated illicitly were turned over to the Taoist church.

Details to support this picture o f medieval Chinese religion may be found in the episodes and w ritings described below.

T h e C a n o n i c a l S o u r c e s : The Yu-lan-p’en Siitraa n d The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness

( c a . 400-500)

T he canonical sutras describing the founding o f the ghost festival em erge out o f a m urky past. Beginning in the sixth century tw o texts are associated w ith the ghost festival: The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra and The Sutra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness. T he origins o f these tw o texts can be established w ith even less exactitude than the actual celebration o f the festival, the first certain record o f w hich dates from the year 561. Some scholars postulate Indian or Central Asian authorship around the year 400 and m ultiple translations into Chinese, while others suggest that the texts w ere put together in China in the early sixth cen tu ry .5

5 O gaw a K an’ichi suggests that The Yu-lan-p’en Siitra g rew ou t o f the D harm agup ta sect in no rth w est India ca. 400, Bukkyo bunka shi kenkyu (K yoto: N agata bunshodo , 1973), pp . 159-71. M akita T airyo opts for a later date and C hinese orig ins, G ikyo kenkyu (K yoto: K yoto daigaku jin b u n kagaku kenkyujo , 1976), pp. 49-50, 84. A selective list o f im p o rtan t scholarship on the tw o canonical sources w ould also include: C h ’en, Mu-lien cliiu-mu ku-shih chih yen-chiti, pp. 7-23; Fujino R yunen, "Urabon kyd d o k u g o ,” Ryiikokii daigaku ronshii N o . 353 (1956):340-45; Ikeda C hotatsu , “ Urabon kyd ni tsu ite ,” Shtikyo kenkyu N .S . 3:1 (January 1926):59-64; Ishigam i Z enno , “ M okuren se tsuw a no keifu ,” Taisho daigaku kenkyu kiyo N o . 54 (N ovem ber 1968): 1—24; Iw am oto Y utaka, Bukkyo setsuwa kenkyu. Vol. 4 ,Jigoku meguri no bungaku (Tokyo: K aim ei shoten , 1979), pp. 10- 20; O k abe K azuo, “ U rabon kyorui yakkyoshitcki k enkyu ,” Shtikyo kenkyu 37:3 (M arch1964):60-76; Sawada M izuho, Jigoku hen: chugoku no meikai setsu (K yoto: H ozokan, 1968), pp. 130-33; and de Visser, Ancient Buddhism in Japan, 1:68-75. C havanncs' early (1902) French translation o f The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra rem ains a good guide to som e o f the p rob lem s involved in translating this sho rt text; it is contained in E douard C havanncs. D ix Inscriptions chinoises de I'Asie Centrale d ’apres les estampages de M . C h .-ti. Itonin (Paris: Im prim erie N ationale, 1902), pp. 53-57. Karl Ludw ig Reichelt p rovides an extensive

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T he tw o extant canonical texts m ost likely represent different recensions current in the m id-sixth century. Given the lack o f independent evidence prior to the sixth century, theories regarding w hen and w here these textual traditions began m ust remain inconclusive. 1 have chosen ca. 400-500 as a reasonable average o f the scholarly opinions.

I translate the tw o texts below in parallel columns:

The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra

Thus have I heard. Once, the B uddha resided in the k ingdom o f Sravasti, am ong the Jetavana trees in the garden o f A nathapindika. The Great M u- chien-lien began to obtain the six penetrations. D esiring to save his parents to repay the kindness they had show n in nursing and feeding him , he used his divine eye to observe the w orlds. He saw his departed m other reborn am ong the hungry ghosts: she never saw food or drink, and her skin hung o ff her bones. M u-lien took pity, filled his bow l w ith rice, and sent it to his m other as an offering. W hen his m other received the bow l o f rice, she used her left hand to guard the bow l and her right hand to gather up the rice, but before the food entered her m outh it changed into flaming coals, so in the end she could no t eat. M u-lien cried ou t in g rief and w ept tears. He rushed back to tell the Buddha

The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness

Thus have 1 heard. Once, the Buddha resided in the kingdom o f Sravasti, am ong the Jetavana trees in the garden o f Anathapindika. T he Great M u- chien-lien began to obtain the six penetrations. D esiring to save his parents to repay the kindness they had show n in nursing and feeding him , he used his divine eye to observe the w orld. H e saw his departed m other reborn am ong the hungry ghosts: she never saw food o r drink, and her skin hung o ff her bones. M u-lien took pity, filled his bowl w ith rice, and sent it to his m other as an offering. W hen his m other received the bow l o f rice, she used her left hand to guard the rice and her right hand to gather up the food, but before the food entered her m outh it changed into flaming coals, so in the end she could not eat. M u-lien

rushed back to tell the Buddha

sum m ary o f the contents o f the su tra , Truth and Tradition in Chinese Buddhism: A Study o f Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, trans. K atharina Van W agenen B ugge (Shanghai: C o m m e rcial Press, 1927), pp. 114-18. T h e closest study o f the tex t, still quite helpful to the m o d ern translator, is T su n g -m i's (780-841) com m entary , Yii-lan-p'en ching shu, T. no. 1792.

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and laid ou t everything as it had happened.

T he B uddha said, “ T he roots o f your m o th er’s sins are deep and tenacious. It is not w ithin your pow er as a single individual to do anything about it. Even though the fame o f your filial devotion moves heaven and earth, still spirits o f heaven and spirits o f earth, harm ful dem ons and masters o f the ou ter paths, m onks and the four spirit kings o f heaven cannot do anything about it. You m ust rely on the m ighty spiritual pow er o f the assembled m onks o f the ten directions in order to obtain her deliverance. I shall now preach for you the m ethod o f salvation, so that all beings in trouble m ay leave sadness and suffering, and the im pedim ents caused by sin be wiped aw ay.”

T he B uddha told M u-lien, “ O n the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth , w hen the assembled m onks o f the ten directions release themselves, for the sake o f seven generations o f ancestors, your current parents, and those in distress, you should gather food o f the one hundred flavors and five kinds o f fruit, basins for w ashing and rinsing, incense, oil lamps and candles, and m attresses and bedding; take the sweetest, prettiest things in the w orld and place them in a

and laid out everything as it had happened.

The Buddha said, “T he roots o f your m other’s sins are deep and tenacious. It is not w ithin your pow er as a single individual to do anything about it.

You m ust rely on the m ighty spiritual pow er o f the assembled m onks

in order to obtain her deliverance. I shall now preach for you the m ethod o f salvation, so that all beings in trouble may leave sadness and suffering.”

The Buddha told M u-lien, “ O n the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth,

forthe sake o f seven generations o f ancestors

and those in distress, you should gather grains,

basins for w ashing and rinsing, incense, oil lam ps and candles, and m attresses and bedding; take the sweetest, prettiest things in the w orld

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bow l and offer it to the assembled m onks, those o f great virtue o f the ten directions.O n this day, the entire assembly o f saints— those in the m ountains practicing m editation and concentration; those w ho have attained the fruit o f the four paths;6 those w ho practice pacing under trees; those w ho use the six penetrations to be free; those w ho convert others, hear preaching, and awaken to causality; and the great m en, those bodhisattvas o f the ten stages w ho provisionally m anifest the form o f a bhiksu— all o f those w ho are part o f the great assembly shall

w ith one m ind receive the patra [bowl] o f rice. [A m onk w ho] possesses fully the purity o f the precepts and the Way o f the assembly o f saints — his virtue is vast indeed.When you make offerings to these kinds o f m onks as they release themselves, then your current parents, seven generations o f ancestors, and six kinds o f relatives will obtain release from suffering in the three evil paths o f rebirth; at that m om ent they will be liberated and clothed and fed naturally. If one’s parents are living, they will have one hundred years o fjo y and happiness. If they arc deceased, then seven generations o f

and offer them to the assembled m onks.

O n this day, the entire assembly o f saints— those in the m ountains practicing m editation and concentration; those w ho have attained the fruit o f the four paths; those w ho practice pacing under trees; those w ho use the six penetrations to fly; those w ho convert others, hear preaching, and awaken to causality; and the great m en, those bodhisattvas

w ho provisionally manifest the form o f a bhiksu— all o f those w ho are part o f the great assembly shall gather w ith one m ind to receive the patra [bowl] o f rice. [A m onk who] possesses fully the purity o f the precepts and the Way o f the assembly o f saints — his virtue is vast indeed.When you make offerings to an assembly o f this kind,

then seven genera

tions o f ancestors and five kinds o f relatives will obtain release from thethree evil paths o f rebirth; at that m om ent they w ill be liberated and clothed and fed naturally .”

* T h e four paths arc strcam -w inner, oncc-com er, nonrctu rner, and itrhat.

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ancestors w ill be reborn in the heavens; bom freely th rough transform ation, they will enter into the light o f heavenly flowers and receive unlim ited jo y .”

Then the Buddha decreed that the assembled m onks o f the ten directions should first chant prayers on behalf o f the family o f the donor for seven generations o f ancestors, that they should practice m editation and concentrate their thoughts, and that they should then receive the food. In receiving the bowls, they should first place them in front o f the B uddha’s stupa; when the assembled m onks have finished chanting prayers, they m ay then individually partake o f the food.

At this tim e the bhiksu M u-lien and the assem bly o f great bodhisattvas rejoiced. M u-lien’s sorrow ful tears ended and the sound o f his crying died out. Then, on that very day, M u- lien’s m other gained release from a kalpa o f suffering as a hungry ghost.

Then M u-lien told the Buddha, “T he parents w ho gave birth to me, your disciple, are able to receive the pow er o f the m erit o f the T h recjcw cls because o f the m ighty spiritual pow er o f the assembly o f m onks. But all o f the future disciples o f the Buddha w ho practice filial devotion, may they or may they no t also present yii-lan bow ls as required to save

The Buddha decreed that the assembled m onks,

on behalf o f the family o f the sponsor for seven generations o f ancestors, should practice m editation and concentrate their thoughts and then partake o f the offering.

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their parents as well as seven generations o f ancestors?”

T he Buddha said, “ Excellent! This question pleases me very m uch. It is ju s t w hat I w ould like to preach, so listen well! M y good sons, i f there are bhiksus, bhiksunts, kings o f states, princes, sons o f kings, great ministers, counselors, dignitaries o f the three ranks, any governm ent officials, o r the m ajority o f com m on people w ho practice filial com passion, then on behalf o f their current parents and the past seven generations o f ancestors, on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth , the day on w hich Buddhas rejoice, the day on w hich m onks release themselves, they m ust all place food and drink o f the one hundred flavors inside the yii-lan bow l and donate it to m onks o f the ten directions w ho are releasing themselves. W hen the prayers are finished, one’s present parents will attain long life, passing one hundred years w ithout sickness and w ithout any o f the torm ents o f suffering, while seven generations o f ancestors will leave the sufferings o f hungry ghosthood, attaining rebirth am ong gods and hum ans and blessings w ithout lim it.”

T he Buddha told all o f the good sons and good daughters, "T hose disciples o f the Buddha w ho practice filial devotion m ust in every m om ent o f

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consciousness m aintain the though t o f their parents, including seven generations o f ancestors. Each year on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth , out o f filial devotion and com passionate consideration for the parents w ho gave birth to them and for seven generations o f ancestors, they should always m ake a yii-lan bow l and donate it to the Buddha and Sangha to repay the kindness bestow ed by parents in nurturing and caring for them . All disciples o f the Buddha m ust carry out this law .”

U pon hearing w hat the Buddha preached, the bhiksu M u-lien and the four classes o f disciples7 rejoiced and put it into practice.

The bhiksu M u-lien and the entire assem bly

rejoiced and put it into practice.8

The Sutra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness is about ha lf the length o f The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra. T he longer sutra fills in som e b rief lacunae and elaborates several passages in the shorter version. It also adds som e episodes not included in The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness: the B uddha’s request that m onks chant prayers; the salvation o f M u- lien’s m other; and the long, largely repetitive answ er to M u-lien’s question concerning the practice o f yii-lan-p’en by future disciples o f the Buddha.

The first reference to The Yii-lan-p'en Siitra occurs in the m onk Seng- yu ’s (445-518) C h ’u san-tsang chi chi (Collected Records from the Three Baskets), w hich notes the existence o f “ The Yu-lan Sutra in one chuan."9 The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra and The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness had a broad circulation in the sixth century, since they are quoted in a B uddhist encyclopedia dating from 516 and in com pilations on seasonal observances dating from 561 and 581.10 There w ere tw o lines o f

7 T h e four classes o f disciples are m onks, nuns, laym en, and layw om en.8 T ranslations from T . no. 685, 16:779a-c, and T. no. 686, 16:780a.* C h ’u saii-tsang chi chi, Scng-yu (445-518), T. no. 2145, 55:28c.10 Ching-lii i-hsiting (516), P ao-ch’ang, T. no. 2121, quo tes an abbreviated version o f

The Siitra on Offering bowls to Repay Kindness, calling it " The Yii-lan Siitra," T h e essentials

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though t concerning the authorship o f the sutras. Earlier sources state that the author-translator o f the texts is unknow n w hile later sources, beginning in 597 w ith Fci C h ’ang-fang’s Li-tai san-pao chi (Record o f the Three Jewels through the Ages), place The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra am ong the 210 w orks translated by Dharm araksa (ca. 265-313)."

The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra and The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness represent the sparest versions o f the ghost festival m yth. M u-lien and his m other occupy a relatively insignificant place, merely filling the necessary roles o f filial son and departed ancestor w ithout greater elaboration. The narrative focuses instead on the B uddha’s founding o f the festival, his instructions on how to carry out the ritual, and the cerem onial responsibilities o f m onks. In fact m ore attention is paid to the ritual actions o f the Sangha in this source than in later yii-lan-p’en literature, w hich amplifies the offerings required o f lay people. T he gruesom e details o f M u-lien’s m o ther’s suffering, the severity o f the laws o f karm a, the im portance o f filiality— subjects that becom e im portan t in

o f the sto ry are all there: M u-licn’s m o ther in hell, his unsuccessful offering, and the institu tion o f yu -lan -p ’en by the B uddha, T. 53:73c-74a. T su n g L in’s (ca. 498-561) record o f seasonal observances, Ching-cli'u sui-shih chi (edited by Tu K ung-chan |ca. 581—624]), contains an abridgem ent o f The Yu-lan-p’en Siitra, including portions no t present in The Sutra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness', see M oriya M itsuo, Chugoku ko saijiki no kenkyu (Tokyo: T eikoku shoin, 1963), pp. 359-61. T he Yii-chupao-tien (ca. 581), Tu T ’a i-ch’ing, quotes from an abbreviated version o f The Yii-lan-p'en Sutra, Pai-pu ts ’ung-shu chi— ch’eng. N o . 75 (Taipei: I-w en yin-shu-kuan , 1965), ch. 7, p. 14r-v. T ao-sh ih 's Fa-yiian chu-lin (668), T. no. 2122, also quo tes from The Yii-lan-p ’en Siitra, w hich it calls the Hsiao- p'ett pao-en citing (Sutra on Repaying Kindness with Smaller Bowls), T. 53:751a.

11 Fa-ching’s catalogue o f the B uddhist canon, Chung-ching mu-lu (ca. 594), T. no. 2146, links three sutras as different translations o f the sam e Sanskrit text: The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness, and the Kuan-Ia ching, transla to r un k now n , T. 55:133b. T he Kuan-Ia ching m ay have been the b rie f tex t now k n o w n under the title Pan-ni-huan hou kuan-la eking (T h e Siitra on Bathing jStatues on the Buddhist/ N ew Year after the / Buddha’sj Parinirvdna), T. no. 391, a ttribu ted to D harm araksa, w hich m entions offerings to m onks on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m on th fo r the sake o f the ancestors. T sung-m i attribu tes au thorsh ip o f the tex t to Fa-chii (ca. 290-306); sec Tsung- mi Commentary, T. 39:506c. Fa-ching’s assessm ent was one o f the tw o standard view s on the orig ins o f the canonical tex ts. O th e r catalogues follow him in linking these three sutras and ad m itting that the translato r is unknow n: Y en-tsung’s Chung-ching mu-lu (com pleted 602), T. no. 2147, 55:160a; C h in g - t’ai's Chung-ching mu-lu (com pleted 665), T. no. 2148, 55:194c; and M ing-ch ’iian’s Ta-chou k ’an-ting chung-ching mu-lu (com pleted 695), T. no. 2153, 55:431c.

T h e o th e r standard view, first form ulated by Fci C h 'an g -fan g in his Li-tai san-pao chi (com pleted 597), T. no. 2034, attributes au thorship o f The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra to D har- marak$a, T. 49:64a. C ata logues that follow Fei’s assessm ent include: C h in g -y u ’s Ku-chin i-ihing t'n-chi (com pleted 648), T. no. 2151, 55:354a; Ta-t'ang nei-tien lu (com pleted 664), T .io-lm ian , T. no. 2149, 55:235a; and K ’ai-yiiiin shih-chiao lu (com pleted 730), C h ih - nIiciib. T . no. 2154, 55:494c, 685a.

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later versions o f the m yth— are m entioned only briefly in the tw o sutras. In later sources M u-licn’s role is significantly developed to the point that he, rather than the B uddha or Sangha, is the principal actor, and M u-lien’s m other is provided w ith a biography interesting in its ow n right. T he canonical sources, probably like the actual perform ance o f the ritual they describe, thus provide a kernel for the later elaboration o f the M u-lien m yth and the expansion o f ghost festival practice.

T s u n g L i n ’s Record o f Seasonal Observances in Ching-ch’u (ca. 561)

B uddhist histories do record imperial sponsorship o f the ghost festival for the years 483 and 538 a . d . , but due to the lack o f corroborating evidence, these accounts cannot be confirm ed w ith any certa in ty .12

T he earliest undisputable reference to the celebration o f the ghost festival occurs in T sung Lin’s (ca. 498-561) account o f seasonal observances in south C hina, Ching-ch’u sui-shih chi (Record o f Seasonal Observances in Ching-ch’u). He writes:

O n the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth , m onks, nuns, religious, and lay alike furnish bow ls for offerings at the various tem ples and monasteries. The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra says that [these offerings] bring m erit covering seven generations, and the practice o f sending them w ith banners and flowers, singing and drum m ing, and food probably derives from this.

T he sutra also says, “ M u-lien saw his departed m other reborn

12 In his Pien-cheng lun, T. no. 2110, Fa-lin (572-640) reports that under the reign o f E m p ero r K ao (r. 479-483) o f the C h 'i dynasty , “ on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m o n th , bow ls w ere sent to all tem ples as offerings to three hundred fam ous m o n k s,” T. 52:503a.

T h e first m ention o f the sponsorship o f the ghost festival at T ’u n g -t’ai ssu in 538 under E m p ero r Wu (r. 502-550) o f the Liang dynasty com es in C h ih -p ’an’s th irteen th -cen tu ry h isto ry o f B uddhism , h'o-tsu t'ung-chi, T. no. 2035, 49:450c, 351a. E m p ero r W u w as an im p o rtan t patron o f B uddhist institu tions, and he sponsored m any large feasts at T ’un g - t ’ai ssu after its com pletion in 527, see Li-tai san-pao chi, T . no. 2035, 49:99c. C h ih -p 'a n ’s account rem ains suspect due to its late date and the lack o f o ther evidence. If his account does am oun t to the in terpo la tion o f a p ious h istorian , it m ay have been based on the reco rd o f E m pero r W u having granted an em pire-w ide am nesty on the six th day o f the seven th m on th in the year 538. The History o f the Liang Dynasty, w ritten in the seventh centu ry , reports that in the fou rth year o f T a -t 'u n g (538), on the sixth day o f the seventh m o n th , “ an edict proclaim ed a great act o f grace th ro u g h o u t the em pire on account o f the [B uddhist] disciple, Li Y in-chih o fT u n g -y eh [present-day Fukicn | having discovered an au thentic Sarira [rclic| o f the T h u s-C o m e O n e ," Liang shu, Yao Ssu-licn (557-637), 2 vols. (Peking: C hun g -h u a shu-chii, 1973), p. 82.

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am ong the hungry ghosts. He filled his bow l w ith rice and sent it to his m other as an offering, but before the food entered her m outh it changed into flaming coals, so in the end she could not eat. M u-lien let out a great cry and rushed back to tell the Buddha. The B uddha said, ‘Y our m other’s sins are grave; there is nothing that you as a single individual can do about it. You m ust rely on the m ighty spiritual pow er o f the assembled m onks o f the ten directions: for the sake o f seven generations o f ancestors and those in distress, you should gather [food] o f the one hundred flavors and five kinds o f fruit, place it in a bow l, and offer it to those o f great virtue o f the ten directions.’ The B uddha decreed that the assem bly o f m onks should chant prayers on behalf o f seven generations o f ancestors o f the donor, that they should practice m editation and conccntrate their thoughts, and that they should then receive the food. A t this tim e M u-lien’s m other gained release from all o f her sufferings as a hungry ghost. M u-lien told the Buddha, ‘Future disciples o f the Buddha w ho practice filial devotion m ust also carry ou t the yii-lan-p’en offering.’ The Buddha said, ‘W onderful.’ ”

Based on this, later generations [of our time] have expanded the ornam entation, pushing their skillful artistry to the point o f [offering] cut w ood, carved bam boo, and pretty cuttings [o f paper] patterned after flowers and leaves.13

T sung Lin’s notice establishes quite clearly that celebrations flourished am ong the populace o f south China in the m id-sixth century. Tem ples (and perhaps markets) were decorated, probably w ith banners

13 T ranslation from the annotated tex t o f M oriya, Chugoku ko saijiki no kenkyu, pp. 359-61, fo llow ing M oriya’s translation in Keiso saijiki, T o y o bunko. Vol. 324 (Tokyo: H eibonsha, 1978), pp. 196-97. T sung Lin titled his w ork Ching-ch’u chi. T u K ung-chan (ca. 581-624), a nephew o f the au th o r o f the Yu-chu pao-tien, T u T ’ai-ch’ing , edited T sung L in’s tex t and nam ed it Ching-ch'u sui-shih chi. T h e w o rk is ex trem ely im p o rtan t in C hinese social h isto ry , as it represents the first real effort to describe the seasonal practices o f com m on people in contrast to previous com pendia o f m on th ly ordinances, w hich described the idealized ritual and agricultural practices that w ere initiated by the ruler. See M oriya, Chugoku ko saijiki no kenkyu, pp. 48-130, 263-65, for an excellent s tudy o f T su n g L in’s w ork .

T su n g L in’s account is quo ted extensively in early encyclopedias. T h e Yu-chu pao-tien,l u T ’ai-ch’ing, quotes from it w ith o u t identifying it as the source, ch. 7, pp. 12v-13v.

Sec also l-wen lei-chii, O u -y an g H sun, pp. 79-80; C h ’u-hsueh chi, Hsii C hien (659-729) (Peking: C h u ng-hua shu-chii, 1962). p. 79; Po-shih liu-l’ieh shih-lci-chi, Po C hii-i (772- 846), 2 vols. (Taipei: H sin-hsing shu-chii, 1969), ch. 1, p. 72, w hich is a heavily abbreviated paraphrase; and T ’ai-p’ing yii-lan (com pleted 983), Li Fang, 12 vols. (Taipei: H sin - hsing shu-clui, 1959), p. 272a.

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and flowers, and m usic and singing filled the air. Families collected delicacies to present to m onks in the yii-lan bowls, offering lifelike flowers elaborately crafted from natural materials. As T sung Lin does no t m ention governm ent sponsorship, w e m ay assume that such practices thrived outside the system o f official temples and w ithou t the provision o f offerings by the governm ent.

The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra was well know n by this time, the story o f M u- lien and his m other providing justification for the ornate gifts offered during the festivities. T sung Lin also m entions the notion o f making m erit for the ancestors, w hich was instrum ental in synthesizing the rituals and sym bols o f Buddhism w ith ancestral religion.

The Pure Land Yii-lan-p'eti Siitra (c a . 600-650)

The Pure Land Yii~lan-p’en Sutra, a sutra-style w ork not included in the Chinese canon, represents a version o f the M u-lien m yth that falls between the poles o f folk and elite. It contains the same basic story as do the earlier canonical sutras, but it also contains elem ents that the Buddhist establishm ent deemed unacceptable for inclusion in the canon: the story o f M u-lien’s and his' m other’s actions in previous lives and the donation o f lavish, even irresponsible, offerings by rulers o f state. In its form and language it also tends tow ard the vernacular narratives and folk entertainm ents that w ere popular in later centuries. T he first undisputable reference to the Pure Land sutra comes in the year 664, and records dating from 730 show that it was quite popular am ong the com m on people despite its noncanonical status.

The Pure Land Yu-lan-p’en opens w ith the B uddha preachingto a large audience in the garden o f A nathapindika in the Jetavana trees in the K ingdom o f Sravasti. From his lotus-gilded lion’s throne, the W orld-H onored O ne em its rays o f light from his m outh and then prefaces his teaching w ith a few short stanzas concerning “ pure land conduct” (chitig-t’u chih hsing), which state that the purity o f the Pure Land as an objective state o f being depends upon the purity o f the “ m ind” or “ th o u g h t” (hsin).,s

T he Pure Land sutra then presents the basic story o f the founding o f

14 Ching-t'u yii-lan-p’en ching, P. no. 2185, reproduced in the studies by Jaw orsk i and Iw am oto (noted im m ediately below ). Ja nJaw orsk i, a studen t o fjean Przyluski, has w ritten the best s tudy and translation o f the text, “ L’A valam bana Sutra de la terrc p u re ,” Monumenta Serica 1 (1935-36):82-107. Iw am oto Y utaka has also translated the tex t in Ji- goku meguri no btmgaku, pp. 25-32.

15 Jaw orsk i and Iw am oto offer different in terpretations o f these lines; Jaw orsk i, “ L’Avalam bana Sutra de la terre pu re ," p. 94; Iw am oto , Jigoku nifguri no Imngaku, p. 25.

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the ghost festival, paralleling the accounts in The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra and The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness. M u-lien enters a state o f m editation to search for his deceased m other, but to no avail. He returns to the Buddha for inform ation on his m o th er’s w hereabouts. W hen the Buddha replies that C h ’ing-t’i has been reborn as a hungry ghost in hell, M u-lien is overcom e w ith grief; he sobs and rolls on the ground, unable even to pick h im self up. Taking pity on his dedicated disciple, the Buddha teaches a m ethod o f m aking m erit designed to free the ancestors from the torm ents o f purgatory. M u-lien perform s the service as directed, presenting a bow l laden w ith food and other item s to the B uddha and the Sangha as they em erge from their sum m er retreat. This act im m ediately bears fruit, and M u-lien’s m other is liberated from the realm o f hungry ghosts and reborn am ong hum ans. U n like the canonical and m ore literary sourccs, the Pure Land text describes M u-lien’s jo y and am azem ent at being reunited w ith his m other:

It was like searching for a golden grain o f sand am ong all the sands o f the Ganges and suddenly finding it. It was like a filial son hearing that his deceased m other had suddenly com e back to life. It was like a man w ho is blind from birth-suddenly having his eyes opened. It was like a person w ho has already died com ing back to life. Such was M u-lien’s jo y .16

M u-lien is so happy, in fact, that his body gushes flames and rainwater, after w hich he settles dow n to hear the Buddha recapitulate his teaching on yii-lan-p’en to the audience.

T he next section o f the siitra show s royalty and lay people perform ing the ritual o f offering. H aving witnessed the reunion o f M u-lien and his m other, w hich was secured by giving gifts to the Buddha and the Sangha, King Bimbisara o f M agadha orders his m inister o f the treasury to prepare an offering. In the Pure Land text the offerings are far m ore lavish than those described in the canonical texts: “ five hundred bow ls made o f gold filled w ith a thousand kinds o f flowers, five hundred silver bowls filled w ith a thousand kinds o f red-gold incense, five hundred jade bow ls filled w ith a thousand kinds o f yellow lotus, five hundred agate bow ls filled w ith a thousand kinds o f red lotus flowers, five hundred coral bow ls filled w ith a thousand kinds o f greenw ood incense, and five hundred am ber bow ls filled w ith a thousand kinds o f

The Pure Land Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, lines (" line" and “ lines" hereafter abbreviated “ I.” .uni " II.," respectively) 28—31.

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w hite lotus flow ers.” 17 King Bim bisara and his treasure-bearing retinue pay their respects to the Buddha, present their offerings to him and to the Sangha, and then return hom e. The sutra notes that seven generations o f the k ing ’s ancestors w ere accordingly freed from seventy- tw o kalpas o f suffering. Follow ing King Bim bisara’s lead, Sudatta leads a large group o f laymen and lay w om en in m aking less extravagant offerings to the B uddha and the Sangha, followed by another round o f royal offerings by K ing Prasenajit and Q ueen Mallika.

The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra includes a long section on the past lives o f M u-lien and his m other in which the B uddha explains how their previous acts have led to their current situation. In a previous life M u-lien was a pious boy nam ed Lo-pu (Turnip), and his m o ther’s nam e was C h ’in g -t’i. O ne day the boy set out on a journey , instructing his m other to make feasts for w andering alm sm en during his absence. C h ’in g -t’i only pretended to provide the offerings, deceiving her ow n son about her stinginess. As a result o f her greed she was reborn as a hungry ghost in hell, suffering the torm ents that the y ii-lan-p’en offering is intended to relieve. The sutra closes w ith the audience rejoicing, paying respects to the Buddha, and practicing the teaching.

The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra represents a significant elaboration o f the version o f the m yth o f M u-lien contained in canonical sources. T he story o f the Buddha establishing the ghost festival after M u-licn’s unsuccessful attem pt to succor his m other remains basically the same. The significant additions to the story concern the participation o f rulers and the particulars o f M u-lien’s previous life. The Pure Land sutra describes the provision o f gifts from the state treasury and the participation o f state officials in yii-lan-p’en services; the description in the sutra accords well w ith w hat is know n o f state-sponsored celebrations in the second half o f the seventh century. The sutra also show s that the benefits from state-sponsored offerings were believed to accrue to the em pero r’s ancestors for seven generations. While the details o f state celebrations in China can be established in only a few w ell-docum ented cases, the them e o f imperial patronage o f the ghost festival as narrated in the Pure Land sutra is clearly related to the use o f B uddhist ritual apparatus in the Chinese imperial ancestral cult during the T ’ang dynasty.

The offerings m ade by kings in the Pure Land sutra are far m ore elaborate than those described in the canonical texts, and in the late seventh century we find the m onk and encyclopedia w riter Tao-shih (ca. 600-683) using this fact as scriptural license for lavish ghost festival of-

17 The Pure Land Yii-lan-p'en Sutra, II. 46-50. Cf. Jaw orsk i, “ L 'A valam bana Siitra dc la te rre p u re ,” p. 96.

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fcrings. He quotes from The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra to show that offerings o f jew els and precious objects bring help for the ancestors, calling the sutra ‘‘The Pure Land Siitra o f the Larger Bowl” (T a-p’en ching- t ’u ching) in contrast to the canonical text, “The Siitra on Repaying Kindness with the Smaller Bow l” (Hsiao-p’en pao-en chingj . 18

The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra also m arks the first appearance in surviving Chinese literary sources o f the story o f M u-licn and his m other in their previous lives. Stories o f the previous lives o f disciples and o ther im portan t figures (a genre know n as “ avadana” ) generally betray a didactic purpose: they are com piled and told in order to illustrate the ineluctable w orkings o f karm ic retribution, and they often reflect the interests o f an audience com posed o f lay people. The avadana tale contained in the Pure Land text occupies an interm ediate position am ong the different versions o f the M u-licn m yth. The canonical sources m ake no m ention o f M u-lien’s previous life, the Pure Land sutra includes it at the end o f the text, while The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother includes it as an integral part o f the narrative.

The literary form o f The Pure Land Yii-lan-p ’en Siitra also represents an interm ediary stage in the developm ent o f ghost festival m ythology. It includes elem ents that probably derived from a milieu close to oral tradition: similes describing the reunion o f m other and son, the colloquial expression “ A -p’o ” for “ m other” ; and a long section on the previous lives o f m other and son. In o ther respects the Pure Land sutra betrays a literary style and pretensions to canonical status: it opens (“ T hus have I heard. . . .” ) and closes (“ Then the im m casurcablc grand assembly rejoiced and practiced it.” ) in typical sutra style, and the avadana section remains an appendage to the main body o f the story.

T he sutra may be dated to the period 600-650. It was never accepted as part o f the official canon o f Chinese Buddhism , but was quite in vogue during the T ’ang. By chance a com plete m anuscript o f the text was discovered at Tun-huang, and in 1936 Jan Jaw orski published an im portan t study and translation .19

The Pure Land text is first m entioned— w ith suspicion, as an apocryphal version o f The Yii-lan-p’en Sutra— in the year 664 in T ao-hsiian’s

l-'a-yiian chu-lin, T ao-sh ih , T. no. 2122, 53:751a quo tes loosely from II. 40-46 o f The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Sutra; a second quota tion , T. 53:751a-b, quotes from 11. 46-70.

''’ Jaw orsk i, “ L’A valam bana Sutra de la terre pu re ," pp. 82-107. See also Iw am oto , Ji- goku meguri no bungaku, pp. 25-32; O kabe Kazuo, “ U rabon kyorui no yakkyo shiteki ken k y u ,” Shtikyo kenkyu 37:3 (M arch 1964):70-72; O gaw a K an’ichi, Bukkyo bunka shi kenkyu (K yoto: N agata b im shodo, 1973), pp. 171-79; and H onda G i'ei, “ Urabon kyd to Joilo urabon kyo ," in Biitlen no naiso logiiiso (Tokyo: K obundo , 1967), pp. 557-77.


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catalogue o f the Buddhist canon.20 By the early eighth century the sutra had becom e so popular that m ost people considered it to be a true, canonical text. C hih-sheng, in his catalogue com piled in 730, also indicates that it may have been transm itted orally. In the section on “ doub tfu l” (/) texts (apocryphal [weih] as opposed to true o r canonical [chen]) he writes:

The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra in one chiian on five sheets. N one o f the records, old o r new, register this sutra. H aving been transm itted popularly, it is now considered to be a true classic. O n close investigation, its phrasing appears to touch people’s feelings, but having exam ined the m atter in detail, I have placed it in the record o f doubtful tex ts.21

These com m ents from T ’ang sources show dearly that the Pure Land sutra was distributed broadly in Chinese society and that it appealed to the masses at large despite the aspersions cast on it by those w ho defined the B uddhist canon.22 O ne o f the leading clerics o f the n in th century, Tsung-m i, quotes the Pure Land text in his com m entary on the canonical yii-lan-p’en sutra. H e draws on the Pure Land su tra’s description o f M u-lien’s m other’s previous life, but he does not name his source, noting merely that, “ A sutra says. . . .”23 T sung-m i’s tacit acceptance o f the avadana tale as part o f the m yth o f M u-lien suggests that by the early n inth century, learned m em bers o f the Buddhist establishm ent could no longer ignore the apocryphal versions o f the m yth . T sung-m i not only signals its popularity and its noncanonical status, but also hints that o ther com m entaries had been w ritten on the Pure Land text. U nfortunately, these texts had been lost by the tw elfth cen tury .24

20 U n d er his en try on The Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, Tao-hsiian w rites, “ The Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, on one sheet. T here is ano ther tex t o f five sheets, en titled The Pure Land Yii-lan-p'en Su tra. W e do n o t k n o w from w hich [Sanskrit text) it has been translated ,” Ta-t'ang nei-tien lu, T . no. 2149, 55:298b. T h e opin ion is repeated in Ta-chou k ’an-ting chung-ching mu-lu, T . no . 2153, 55:431c.

21 K ’ai-yiian shih-chiao lu, T . no. 2154, 55:671c-72a.22 The Pure Land Yii-lan-p'en Siitra also circulated in e igh th -cen tu ry Japan. See the doc

um ents collected in Dainihon kotnonjo, hennen inonjo, ed. T o k y o teikoku daigaku shiryo hensanjo (Tokyo: T o k y o teikoku daigaku, 1901—40), 5:451-52, 7:10, and 12:332.

23 Tsung-mi Commentary. T. 39:509c.24 A fter a discussion o f som e o f the details in the avadana, T su n g -m i w rites, “ O th er

com m entaries say o therw ise, but none o f them penetrate | the m eaning |," T . 39:510a. Follow ing T su n g -m i’s com m ent, Y iian-chao w rites, “ T here m ust have been o th er in terp retations in o lder com m entaries. T hese texts arc n o w lost, so w e cannot know what they say ,” Yiian-chao Commentary, Z . I , 35:2, p. 12()rb.

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j ,i A A N E P I S O D I C H I S T O R Y'l£ '*

H u i - c h i n g ’s Commentary Praising the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra ( c a . 6 3 6 -6 3 9 )

T he earliest surviving com m entary on The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra was w ritten by the em inent m onk o f C h ’ang-an, H ui-ching (578-ca. 645). In both style and content the Yii-lan-p’en ching tsatt-shu (Commentary Praising the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra) reflects the refined tastes and learned interests o f its author. H ui-ching was well versed in the m ajor trends o f B uddhist though t o f his day. He assisted in the translation o f Sanskrit texts and he held im portan t positions in the adm inistration o f the Sangha. His w ritings cover a broad range o f topics.

H ui-ching’s com m entary follows closely the M u-lien m yth as it is presented in the earliest canonical sources. M u-lien appears in the com m entary as the ideal m onk, one w ho com bines the discipline required o f the religious specialist w ith the devotion needed to sustain the ancestral cult. M u-licn’s previous life and his battles w ith dem ons arc passed over in silence, as are his m other’s biography and her tortures in hell. H ui-ch ing’s m onastic orientation is apparent in the com m entary’s sources, w hich derive from the “ h igh” tradition o f Chinese B uddhism rather than from the oral tradition or Chinese apocrypha.

H ui-ching was born into the Fang family in C h ’ang-shan (present- day Hopei) in the year 578.25 At the age o f fourteen he jo ined the m onkhood, pursuing studies in A bhidharm a and M adhyam ika philosophy. Between 589 and 601 he gave lectures in the capital, C h ’ang-an; these m arked the beginning o f a long career as a debater and public figure. In 628 he jo ined several prom inent men o f letters in assisting the M aga- dhan m onk, Prabham itra (565-633), w ith a translation o f the Mahay ana- sutralamkara, so im pressing his co-w orkers that they referred to him as the “ Bodhisattva o f the East” (tung-fang p ’u-sa).2b H ui-ching authored over a dozen w orks, ranging from thirty-r/it/a« com m entaries on Yo- gacara treatises to b rief explanations o f such lay-orientcd texts as The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra.27

a H u i-ch ing w as s ix ty -eigh t years old in 645, according to his b iography in Hsii kao- seng chuan, T. no. 2060, 50:446b. B iographical details in these tw o paragraphs are draw n from this source, T . 50:441c-46b; and from Fo-lsu t ’ung-chi, T. no. 2035, 49:363b-65a; T a -l’ang nei-lien lu, T. no . 2149, 55:281c; Lung-hsing/o-chiaopien-nien I’ung-lun, T su-hsiu (ca. 1164), Z . 2B, 3:3, pp. 259vb, and 267rb-va; and the docum ents collected in C-hung- kuo fo-chiao ssu-hsiang Uu-liao hsiian-pien, ed. Shih C h u n (Peking: C hung-hua shu-chii, 1983). Part 2, Vol. 4', pp. 405-6.

* T h e M<ilmyaii<isulr<ilamkara, attribu ted to Asariga, is Ta-sheng chuang-yen clung Inn, T. no. 1604.

17 M B D J, p. 2H0b-c lists thirteen w orks. T o this list should be added the Shih-i lun in one chilair, it is noted in Ta-l'ang nci-lien hi, T. no. 2149, 55:281c. For a b rie f study and

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H ui-ching was a pow erful m em ber o f the B uddhist establishm ent in the Sui and early T ’ang, counting am ong his friends such high-ranking officials as the D uke o f Liang, Fang Hsiian-ling (578-648). H ui-ching was the abbot o f C hi-kuo ssu, held an honorary position at P ’u-kuang ssu, and was certainly well acquainted w ith the adm inistration o f large celebrations like the ghost festival. He often represented the B uddhist side in debates betw een proponents o f the Three Teachings held during the T ’ang. A m ong the opponents w hom he m et (and vanquished, according to the B uddhist historians) in such debates w ere K ’ung Y ing- ta (574-648) and the Taoist m aster T s’ai Tzu-huang. In 645 he was called to take part in the translation o f m ore scriptures (probably those b rough t back from the West in the same year by H siian-tsang [602— 664]), but H ui-ching had to decline because o f poor health.

H ui-ch ing’s Commentary Praising the Yu-lan-p’en Sutra was probably w ritten betw een 636 and 639.28 Because the com m entary follows the sutra so closely, I shall merely note som e o f its highlights here.

After explaining the m eaning o f the title (“ yii-lan” refers to hungry ghosts hanging upside-dow n in hell, “ p’cn” means the basin in w hich offerings are placed) and discussing the organization o f the su tra ,29

translation o f H u i-ch in g ’s com m entary on the Wen-shih hsi-yii chung-scng ching, trans. An S hih-kao (ca. 148-170), T. no. 701, sec U i H akuju , “Onshitsu gydsho,” in Seiiki butten no kenkyu: Tonko isho kanyaku (Tokyo: Iw anam i shoten , 1970), pp. 311-32. H u i-ch ing 's com m en tary , Wen-shih ching shu, is S. no . 2497, prin ted as T . no. 2780. H u i-ch in g ’s w orks arc very well represented in the Im perial R epository (Shosoin) in N ara, according to catalogues and o th er docum ents m ostly from the T em p y o era (729-749); see Ishida M osaku, Shakyd yori mitaru nara-cho bukkyo no kenkyu, T o y o bunko ronshu, N o . 11 (Tokyo: T o y o bunko , 1930), index nos. 1996, 2020, 2021, 2050, 2064, 2065, 2111, 2112, 2113, 2200, 2201, 2220, and 2500.

28 M y estim ation o f the date o f au thorsh ip is based on T ao-hsiian’s b iography o f H ui- ching. T ao-hsuan does no t establish a specific date o f com position , bu t his rem ark that H u i-ch in g ’s com m entary on The Yu-lan-p’en Siitra was popular com es in the m iddle o f the b iography , betw een events dated 636 and 639, T. 50:443a. H u i-ch in g ’s com m entary is P. no. 2269, reproduced as T. no. 2781. T he m anuscrip t appears to be w ritten w ith a quick hand, and corrections have been m ade w ith a th icker b rush . T h e m anuscrip t is alm o st com pletely intact, the m ajor gaps falling at the beginning. A lthough the title a t the end is m erely " P ’en ching tsan-shu," the first several lines o f the m anuscrip t m ake clear that its full title was “ (Fo-shuo) yu-lan-p’en ching tsan-shu.” T h e com m entary is w ritten in a com pact, elegant prose style containing m any four-character sentences. It sticks closely to the text, using synonym s to gloss individual w ords and q u o tin g sho rt ex tracts from B uddhist sources to expand the glosses. U n like T su n g -m i’s com m en tary , it contains few leng thy digressions on such topics as filiality and m erit. The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra from w hich it quotes is very sim ilar to the text no w k n ow n under that title, a lthough som e o f its w ord in g fo llow s the tex t o f The Sutra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness.

29 H ui-ch ing divides the sutra in to three portions: “ a po rtion on the orig ins o f the teach ing ," “ a p o rtion on w hat the Sage [the Buddha] tau g h t," and "a po rtion on carry ing

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H ui-ching begins a line-by-line com m entary. H ui-ching gives special em phasis to M u-lien’s dual status as m asterful m editator and filial son. He stresses the m editative context o f M u-lien’s cosm ic flight and shys aw ay from the com bat and gore that predom inate in o ther renditions o f M u-licn’s travels to the underw orld. The hells receive virtually no elaboration in H ui-ching’s account, which confines itself to restating M u-lien’s m o ther’s lack o f food and her frail physical condition. N o r is there any explanation o f how her greedy actions led to her current state o f woe. C om pared to o ther versions o f the story, H ui-ch ing’s com m entary betrays a m ore refined or m onastic bent: M u-licn is tam er and less adventuresom e, while his m other lacks a history and even a name.

For H ui-ching, the story o f M u-lien is a story about filiality, w hich, as taught by the Buddha, consists o f aiding the ancestors in w hatever path o f existence they inhabit. H ui-ching quotes from a sutra, “ Even if you collected a pile o f precious gems reaching to the tw enty-eighth heaven and gave them all away to people [as charity], the m erit earned from this w ould no t be one-tenth o f the m erit o f m aking offerings to one’s parents.”30 The unity o f filiality w ith the highest ideals o f B uddhism is an assum ption com m on to all versions o f the M u-licn m yth, be they canonical, com m entarial, o r theatrical. W here H ui-ching differs from other interpreters o f the m yth is in the sources he draw s on to articulate this synthesis. W here later com m entators (notably T sung- mi) cite examples from the pre-B uddhist Chinese tradition— classics like the Shih-ching (The Book o f Songs) and paragons o f filiality like T ung Yung— H ui-ching draw s almost exclusively on the Buddhist canon to explain the concept o f filial devotion. The Agamas, the N irvana Siitra, and the Mahdprajndpdramitasdstra provide H ui-ch ing’s points o f reference. The fram ew ork he uses to synthesize m onastic and lay ideals is defined by the erudite term s o f Chinese B uddhist philosophy and by the officially approved stories o f the Chinese B uddhist canon.

H ui-ching’s Commentary Praising the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra was apparently popular during his lifetime, and a copy o f it had made its w ay to Japan by the middle o f the eighth century, but it was not influential in later years.31

o u t the teach ing .” H e also notes that the d ivision o f the su tra according to the “ o ld ” ex- cgctical style (later used in the Tsung-mi Commentary and in The Lecture T ext on the Yu- lan-p’en Siitra) am ounts to the sam e th ing , T. 85:540a.

*' T . 85:541b. T he passage quo ted by H ui-ching expands upon the w ord ing in the Mo- lo wang ching (Sutra on the King ofM alla), trans. C h ii-ch ’ii C h ing-shcng (ca 455-464), T. no. 517, 14:791b.

11 O n the popularity o f the com m entary during H ui-ch ing 's lifetim e, see Hsii kao-seng

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T a o - s h i h ’s M e m o r a n d u m o n O f f e r in g s t o t h e B u d d h a

(c a . 6 6 8 )

In his massive encylopedia com pleted in 668, Fa-yiian chu-lin (The Pearl Grove o f the Dhartna Garden), the scholar-m onk Tao-shih tucked away a small docum ent discussing the m anagem ent and disposition o f offerings at B uddhist temples. A lthough the piece is untitled and unattributed, it was m ost likely authored by Tao-shih h im self som etim e before 668. It provides a unique picture o f how the ghost festival and other celebrations w ere adm inistered by Sangha authorities in the official temples o f C h ’ang-an.

T ao-shih’s m em orandum sheds significant light on the general character o f state-sponsored celebrations in the late seventh century. In the first place it confirm s that the celebration o f the ghost festival at m ajor tem ples in the capital was sponsored by the governm ent for the wellbeing o f the em pire. Gifts were provided ou t o f state coffers and were delivered to tem ple grounds by governm ent officials. Services perform ed at these large temples included music, a com m unal banquet for all those w ho attended, and offerings and prayers in front o f Buddha statues. Presents given to the Sangha at these temples w ere considered to be “ national offerings” (kuo-chia kung-yaug)-, apparently everyone’s ancestors benefited from the exchange.

Tao-shih’s account also reveals much about the philosophy and econom y o f T ’ang festivals. In China the “T h rce jew els” did no t sim ply represent a form ulaic refuge o f faith. In China the “ T hree Jew els” also referred to the m aterial objects that had value in the B uddhist religion: statues, halls, and reliquaries in temples constituted the jew el o f the Buddha; texts and divinatory instrum ents w ere Jew els o f the D harm a; and tem ple lands, lodgings, and resident farm ers constituted “ perm anent property o f the Sangha” (ch’ang-chu seng-wu). M ost tem ple property belonged to only one o f the Three Jewels and could no t be interm ixed w ith property belonging to another o f the Jewels. O n ly a small fraction o f tem ple property, called “ general tem ple funds and possessions” (t ’ung-yung chih wu), could be used for any purpose w ith out restriction.32

T he need to m aintain clear distinctions betw een the accounts o f the T hreeJew els had im portan t implications for the mechanics and adm in

chuan, T. 50:443a. A t least tw o copies o f the com m entary existed in the Im perial R eposito ry in N ara du ring the T em pyo shoho era (749-757); sec the docum ents in Dai nihon komonjo, hennen monjo, 10:329 and 12:542.

32 See Jacques G ernet, Les Aspects ( conomiques du hoiuhlhisnie dans la sociM chinoise du Ve au X fjuV /c(Saigon: Ecole Framjaise d ’E x trcm e-O rien t. 1956), p. 63.

C H A P T E R 3

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istration o f the ghost festival. O fferings to the Sangha w ere the essence o f the ghost festival. O fferings to the Buddha and to the D harm a were o f course perm issible during the festival, bu t gifts to m onks w ere the only ones that brought m erit to one’s ancestors. Gifts to the Sangha w ere provided by private donors and by the state. Gifts to the Sangha could not be provided out o f Sangha funds, since that could no t p roperly be counted as an exchange between tw o different groups.

M aking an offering to the B uddha was part o f all Buddhist services, including the ghost festival, and Tao-shih discusses several ways o f financing this offering. The offering m ay be supplied out o f general tem ple funds; it may be supplied by a donor, in w hich case part o f the offering is given to the Sangha after the service; or it may be supplied out o f Sangha property , in w hich case the entire offering is returned to the Sangha account at the conclusion o f the ritual.

D uring im portan t festivals m onks at large tem ples played host to hundreds and thousands o f guests, including com m on people, governm ent officials, entertainers, and em perors. T ao-shih’s m em orandum show s how seriously tem ple adm inistrators viewed their cerem onial responsibilities to their guests. M onks did not sim ply m ake possible the transfer o f benefits from living descendants to ancestors; they also fulfilled the responsibilities o f a host at a large banquet. The Sangha catered the vegetarian feasts served to guests and often assum ed the cost o f the meal as well.

T ao-shih’s docum ent, placed in the part o f The Pearl Grove o f the Dharma Garden on “ O fferings to the B uddha” (hsien-fo) in the section on “ Sacrifices” (chi-ssu), is in the form o f seven questions and answ ers.33

T he first question asks about the source o f the offerings made to the B uddha w hen crow ds com e for the festival on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth . Tao-shih answers that w hen there is a large donor sponsoring the festival, offerings to the Buddha should be draw n from the com m on property o f the temple. When there is no sponsor, Buddha offerings are to be provided ou t o f the perm anent property o f the Sangha.

T he second question asks:

33 Fa-yiian chu-lin, T . no. 2122, 53:750a-52a. T he rest o f the part on “ O fferings to the U uddha” (T. 53:752a-53b) contains citations from various sutras ex to lling the v irtues o f g iv ing gifts to the Buddha. W hile m any Japanese studies o f the ghost festival no te the citations o f The Yii-lan-p'en Sutra and The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra in this section, none m entions the o th er portions o f the docum ent w hich concern the disposition o f offerings.

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In the great national tem ples like H si-m ing and T z’u-en ssu in C h ’ang-an, there are endow ed fields and gardens in addition to land distributed on the basis o f population, and everything that is given [during the ghost festival] is considered to be a national offering. N o w every year w hen people send bowls o f offerings and all sorts o f items, w ith musicians and the like carrying the bow ls and w ith m ore than one governm ent official bringing bow ls, w hat sort o f item s should be given to the guests? Furtherm ore, before the official bow ls arrive, w hen offerings are made in fron t o f the Buddha and various o ther offerings are made, w hat items should be used to m ake the offerings?

Tao-shih answers:

If there is com m on property , use that first. If there is no such property , then there is no alternative but to take item s from the perm anent property o f the Sangha to treat the guests and to offer as food.

The th ird exchange concerns thejustification for taking property belonging exclusively to the Sangha and sharing it w ith lay people in the form o f a festival meal. Tao-shih answers:

According to the Mahasanghikavimya, the Sarvdstivadavinaya, and others, kings, great ministers, and w orkm en all hate stealing. In regard to the Sangha’s profits and losses, if 34 you open things up to the laity and treat them w ith Sangha property, this does not count as an offense. If you do no t share your expenditures w ith the laity, opening things up but not treating them , then they will deduce that there has been a loss in [the wealth of] the B uddha’s Sangha. So it is no offense to open up [Sangha property] and let them see.

N ow , since this is so, w hen the state sends bow ls for offerings w ith officials and musicians, and the Em peror orders that Buddha bow ls be sent, how can you no t let them sec [Sangha property]? If you do no t let them see, it will lead to ridicule and reproach, calling forth sneers from outside the fold. [They will think], “Those w ho have left the householder’s life seek only the possessions o f others; they haven’t even given up their ow n avarice.” The com m on man sees w hat is near w ithou t understanding w hat is far. This is w hat is m eant in saying, “ Share your incom e and share

34 E m en d in g ^ ) to jo .

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your expenditures.” The B uddha understood profit and loss, which is w hy he opened up the strictures in accord w ith circum stances.

T he fourth question concerns the disposition o f offerings m ade to the Buddha in the course o f the ghost festival:

Question: W hen perm anent property o f the Sangha is used to m ake the offerings o f Buddha food in fron t o f the Buddha, then after the service the offerings revert to the Sangha’s perm anent [property]— in this m atter there is no doubt. W hat w e do not know is w hat happens to the offerings w hen an outside donor offers bow ls and other sundry items.

Answer: This should be decided on the basis o f the d o n o r’s circum stances and capability. If the donor makes the offering according to the sutra, vow ing35 to bring salvation to his living and deceased relatives, then he makes offerings to the Sangha, those low ly and advanced [monks] o f the ten directions w ho release them selves [in repentance] during the sum m er session. O nly in this w ay can he save his deceased relatives, w ho will gain release from the three unpleasant paths o f rebirth and ascend in purity to the paths o f men and gods. Therefore, after m aking offerings to the Buddha, all o f the food— the produce and raw item s, rice and noodles that have been offered, etc.— becomes perm anent [property] o f the Sangha and is used in return to supply food for m onks.

Tao-shih further allows that donors may alternatively choose to make offerings to the Buddha o r to the D harm a. In these cases, a portion o f the offering should revert to the Sangha.

T he fifth and sixth questions raise doubts about the extravagance o f ghost festival offerings. Responding to his questioner’s concern that valuables and jew els exceed the simple offerings o f food and incense allow ed in The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, Tao-shih quotes from The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra to show that the lavish items given by King B im bisara to the Buddha and the Sangha were fully efficacious in bringing aid to his ancestors. While jew els and treasures are no t necessary, they are perfectly acccptable as offerings.

T he seventh and last question concerns the inclusion o f flowers in offerings to the Buddha. Because Vinaya rules prohibited m onks from adorning themselves w ith flowers, special precautions w ere needed to insure that flower offerings given to the Buddha (offerings w hich were

“ E m ending yiian to yiiti»ib.

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allowed by the Vinaya) did no t end up in the possession o f the Sangha.36 Flowers w ere perm itted in the case o f a lay donor supplying the offerings to the Buddha. Q uestions arose only w hen offerings at festivals had to be supplied by the B uddhist establishm ent itself.

In his response Tao-shih says that at small temples, flowers and fruits g row ing on the tem ple grounds— in Chinese eyes, tem ple land and its products belonged to the B uddhist Sangha— may be used for offerings to the Buddha. At larger tem ples, though, Tao-shih suggests that a distinction be m aintained between the dom ain o f the Buddha and the domain o f the Sangha, w ith offerings o f flowers to the B uddha being supplied ou t o f the com m on property o f the temple. O nly w hen com m on resources are unavailable m ay Sangha-supplicd flowers be given to the Buddha; while this kind o f offering brings no relief to the ancestors (since no gifts arc given to the Sangha), it effectively teaches charity and averts charges o f B uddhist opulence. Tao-shih writes:

If there is no com m on property , then there is no choice bu t to use perm anent property o f the Sangha, gathering various item s o f flowers, fruit, and all kinds o f food to offer to the B uddha. This causes com m on people to give birth to good and to extinguish evil, and in this there is no loss. A lthough using perm anent p roperty o f the Sangha cannot bring about the salvation o f o ther people’s living or deceased relatives, it does avoid the crim e o f being slandered and accused [o f hoarding] by lay people.

U nlike m ost o ther entries in Tao-shih’s encyclopedia, the docum ent on offerings to the Buddha lacks a title and lists no author. A plausible argum ent m ay be made, however, for Tao-shih’s authorship. Tao-shih was born around the year 600 and entered the m onkhood at an early age.37 A lthough it is unclear precisely w hich positions he held, Tao- shih was an im portan t figure in the B uddhist etablishm ent in C h ’ang- an in the 650s and 660s: between 656 and 661 Tao-shih participated in the im perial reception o f H siian-tsang’s w orks, in 658 he was called by the em peror to live at H si-m ing ssu, and in 664 he w ro te a m em orial to

36 See, for exam ple, Isaline B. H orner, trans., The Book o f the Discipline (Vinaya Pi- taka), 6 vols., Sacred B ooks o f the B uddhists, Vols. 10, 11, 13, 14, 20, 25 (London: Luzac and C o ., 1949-66), 5:170. T h is rule also figures p rom inen tly— as a potential source o f c linging and duality— in the Vimalakirtinirdesa, in w hich unenlightened disciples o f the B uddha try to shed flow ers rained d ow n upon them by a goddess; see Wei-nw-chieh so- sliuo ching, trans. KumarajTva (350-409), T. no. 475, 14:547c-48c.

37 T he Ritsuon sobo den (com pleted 1689) by Ekcn repo rts that T ao-sh ih received full o rd ination in 615, w hich w ould place his b irth som etim e around the year 6(H), ZS. 64:177c.

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the throne protesting a new edition o f Taoist scriptures.38 Tao-shih is reported to have w ritten a short piece on the same subject discussed in the m em orandum 39 and in at least one o ther case is know n to have inserted his ow n w ritings, untitled and unattributed, into the body o f his encyclopedia.40 Tao-shih’s position in the Sangha hierarchy, his in terests in Vinaya and in the specific topic o f the m em orandum , and the precedent o f sm uggling his ow n pieces into the anthologies he com piled all lend w eight to the likelihood that Tao-shih w ro te the piece himself.

Y a n g C h i u n g ’s “ Y u - l a n - p ’e n R h a p s o d y ”

(692)

T he large-scale celebration o f the ghost festival in Lo-yang (the site o f the capital betw een 690 and 701) in 692 provided the occasion for an im portan t prose poem by the early T ’ang w riter, Yang C hiung (650- ca. 694). T he Chiu t ’ang shu (Old T ’ang History) describes the event:

O n the full m oon o f the seventh m onth in the first year o f Ju-i [692], yii-lan bowls w ere sent out from the palace and distributed to B uddhist temples. [Empress Wu] T se-t’ien w ent w ith the various officials to observe it at the Southern Gate. [Yang] C hiung presented his “ Y ii-lan-p’en R hapsody.” It was beautifully w ritten and its w ords w ere strik ing .41

Lay people w ere not the only celebrants o f the ghost festival in the T ’ang. In m ost years, as in 692, the state supplied the offerings given at

38 Sec Sung kao-seng chuan, T . no. 2061, 50:726c; Lung-hsi Li Y en’s preface t o Fa-yiian chu-lin, T. no . 2122, 53:269b; and Sung kao-seng chuan, T. 50:726c. A longer recension o f T ao -sh ih ’s m em orial is contained in Fa-yiian chu-lin, T. 53:703a-4c. A sho rter recension is con tained in C h ’iian t ’ang wen, Hsii Sung (1781-1841) (Taipei: C h ing -w ei shu-chii,1965), ch. 912, pp. 11993-94; and in Fo-lsu li-tai t ’ung-lsai, N ien -ch ’ang (d. 1341), T . no. 2036, 49:581 b -c .

39 T ao -sh ih ’s w ork , entitled Li-fo i-shih (Ceremonial for Reverencing the Buddha) is listed in th e last chapter o f Fa-yiian chu-lin, T . 53:1023c; and in Sung kao-seng chuan, T. 50:727a. T h e last chap ter o f Fa-yiian chu-lin did n o t assum e its present form until ca. 800-1000, see Stephen F. Teiser, “ T ’ang B uddhist Encyclopedias: A n In troduction to Fa-yiian chu-lin and Chu-ching yao-chi," T ’ang Studies N o . 3 (1985): 121. T he fact that this tex t is cited for the first tim e at least 150 years after its alleged authorship m ay m ean that the w o rk was no th ing b u t an extract from Fa-yiian chu-lin (com pleted in 668) that w as later circulated independently .

411 T ao -sh ih ’s m em orial against the new edition o f T aoist scriptures is inserted in to Fa- yiian chu-lin, T. 53:703a-4c. See above for o th er recensions o f his m em orial.

41 Chiu t ’ang situ, Liu Hsii (8H7-946) (Peking: C hung-hua shu-chii, 1975), p. 5001.

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the officially sponsored tem ples in the capital, and governm ent officials w ere in attendance. Em press Wu’s participation may also indicate that the im perial ancestors w ere singled out as beneficiaries o f the offerings.

Yang C hiung’s “ Y u-lan-p’en R hapsody” presents a vision o f the festival illum inated by the stars and by the am ber light o f dawn. Yang, h im self a stargazer o f high repute ,42 evokes the cosm ological and meteorological background o f the early-autum n festival, a tim e w hen the w estern region o f K ’un-lun seems especially near. In Yang’s rhapsody we feel the unearthly presence o f spirits and magical birds, w ho arc draw n noiselessly to the jew els and foods offered by Em press and com m oner alike.

O utside o f his surviving w ork, sources preserve few details o f Yang C hiung’s life. H e was born in the year 650, and his family was from H ua-yin (present-day Shensi).43 Yang held a succession o f m inor governm ent posts, never rising to a position o f power. He was called to the College for the Exaltation o f Literature (C h’ung-w en kuan) in the Palace o f the H eir to the T hrone in 681 and served as a local official in Y ing-ch’uan and T zu-chou (both in present-day Szechuan), am ong other posts.

It appears that Yang was best know n for his acerbic personality and his elegant prose w orks. A Y iian-dynasty biography reports that Yang was in the habit o f referring to som e o f his contem poraries as “ unicorn lasts,” a last or inverse m old around which was form ed the shape o f the mythical ch’i-lin (“ unicorn” ). T he account reads:

W henever he heard o f a pretentious courtier, he w ould call him a “ unicorn last.” W hen questioned about it, he responded, “ O ne w ho plays at being a unicorn has to m ark and draw all over h im self to cover up his being an ass, to look like a different animal. But take aw ay his skin and he’s still an ass.”44

42 See E dw ard H . Schafer, Pacing the Void: T ’ang Approaches to the Stars (Berkeley: U n iversity o f C alifornia Press, 1977), pp. 36, 38, 86, 183.

43 Y ang’s preface to his “ H u n -t’ien fu” says that he was eleven years o ld in the fifth year o f the H sien-ch’ing era (660), w hich w ould p robab ly place his b irth in 650; C h ’u- t'ang ssu-chieh wen-chi, ed. H siang C hia-ta , Ssu-pu pei-yao ed. (Taipei: C h u n g -h u a shu- chii, 1970), ch. 10, p. lr . See also Yang C h ’eng-tsu , “ Yang C h iung n ien -p ’u ,” Tung-fang wen-hua (Journal o f Oriental Studies, H o n g K ong) 13:1 (January 1975):57—72. S hort b iographies o f Y ang are contained in Chiu t ’ang shu, p. 5001; and in Hsin t'ang shu (Peking: C hun g -h u a shu-chii, 1975), p. 5741. See also the m aterial assem bled in the appendix to his collected w orks, Yang Ying-ch’uan chi, Ssu-pu ts 'u n g -k ’an. Series 1, Vol. 35 (Taipei: C om m ercial Press, 1967).

44 T'ang ts’ai-tzu chuan, Hsin W en-fang (ca. 1304) (Shanghai: K u-tien w en-hsuoh ch ’u- pan-shc, 1957), p. 6.

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Y ang’s collected w orks in th irty chuan survived into the tenth century, and a good m any o f them are still ex tan t.45

Yang C h iung ’s “ Y ii-lan-p’en R hapsody”46 begins:

I.

Flow ing essence proclaims the fall,Hsi H o reports the dawn:

T he m oon in full gaze, round face shining white;T he great gate opening, cool w ind w isping along.T he four seas calm, the hundred stream s clear,Yin and yang well settled, heaven and earth deep-set.

Sweep ou t the hostel palace!Clean up the storied pavilion!M ake up the august residence!Set ou t the azure curtain!

T he luan bird flies, the phoenix soars,Sudden streaks o f brilliance.W hite clouds billow, rosy clouds unfurl,B right then gathering dark.

In the first stanza Yang begins to sketch the cosm ological background to the seventh-m onth festival: the m odulations o f yin and yang, the first full m oon o f autum n, the arrival o f Hsi H o (the Chinese Phoebus

45 See Chiu t ’angshu, p. 2075; and Wan M an, T ’ang-chi hsii-lu (Peking: C h u n g -h u a shu- chii, 1980), pp. 21-22. Y ang’s literary w orks arc available in Yang Ying-ch'uan chi; Ch'u- I'ang ssu-chieh wen-chi, chs. 10-16; Ch'iian t ’ang wen, chs. 190-97, pp. 2421-2516; C h ’iian t ’angshih, (Peking: C hun g -h u a shu-chii, 1960), ch. 50, pp. 610-17; and T'ang-shih chi-shih (Peking: C h u n g -h u a shu-chii, 1965), pp. 98-99.

46 T h e tex tual h istory o f Yang C h iu n g ’s “ Y ii-lan-p’en R hapsody” is a k n o tty issue. T h e ostensib ly earliest version o f the piece is contained in I-wen lei-chii, the com piler o f w hich died ov er fifty years before Y ang C h iung w ro te the piece, I-wen lei-chii, O u -y an g H sun (557-641), p. 80. T h is is the shortest recension o f the piece. Encyclopedias from the e igh th and tenth centuries closely fo llow this recension, w ith the addition o f a fo rty - four-character section in the m iddle (m arked as Section IV in m y translation); see C h ’u- lisiieh chi, Hsii C hien (659-729), pp . 79-80; and T ’ai-p’ing yii-lan (com pleted 983), Li Fang, p. 272b. In m y translation I use the version in I-wen lei-chii, supplem ented and collated w ith the version in C h ’u-hsiieh chi. Later recensions o f Y ang C h iu n g ’s rhapsody include an in troduc to ry section on the 692 celebration and a section at the end that m ore than doubles the length o f the piece; see Ku-chin t'u-shu chi-ch’eng (com pleted 1725), C h ’en M eng-lci et al., 100 vols. (Taipei: W cn-hsing shu-tien , 1964), pp. 694-95; and Ch'iian I'ang iveil, pp. 2426b-28a. M y translation o f the entire piece is extrem ely ten tative.

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A pollo),47 and a cooling w ind blow n all the way from the great gate in the w estern K ’un-lun M ountains. In this w eather preparations are begun for the celebration o f the ghost festival in the official precincts o f Lo-yang, while the first o f m any magical birds soars through the clouds.

Yang continues:

II.

Set ou t the D harm a offering,A dorn the yii-lan [bowlsj:

H ow fertile the w ondrous goods,H ow prolific the art o f creation;T he green lotus blossom s, yet not in sum m er,The red fruit sways, yet not in winter.

Brass, iron, lead, tin,Beautiful jade, red gems;B right as the Sweet Spring trees hung w ith jade,Capped w ith golden bow ls for catching dew.

The statutes docum ent the three axes,The form s pattern all varieties:Above, incredible breadth m odeled after heaven,Below, rest and perseverance sym bolizing earth.

In this stanza Yang C hiung assembles the jades and gem s indigenous (again) to K ’un-lun for the yu-lan-p’en offering.48 Like the basins used to collect the life-prolonging dew o f m orning, these gifts reify and solidify the pure forces o f the m ysterious West. Yang also draw s heavily on the sym bolism o f the I-chittg (The Book o f Changes) to intim ate the potency o f the gifts.49 Like hexagram s and sym bols (the “ form s” being any pair o f com plem entary opposites: heaven and earth, yin and yang, etc.), the item s placed in the yii-lan bow l em body the universal process o f change. G host festival offerings do not sim ply m irror the transfor

47 O n the orig ins o f H si H o , see M itarai M asaru, Kodai chugoku no kamiganii: kodai densetsu no kenkyu, T oyogaku sosho, N o . 26 (Tokyo: Sdbunsha, 1984), pp. 477-505.

* Jade-decked trees appear frequently in T ’ang poetry . T hey g ro w in num erous places, including the K ’un-lun M ounta ins and the Sw eet Spring Palace, see PW YF, p. 2595c.

** U n d er the k ’un hexagram . The Book o f Changes notes, “ T he good fo rtune o f rest and perseverance depends on o u r being in accord w ith the boundless natu re o f ea rth ” ; Cliou- i yin-te, H arvard-Y enching Institute Sinological Index Series, Supplem ent N o. 10 (reprin t ed ., Taipei: C h ’eng-w en Publishing C o ., 1966), p. 3; translation from Richard W ilhelm , trans.. The I Ching or Book o f Changes, th ird ed ., trans. C ary F. Haynes, Hollingen Scries, N o . 19 (Princeton: Princeton U niversity Press, 1967), p. 38H.

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m ations taking place in the three w orlds (“ axes”) o f heaven, earth, and man; they are the m ost lum inous concrescences o f that very process.

Yang continues:

III.

Exhaust strange pow ers,Explore miracles:

Young sons and princes Pull and heave as i f bound;Jade w om en, lustrous consorts—They glide and stretch unending.

T he singing w estern phoenix, the purple phoenix,The dancing great phoenix, the kingfisher;A deadly dragon, angered, fierce,A mad elephant, raging, drunk.

Frightful spirits,H idden shades:

Even Li Lou’s nim ble eyesC an’t make ou t their profound subtlety,A nd Artisan Shih’s purity o f heartIsn’t enough to roo t ou t their obscure secrets.

W hile o ther yu-lan -p ’en literature attributes “ m ighty spiritual p o w er” only to the assem bly o f m onks, here all orders o f being share in the nu- m inosity o f the festival. T he m ore elusive m em bers o f the hum an w orld , the rarer and sacred m em bers o f the animal w o rld ,50 and the m ysterious spirits o f the disem bodied w orld all participate in the m ajesty o f the day, while raging dragons and elephants evoke an atm osphere o f force. The w orld abounds w ith these delights, yet they remain beyond the ken o f even the m ost clearheaded.51

T he m arvels o f the ghost festival are seen only indirectly, reflected in the clouds and star tracks o f the firm am ent. Yang rhapsodizes:

50 T h e four k inds o f num inous b irds arc all types o f phoenix. T hey appear in m uch H an and Six D ynasties litera ture and usually presage good events. T h e purple phoenix, for instance, appeared auspiciously as the C h o u took pow er.

51 Li Lou lived during the tim e o f the Y ellow E m peror. H is eyesight was so good tha t he could discern a hair at one hundred paces. H e is m entioned in Mencius, 4A:1; M eng-tzu yin-te. H arvard-Y ench ing Institu te Sinological Index Series, Supplem ent N o . 17 (reprin t cd ., Taipei: C h ’eng-w en Publish ing C o ., 1966), p. 26. A rtisan Shih was a fam ous w o rk m an o f ancient tim es; his full nam e was Shih Po. H e is no ted for his equan im ity in C h ap ter Four o f Chunng-tzu; sec Chuatig-lzu yin-te, H arvard-Y enching Institute Sinological Index Series, Supplem ent N o. 2(1 (C am bridge: H arvard U niversity Press, 1956), p. 11, II.64 IT.

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Teem ing, thronging,M isty, m erging:T he five colors form beautiful patternsLike fine, lustrous etherM aking streaks across a bank o f clouds.

G row ing, glistening,Flourishing, flashing:The three lights m ake a w ondrous vision Like paired jades and a string o f pearls Shining bright in the M ilky Way.

(The “ three lights” are the sun, m oon, and stars; “ paired jades” probably describes the sun and m oon in the sky together, while “ a string o f pearls” indicates the stars.)

Yang’s rapture closes by descending from clouds and precipitous crags to the service taking place in the foreground:

V.

H ow distant—M ount T ’ien-t’ai rising abruptly,Surrounded by reddish clouds.H ow near—Steep, rough m ountain standing alone,C anopied w ith lotus bloom s.

Shim m ering, the imperial quarters in the jasper terrace,C rim son, the im m ortals’ hom e in the golden gate.

Tow ering—Tall as Great B rahm a’s am ong all the heavens.Broad—Spread far as the Ganges’ sands am ong all the dharm as.

A bove they sacrifice great storehouses to seven generations o f ancestors,

Below they offer all kinds o f animals to the T hree Vehicles.

M ountain clouds and imperial offerings are b rought together in the end; the vault o f heaven and earthbound tem ples alike serve as ritual space for the confluence o f forces that occurs in the ghost festival. The “jasper terrace”— not only the beautiful terraces o f Lo-yang, but also the m any m ythical abodes o f long-lived spirits, including the Queen

IV.

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M other o f the West52— reaches the heavens and touches the clouds. In the end we are brought back to earth, m uch enriched for the flight, able to see the fuller significance o f both the riches in the im perial offering and the m eatier items offered by com m on folk.

Yang C hiung uses the occasion o f the ghost festival to em bark on a journey . The day is one o f cosmic flux, o f connection and com m unication, during which M ount K ’un-lun, its treasures and im m ortals, are particularly close. The m any references to m ountains, clouds, and fabulous birds, as well as the m ythical geography deriving from such sources as the Huai-nan-tzu, are part o f the abundant store o f sym bol and m yth from which T ’ang authors drew their favorite flourishes. Phoenixes, dew drops, and different kinds o fjade are all em blem atic o f the rarificd state o f purity so ill served by the epithet o f “ im m orta lity .” T hat such a “T aoist” them e is present in a prose poem on a “ B uddhist” topic should surprise only those w ho assume such categories to be exclusive. To label these them es as “T aoist” (and no t “ B uddhist” ) is to obscure the spccialness o f the day, the closeness o f distant m ountains, the purity o f m ountain mists.

Yang C h iung’s “ Y ii-lan-p’en Rhapsody” also show s— far m ore beautifully than a discussion o f transactional analysis or ritual fields and dram as— that ghost festival offerings constituted not merely an econom ic system o f exchange betw een parties living and dead, but m ore im portan tly an experience rich in lum inosity and celestial significations. M aking offerings was not a mechanical transaction, it was an act in w hich the actors quaked w ith awe and their prestations shone w ith brilliance. Festooning temples w ith banners and flowers was not an act o f quiet decoration. Participants and the w orld in w hich they lived w ere transform ed through the rituals o f the ghost festival. H ow could it be otherw ise w ith divine w om en, m arvelous birds, and unseen specters converging under the first full m oon o f autum n?

Y ang’s rhapsody was well know n in the T ’ang, and it was preserved in a num ber o f private and officially sponsored literary encyclopedias. Som e o f Yang’s sym bolism is also echoed in later poem s on the ghost festival.

G o v e r n m e n t O f f e r in g s A c c o r d i n g t o t h e T ’ang liu-tien (c a . 739)

A w ork presented to Em peror H siian-tsung (r. 712-756) in 739, the T ’ang liu-tien (Administrative Rules o f the S ix Departments under the

M See W ang C li’i's com m ents on l.i P o 's series o f poem s, “ C h 'in g -p 'in g t ’iao -tz 'u ,” in L i T ’ai-po wai-chi, ed. W ang C h ’i (ca. 1758) (n .p .: I’ao-liu-lou , 1758), ch. 5, p. 22v.

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T ’ang), preserves a description o f the bureau in charge o f supplying the official offerings during the ghost festival. T he responsibilities o f the governm ent office in question, the C entral Office (C hung-shang shu) o f the Imperial W orkshop (Shao-fu chicn), include the construction o f the various tablets, clothes, musical instrum ents, and other objects used in state ritual.53 In noting the duties o f the Central Office th roughout the year, the T ’ang liu-tien states that, “ during the seventh m onth . . . on the fifteenth day, the office furnishes yii-lan bowls. ”5'’

Some o f the regulations in the T ’ang liu-tien describe ideal measures that were not carried out during the T ’ang, but in o ther respects it presents an accurate picture o f adm inistrative theory and practice under H siian-tsung.55 While the rules in the T ’ang liu-tien do no t in every case represent actual governm ent practice, there is no countercvidence to dispute the passage in question. Furtherm ore, the m ore specific the rule (like the one in question), the m ore likely that it represents actual practice. Hence, it m ay be concluded that the C entral Office o f the Imperial W orkshop was probably responsible for supplying the objects used in imperial ghost festival offerings in the m id-T ’ang dynasty.

T h e C e l e b r a t io n u n d e r E m p e r o r T a i- t s u n g in 768

E m peror T ai-tsung’s (r. 762-779) celebration o f the ghost festival in 768 is the m ost thickly docum ented o f all imperial celebrations during the T ’ang dynasty. T ai-tsung’s devotional style appears to be consistent w ith his unbounded patronage o f the B uddhist establishm ent,

5J O n this office, see R obert des R otours, trans., Traite desfonctionnaires et TraiUde I’armee, traduits dela Nouvelle histoiredes T ’ang (chap. X L V I -L ) , 2 vols., B iblio theque de l’ln- stitu t des H autcs E tudes C hinoises, Vol. 6 (Leiden: E. J . Brill, 1948), pp . 462-67; and Hsin t ’ang shu, pp. 1269-70.

54 T ’ang liu-tien (com pleted 639), cd. C hang C hiu-ling , S su-k’u ch’iian-shu chen-pen, Series 6, Vols. 117-19 (Taipei: C om m ercial Press, 1976), ch. 22, p. 10b. T his passage is elided in the corresponding chapter o f the Hsin t'ang shu, p. 1269. R otours, Traiti des jonc- tionnaires, p. 465, n. 2, w rites, “ in fact it is certain that the au thors o f the Hsin t ’ang shu in tentionally suppressed this passage, because they sough t to do aw ay w ith all evidence o f B uddh ism .” T he T'ang liu-tien and the Hsin t ’ang shu also note the responsibilities o f the C entra l O ffice for furnishing item s on 2 /2 , the C old Food Festival (105 days after the w in ter solstice), 5 /5 , 7 /7 , and the N ew Year Festival; see R otours, Trait#des fonctiomtaires, pp. 463-66.

55 T h e T'ang liu-tien incorporates segm ents o f the revised laws p rom ulga ted in 719 and 737. See D enis C . T w itch e tt, “ H siian-tsung ,” C hapte r 7 o f The Cambridge History o f China, Vol. 3, Part 1: Suiand T'ang China, 589-906, cd. D enis C . T w itc h e tt (C am bridge: C am b rid g e U niversity Press, 1979), pp. 354, 414-15; and R obert des R otours, “ Le T ’ang lieou-ticn decrit-il exactetnent les institu tions oil usage sous la dynastic des T ’ang?” J A 263:1-2(1975): 183-201.

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w hich included tem ple construction, mass ordinations, large feasts, and special support o f the Tantric m onk P u-k ’ung chin-kang (A m o- ghavajra) (705—774).56 Sources allow us to chart the route follow ed by the T ’ang em perors’ ancestral tablets as they w ere carried to and from the Palace Chapel in the imperial quarters o f C h ’ang-an. T he sources do no t focus on the celebration o f the festival at public, state-supported tem ples, but rather on the sem iprivate rituals that T ai-tsung perform ed for his ow n ancestors, the preceding Sons o f Heaven, in the context o f the im perial ancestral cult. T he rituals he perform ed w ere typical o f o ther im perial celebrations during the T ’ang. It also appears that Tai- tsung used the occasion to m ake special provisions for the salvation o f his m other, w ho w ould not norm ally have been included in the form al im perial rites.

W hile m any o f the imperial festivities w ere shielded from public view, in m ost respects they resem bled the popular celebration o f the ghost festival. Music, dancing, and ornate banners filled the streets o f the city, and large crow ds m ust have jo ined the imperial procession— already swollen by ranks o f officials and musicians— as it m ade its way to C hang-ching ssu ju s t outside o f C h ’ang-an.

T he earliest (also the m ost complete) description o f the celebration o f 768 in C h ’ang-an is contained in the biography o f W ang C hin (d. 781) in the Old T ’ang History. Wang Chin, the younger bro ther o f the famous poet Wang Wei (701-756), was the high official usually blamed for T ai-tsung’s heavy patronage o f Buddhism . According to W ang’s biography:

O n the full m oon o f the seventh m onth Tai-tsung made yii-lan bow ls in the Palace Chapel. T hey were decorated w ith golden kingfisher feathers and cost a million cash. He also set out ancestral tablets for seven generations from Kao-tsu on dow n. They w ere com pletely clothed in pennants and dragon parasols, w ith their venerable names w ritten on the pennants so that people w ould know [which tablet represented which ancestor]. These tablets w ere carricd out from the imperial precincts to be displayed in the B uddhist and Taoist temples. O n this day all o f the officials w ith their insignia were arrayed at the Gate o f B right Accord to await the procession. Banners and flowers, singing and dancing, and shouts o f w elcom c filled the streets.

T he celebration was an annual affair, bu t know ledgeable people

5,1 For the institutional h istory o f B uddhism during T ai-tsu n g ’s reign, see Stanley W einstein, Buddhism under the T'aiig (C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press, 1987), pp. 77-89.

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ridiculcd its untraditional nature. The destruction o f the teaching [o f the Sagc-Em perors] began w ith W ang.57

A thirteenth-century account by the Buddhist historian C h ih -p ’an (ca. 1260) adds a few details:

In the seventh m onth an edict established the yii-lan-p’en assembly. Ancestral tablets for seven generations from K ao-tsu on dow n w ere taken from the Imperial Ancestral Tem ple and set out in the Palace Chapel. Banners and flowers, music and singing accom panied them all along the road, and all o f the officials received them and paid obeisance. The celebration was an annual affair.

T he next day num inous fungus sprouted in tw o room s o f the Imperial Ancestral T em ple.58

These tw o accounts provide a tantalizing picture o f the nature o f im perial celebrations during the T ’ang. The spirit tablets o f the imperial ancestors w ere taken from their usual niches in the Imperial Ancestral Tem ple (t ’ai-miao) to the Palace Chapel (nei tao-ch’ang), w here Tai- tsung made the yii-lan-p’en offering. In theory the Imperial Ancestral Tem ple was the locus o f the em peror’s ancestral cult, but during the T ’ang few em perors actually perform ed ceremonies there .59 Tai-tsung decided no t to make ghost festival offerings in the Imperial Ancestral Tem ple, w hich was located in the Imperial C ity (huang-ch’eng), the cordon o f governm ent offices in the north-central part o f C h ’ang-an.60 Instead he chose to have his fam ily’s ancestral tablets b rough t to the Palace Chapel, w hich was located in the part o f C h ’ang-an designated as the em peror’s living quarters, the Palace o f Great Illum ination (Tam ing kung).61

57 T ranslation from Chiu t ’ang shu, p. 3418. Cf. the translation by K enneth K .S. C h ’en, “ Filial P iety in C hinese B uddhism ,” HJAS 28 (1968):93, w hich deletes the h isto rian’s criticism in the last tw o sentences. T he account (m inus the last sentence) is also rep ro duced in T ’ai-p’ing yii-lan, p. 272a-b.

58 Po-tsu t ’ung-chi, T. no. 2035, 49:378; see also T. 49:451a.59 See H ow ard J. Wechslcr, Offerings o f Jade and Silk: Ritual and Symbol in the Legitima

tion o f the T 'ang Dynasty (N ew H aven: Yale U niversity Press, 1985), esp. pp. 123—41.60 See T ’ang liang-ching ch’eng-fang k ’ao, Hsii Sung (1781-1848), in Todai no choan to

rakuyd: shiryo hen, ed. H iraoka Takeo, T ’ang C ivilization Reference Series, N o . 6 (K yoto: K yoto d a ig ak u jin b u n kagaku kenkyujo , 1956), ch. 1, p. l l v .

61 T h e Palace o f G reat Illum ination was built under T 'a i-tsu n g (r. 626-649), and K ao- tsung m oved his residence there in 662. D uring the T ’ang “ Palace C hapel" appears to have been the generic term for the ritual space w ith in the im perial living quarters in w hich any B uddhist o r T aoist event w as held. Seasonal observances like the ghost festival and the B uddha’s b irthday, irregular events like feasts, ord inations, and prayers for rain, as well as debates betw een B uddhists and Taoists w ere all held there. O n the nei tao- ch’ang in T 'a n g tim es, see Ta-sung seng-shih liieh, by T san-n ing (919-1001), T . no. 2126,

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The imperial ancestral cult was limited to the im perial family. Tai- tsung took part in the ghost festival for the sake o f his ow n ancestors, w ith the proceedings largely closed to the public. O u r sources indicate that w hen they were taken out o f the em peror’s family tem ple and placed in public view, the spirit tablets were so com pletely covered that their names, w hich w ere engraved on the tablets themselves, had to be w ritten on the cloth-and-feathcr coverings so that people w ould know w hich tablet was which. T hrough these tablets, all o f the T ’ang em perors w ho preceded Tai-tsung (Kao-tsu [r. 618-626] and the six succeeding em perors) w ere present at the service held in the Palace Chapel.

T he celebration o f 768 was opened to the public only after the conclusion o f the imperial service. After Tai-tsung had made his lavish offerings in the Palace Chapel, the tablets w ere paraded th rough the Palace o f Great Illum ination and eventually taken to public temples. While the procession still rem ained w ithin the imperial precincts, a host o f officials gathered at a small gate internal to the Palace o f Great Illum ination, the Gate o f B right Accord (Kuang-shun men), to jo in in the procession.62 After bow ing to the T ’ang ancestors, the governm ent officers took their place in the cortege as it made its way out o f the im perial quarters.

T he cerem ony described above— Tai-tsung’s offerings in the Palace Chapel and the procession o f ancestral tablets th rough the Gate o f B right Accord— represents only one-half o f the im perially sponsored celebration. O ther sources show that the celebration continued outside the walls o f C h ’ang-an at C hang-ching ssu. An eleventh-century collection o f docum ents notes that in 768:

In the seventh m onth [the em peror] sent special yii-lan bow ls to C hang-ching ssu, which had recently been com pleted. To supplem ent [his repaym ent of] unbounded kindness [that his parents had bestow ed], he decreed that all o f the officials go to the tem ple and m ake a procession w ith incense.63

54:247b-c; M ichihata R yoshu , Todai bukkyo shi no kenkyu (K yoto: H ozokan, 1957), pp. 24-28; and N aba Toshisada, “ T odai ni okeru kokugi gydko ni tsu ite” (1955), reprin ted in Todai shakai bunka shi kenkyu (Tokyo: Sobunsha, 1974), pp. 33-48. For the h isto ry o f the nei tao-ch’ang in the C hin and Sui dynasties, see Yamazaki H iroshi, Z u i Id bukkyo shi no kenkyu (K yoto: H ozokan, 1967), pp. 85-115.

62 O n the location o f the K uang-shun m en, see Ch'ang-ati chih, Sung M in-ch’iu (1019- 1079), in Todai no choan lo rakuyo, ch. 6, p. 7v; and T'ang liang-ching ch'eng-fang k ’ao, in Todai no choan lo rakuyo, ch. 1, p. 17r. T ai-tsung had had a B uddhist sta tue installed at the K uang-shun m en in 765, see Fo-lsu t ’ung-chi, T . 49:377c.

M T t ’e-fii yilan-kuei, W ang C 'h’in-jo (962-1025), 12 vols. (Peking: C hung-hua shu-chii.

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C hang-ching ssu was located ju s t outside o f C h ’ang-an, near the northern end o f the eastern city w all.64 C hang-ching ssu had been established only the year before. It was nam ed after Tai-tsung’s m other, w ho was given the honorific nam e o f “ C hang-ching” (D ow ager W ho “ Displays Respect” ), and the tem ple was constructed to make m erit on her behalf. The tem ple proved to be a thriving center o f m onastic and lay activity through the end o f the T ’ang dynasty .65

W hat is particularly no tew orthy about the latter ha lf o f the 768 cerem ony is that it was probably no t perform ed for the benefit o f the em peror’s male ancestors, bu t for the sake o f his m other, w ho had no official place in the imperial line residing at the Imperial Ancestral Tem ple. This second, maternal aspect o f the celebration, perform ed after the rites affirm ing the patriliny, may well be the unm entioned insult that Liu Hsii equates w ith “ the destruction o f the teaching [o f the Sagc-Em perors].” While all versions o f the yu-lan-p’en m yth clearly show M u-licn perform ing the service for his departed m other, m ost em perors apparently gave offerings only to their male ancestors.66 In follow ing M u-licn’s example, Tai-tsung was an exception: he used the cerem ony o f 768 to make extensive provisions for his m o ther’s salvation.

W here Liu Hsii sees the destructive effects o f the B uddhist and m at- rilineal slant given to the festival, C h ih -p’an points to its m iraculous results when he reports that, “The next day num inous fungus sprouted in tw o room s o f the Imperial Ancestral T em ple.” Sources prior to C h ih -p ’an’s thirteenth-century account make no m ention o f this auspicious sign, although the Old T ’ang History reports that fungus did sprout in tw o room s o f the Imperial Ancestral Tem ple on the thirtieth day o f the seventh m onth tw o years before, in 766.67

1960), 1:577a. See also Tzu-chih t ’ung-chien (com pleted 1084), Ssu-m a K uang, 10 vols., (Taipei: I-w en y in-shu-kuan , 1955), pp. 3496b-97a.

64 See Ch'ang-an chih. Sung M in-ch ’iu, in Todai no choan to rakuyo, ch. 10, p. 12r.65 See Tzu-chih t ’ung-chien, pp. 3493b-94b; and T'ang hui-yao, W ang P ’u (922-982),

Pai-pu ts 'u n g -sh u chi-ch’eng, N o . 27 (Taipei: l-w en y in-shu-kuan , 1969), ch. 48, p. 6 r - v. For m ore background on the construction and later h isto ry o f this tem ple, see Stanley W einstein, Buddhism under the T 'ang (C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press, 1987), pp. 83-84.

66 It is h ighly unlikely that E m press Wu w as represented by a sp irit tablet in the Im perial A ncestral T em ple after the reigns o f her tw o sons, C h u n g -tsu n g (r. 705-710) and Ju i-tsu n g (r. 710-712). If she was so represented, there w ould have been seven spirit tablets in addition to K ao-tsu’s in the procession in the Palace C hapel in 768.

67 In m y opin ion the m ost reasonable date for the fungus sp ro u tin g is 7/30/766. T he O ld T ’ang History records the event for the seventh m on th o f the year 766: “ on the kuei- wei [thirtieth] day a fungus plant sprou ted in tw o room s o f the Im perial Ancestral T em p le ," Chiu t'ang shu, p. 283. It is m y guess that this event was too well k n ow n and too

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P o e m s a n d C e l e b r a t io n s u n d e r E m p e r o r T e- t s u n g

(r. 779-805)

T he pattern o f ghost festival celebrations under Em peror T e-tsung (r. 779-805) reflects the broader fluctuations in the official attitude tow ard the B uddhist establishm ent during the T ’ang dynasty. It w ould appear that both state support for public celebrations as well as the em pero r’s ow n participation in the festival waned at the beginning and w axed at the end o f T e-tsung’s reign. While the sources allow only a spotty reconstruction o f celebrations during these years, they do preserve tw o no tew orthy poem s w ritten on the occasion o f the ghost festival in 791. O ne poem , by Te-tsung himself, draws on a largely B uddhist vocabulary to praise quiescence and the virtue o f charity. T he second poem , w ritten by T s’ui Y uan-yu, com bines a m ild rebuke o f the em peror for his self-absorption w ith an appreciation o f the cosm ological significance o f the early autum n ritual.

In his early years, E m peror Te-tsung sharply reduced the high level o f spending on B uddhist and Taoist establishm ents characteristic o f his father’s rule.68 In 780 he m arked the second ghost festival o f his reign by putting an end to celebrations in the palace. The Old T ’ang History notes that, “ O n the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth in autum n, the practice o f setting out yu-lan bow ls in the palace was ended, and m onks w ere no t ordered to appear in the Palace C hapel.”69

T he banishm ent o f B uddhist sym bols and rituals from the imperial ancestral cult, w hich probably lasted for only eleven years, apparently had little o r no effect on the popular celebrations o f the ghost festival, for w e find the B uddhist histories reporting that, som etim e during his reign, the em peror h im self w ent out to A n-kuo ssu in northeast

useful— as an auspicious sign— for B uddhist historians to pass over in silence. C h ih -p ’an included the event in a B uddhist schem e by changing the date (from 7/30/766 to 7 /16 / 768) so that it affirm ed the efficacy o f y ii-lan-p 'en offerings. T su-hsiu , a B uddhist h istorian w h o w ro te the Ltmg-hsitig fo-chaio pien-nien t'ung-lun in 1164, included the event in a B uddhist schem e by m oving T ai-tsung’s fam ous celebration o f the festival to the day before the fungus sprou ted . But T su-hsiu neglected to change the original sexagenary designation o f the date, so that on his accounting the y ii-lan-p’en offerings w ere m ade on the unlikely date o f 7/29/766; see Lung-hsing fo-chiao pien-nien t'ung-lun, in Z . 2B, 3:3, p. 297rb. W einstein, Buddhism under the T ’ang, p. 83, accepts T su -hsiu 's date o f 766. (Tsu- hsiu incorrectly records the year as the first year o fT a-li. T he year was in fact the second year o f Y u n g -t’ai, since the reign nam e was no t changed from Y ung-t’ai to Ta-li until the eleventh m onth ; see T un g T so -p in , Chung-kuo nien-li tsung-p’u, 2 vols. [H ong Kong: H o n g K ong U niversity Press, 1960], 2:270.)

“ For the institutional h istory o f Buddhism during T e-tsung 's reign, see W einstein, Buddhism under the T'ang, pp. 88-89.

Chiu t ’ang shu, p. 780.

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C h ’ang-an to observe yii-lan-p’en festivities.70 A late source hints that im perial offerings in the Palace Chapel had been resum ed in 786, but this possibility cannot be established w ith certainty.71

By the year 791 Te-tsung had in any event reverted to the practice, begun by his father in 768, o f attending ghost festival services at C hang-ching ssu. Several sources preserve records o f the event, which probably occurred on the n ight o f the fourteenth:

O n the seventh m onth o f the seventh year [of C hen-yiian, i.e.,791], the Em peror visited C hang-ching ssu and com posed a poem:

People from all over crow d the imperial city,Lining the roads, form ing m any walls.

For the D harm a-fcast m eeting in early fall,We drive out to visit the m editation bureau.

I have heard tell that the im m ortal teaches Tranquility , honors no-birth .

M y offerings are baskets o f the seven goods,To perfect charity before other actions.

W ith nam e and form both silent H ow do pleasures m aintain their glory?

A utum n’s golden w ind fans a light breeze,D istant sm oke thick and crystal blue.

Pine garden peaceful, mossy;Bam boo hut, sonorous chimes.

Pitch dark, utterly quiet thought—T he Way trium phant, externals quelled.

Consciousness at base is not for speaking—W hetting m y brush, feeling again fills the void.

70 Fo-lsu I’ung-chi, T . no. 2035, 49:451a. [Ta] A n-kuo ssu was located in the eastern half o f the C h ’ang-lo quarter o f C h ’ang-an.. It w as established in 710 by E m p e ro r Ju i-tsu n g and con tained m urals painted by disciples o f the fam ous pain ter, W u Tao-hsiian (ca. e ighth century). See T ’ang liang-ching ch’eng-fang k ’ao, in Todai no choan lo rakuyo, ch. 3, pp. 17v-18r.

71 C hiieh-an (ca. 1354) in his Shih-shih chi-ku liieh, T . no. 2037, w rites that in 786, “ T he y u -lan -p ’en assem bly w as reinstitu ted ju s t like in T ai-tsu n g ’s tim e ,” T. 49:829c. Tai- tsu n g had celebrated the festival in bo th the Palace C hapel and at C hang-ch ing ssu, so if C h iieh -an ’s account is reliable, it w ould suggest tha t T e-tsung reinstitu ted celebrations in bo th places in 786. O th e r sources m ake no m ention o f the 786 celebration.

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All o f the officials were in agreem ent, and it was w ritten on the tem ple walls. Later, C hing-chao Yin H sueh-ku asked perm ission to have the em peror’s poem engraved in stone and filled in w ith go ld .72

T he festival in this year m ust have been a raucous event, as Te-tsung refers to crow ds from the four corners73 lining the streets leading to the tem ple. T he em peror makes use o f B uddhist term inology in portraying his offering as an act o f charity74 and in describing a path o f m editation that ends in quiescence and a heightened state o f awareness. For T e-tsung the B uddha’s teaching o f em ptiness com plem ents the mild au tum n breeze and reverberating tem ple bells that penetrate the tem ple gardens. In the poem ’s precious ending, T c-tsung’s m om ent o f quiet, ineffable illum ination gives w ay to expression as he picks up his brush to try his hand at verse.

Fortunately T e-tsung’s poetic efforts gave rise to a fine piece by T s’ui Y uan-yu, a poem entitled, “ Accom panying the Sage’s Poem W ritten on C hung-yiian at C hang-ching Ssu.” T s’ui was from Po-ling (present-day Shantung) and occupied various posts in the central governm ent, including Auxiliary Secretary o f the Board o f Rites (Li-pu yiian- w ai-lang) and Erudite in the C o u rt o f Imperial Sacrifices (T ’ai-ch’ang po-shih). In both positions his responsibilities dem anded a thorough know ledge o f the protocol and practice o f state-sponsored ritual.75 I render his poem below:

The m ysterious Way cannot be expressed in basic speech, Taking different paths, assum ing other names.

But the Sage possesses its essentials,Fully transform ing all creatures.

72 T ransla tion from T'ang hui-yao, W ang P ’u, ch. 27, p. 14r; em ended on the basis o f the recension in C h ’iian t ’ang shih, p. 7. T he account in T'ang hui-yao is reproduced in ch.29 o f the Yii hai, W ang Y ing-lin (1223-12% ) (Taipei: H ua-w cn shu-chii, 1964), pp. 607b-8a. T h e b rie f account in the O ld T ’ang History dates the event on the fourteenth , C hiu t ’ang shu, p. 372.

73 “ People from all o v e r” translates “ chao-t’i,” a transliteration o f the S kt., “caturdefa,” m eaning “ four quarters ,” often used in the expression “ m onks o f the four q u arte rs” (chao-t’i seng o r chao-t’i k ’o). See C W T T T , 12212.90.

74 In The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, K ing B im bisara offers “ bow ls o f the seven je w els” (ch’i-paop’en-po); C hing-t’u yii-lan-p’en ching, in ja n ja w o rsk i , "L ’A valam bana Sutra de la tc rre p u re ,” 1. 52.

75 For T s ’u i’s b iography , see Chiu t ’ang shu, pp. 3766-67; Hsin t ’ang shu, p. 5783; and T ’ang-shih chi-shih, pp. 533-34. H is surv iv ing w orks are collected in C h ’iian t ’ang shih, pp. 3521-22; and in C h ’iian t ’ang wen, ch. 523.

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A phoenix calls from the royal gardens,D ragon palaces form outer walls;

Flow er garlands arrayed in the rear halls,C loud chariots parked in the front chambers.

Pine, bam boo— full o f the new season,Porch w indow s cool and fresh.

Fond m em ories o f K ’ung -t’ung—Flute music, play on.

O utside o f form , com plete silence;Forgetting w ords, reason m ade pure.

If w ithin the realm sincerity may be called great,T hen the em pire will rest at ease.

Yielding comes from m aking things equal;H ow can the brave heart o f Yao maintain its glory?76

T s’ui’s poem gains its force by posing a Way o f action as a conclusion to the Way o f stillness touted in T e-tsung’s poem . T s’ui begins w ith an echo o f the transcendent silence in T e-tsung’s poem and then further explores how that silence may be used to order and harm onize the social w orld. While the Way itself rem ains transcendent to w ords, it finds instrum ental expression in the actions and virtues o f the Sage. Thus, the em pire is ordered w hen the Sage— and certainly both Te-tsung and the B uddha fall under this hallowed rubric— cultivates responsiveness and yielding.77 T he virtues o f quiescence and m editation are to be seen in their broader ram ifications, in their effect upon the em pire.

In his description o f the Sage’s experience, T s’ui com m ands a m uch richer stock o f allusions than does Te-tsung. T he call o f the phoenix is usually heard, for instance, w hen the Great Gate opens in K ’un-lun ,78 and cloud chariots are a favorite m ode o f transport for sky-bound goddesses, holy m en, and dragons. In T s’ui’s poem , as in Yang C hiung’s

76 C h ’uan t ’ang shih, p. 3521.77 In his line, “ If w ith in the realm sincerity m ay be called g rea t,” T s 'u i alludes to the

Tao te ching, ch. 25: “ . . . the Way is great, heaven is great, earth is great, and the k ing is also great. W ithin the realm there are four th ings that are great, and the k ing coun ts as o n e” ; Lao-tzu tao te ching chu, H sin-picn chu-tzu chi-ch’eng, Vol. 3 (Taipei: Shih-chieh shu-chii, 1978), p. 14; translation fo llow ing D . C . Lau, trans., Lao T z u , Tao Te Ching (H arm o n d sw o rth : Penguin Books, 1963), p. 82. For T s ’ui, as for the Taoist and Buddhist sources to w hich he alludes, the perfection o f v irtue by the Sage is inevitably related to the social order.

7H See PW YF, p. 643c.

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“ Y ii-lan-p’en R hapsody” w ritten a century before, the ghost festival effects the rupture that brings the cool m ountains o f K ’u n g -t’ung (in Kansu and Honan) closer to hand.

The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother from the Dark Regions

(c a . 800)

T he “ transform ation tex t” {pien-wen) conccrning M u-lien narrates a story that had wide circulation in T ’ang China. The value o f this p ro - sim etric tale, which grew ou t o f oral storytelling traditions, is that it dem onstrates the particular kinds o f appeal that the ghost festival and M u-lien had for the popular im agination in medieval times. As a reflection o f Chinese religion at the grass roots, The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother presents a view o f the w orld in w hich gods, heroes, and concepts o f foreign origin are fully synthesized w ith indigenous ones. The focus o f the transform ation text is different from that o f the canonical sources. Its version o f the M u-lien m yth is alm ost exclusively concerned w ith M u-lien’s tour o f hell, sparing no detail in narrating the punishm ent o f hell dwellers, the inexorable laws o f karm a, and the unbending magistrates w ho adm inister punishm ents. In the transform ation text M u-lien satisfies sim ultaneously the dem ands o f filiality and w orld renunciation, wielding the pow ers o f the sham an and those o f the m onk to deliver his m other from the tortures o fhell.

A m ature understanding o f the significance o f transform ation texts in the social, literary, and religious history o f China has em erged only in the past few decades. Building on the earlier w ork o f those Chinese scholars w ho first edited the pien-wen m anuscripts discovered at T un- huang, current studies have begun to answ er w ith m ore certainty questions conccrning the literary form , the pictorial aspects, the audience, and the origins o f transform ation texts.79

79 M y sum m ary in the nex t four paragraphs draw s m ost heavily on the w ork o f V ictorH . M air, including Tun-huang Popular Narratives (C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press, 1983); and “ Lay S tudents and the M aking o f W ritten V ernacular N arra tive : An Inven tory o f T un-huang M anuscrip ts,” ChinoperI Papers N o . 10 (1981):5-96. See also M air’s fo rthcom ing study o f the Indie orig ins and pan-A sian developm ent o f p icture sto ries, T ’ang Transformation Texts, H arvard-Y enching M onograph Series (C am bridge: H arvard U niversity Press, fo rthcom ing). See also Pai H ua-w en , “ W hat is Pien-wen?” trans. V ictor H. M air, HJAS 44:2 (D ecem ber 1984):493-514; and K anaoka Shoko, Tonko no bungaku (Tokyo: D aizo shuppansha, 1971). For representative earlier studies, see H siang Ta, “ T 'an g -ta i su-chiang k 'ao ," Kuo-hsiieh chi-k’an 6:4 (January 1950):l-42, reprin ted in T ’ang-tai ch'ang-an yii hsi-yii wen-ming (Peking: S heng-huo tu-shu hsin-chih

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Transform ation texts represent a Chinese adaptation o f the chantefa- ble form characteristic o f B uddhist sutras and stories. Prose portions in pien-wen arc often in the vernacular language, while their m etrical sections are heptasyllabic, w ith varying rhym e schemes. The extant pien- wen m anuscripts are neither scripts for the perform ance o f stories nor independent literary pieces. Rather, they lie som ew here betw een the poles o f a precise w ritten record o f an oral perform ance and an independently circulated w ritten text. T he Tun-huang m anuscripts o f this prosim etric form also reflect the less-than-advanccd stage o f literacy achieved by the lay students w ho copied them.

B oth internal and external evidence confirm s the pictorial aspect o f pien-wen perform ance. T ransform ation texts alm ost always introduce long verse sections w ith the phrase (or one o f its variants), “ Please look at the place w here [a particular event, e .g ., M u-licn’s encounter w ith King Yama in hell] occurs, how does it go?” At these junctures in the perform ance, storytellers w ould direct their audience’s attention to a new picture, w hich depicted the next scene described in the story. C ontem porary accounts make it clear that som e storytellers used painted scrolls that they turned to expose a succession o f scenes, while som e had recourse to the “ transform ation pictures” (pien-hsiang) adorning the walls o f temples and m onasteries.8"

O ther sources provide im portan t clues concerning the perform ers and the audience o f T ’ang picure tales. They were recited, sung, and illustrated no t by m onks, but by professional entertainers, often female singers. T he m ost frequent audience for these perform ances consisted neither o f m onks nor literate lay people, but the masses at large, those people w ho gathered in and around B uddhist tem ples during the num erous seasonal festivals (including the seventh m oon) that punctuated the Chinese year. C om m on people flocked to these grand spectacles not sim ply to make offerings, but also to be part o f a large, festive gathering, to purchase rare items and display their ow n fam ily’s wealth, and to hear the poem s and watch the pictures depicting favorite stories from the popular tradition. W ithin the compass o f popular Chinese lit

san-lien shu-tien ch ’u-pan, 1957), pp. 1-116; C heng C h cn -to , Chting-kuo su-wen-hsiieh shih, 2 vols. (1954; rep rin t ed ., Taipei: C om m ercia l Press, 1965), 1:180-270; Lo T su n g - t’ao, “ P ien-ko , p ien-hsiang, p ien-w en ,” Chung-hua hsiieh-yiian N o . 7 (M arch 1971 ):73— 99; and Paul D em icville, ‘‘Les D ebuts de la litteratu re en chinois vulgaire ,” Acadfmie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Contptes rendus (1952), reprin ted in C hoix deludes sinologiques (Leiden: E .J . Brill, 1973), pp. 121-29.

80 For a p icture scroll (narrating S ariputra’s battle w ith Raudraksa) w ith verses on the back, apparently for use by storytellers, sec A kiyam a Tcrukazu, “ T o n k o -b o n gom ahen em aki ni tsu ite ,” Bijutsu kenkyu N o. 187 (July 1956): 1-35; and idem , “ T o n k o ni okeru henbun to kaiga,” Bijutsti kenkyu N o . 2 1 1 (July !%()): 1-28.

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erature such pien-wen as The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother are unsurpassed in entertainm ent value.

Pien-wen not only entertained— The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother abounds w ith blood and entrails, m etam orphosing animals, cosmic battles waged against the spooks and guardians o f hell— they also educated. T hat is, the “ transform ations” or manifestations o f Buddhas, gods, and heroes spoken o f in these texts w ere also intended to enlighten their audience. Short o f com plete illum ination, they edified and instructed com m on people in the ethics and cosm ology o f Chinese B uddhist folk religion. T he pien-wen version o f the M u-licn tale dem onstrated the efficacy o f charity, the donation o f gifts to m onks by lay people. T hrough explicit lectures from the likes o f K ing Yama and other functionaries o f hell and through the exam ple o f particular kinds o f hells corresponding to particular kinds o f sinful acts, the transform ation text drove hom e the inevitability o f karm ic retribution.

The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother relates the M u- lien m yth as it was told to the “ masses,” unfiltcred by the m onastic establishm ent and unccnsored by Confucian tastes. It is an expression o f the values and interests o f the vast m ajority o f Chinese people, w ho took part in the ghost festival as small donors and willing listeners, not as B uddhist converts or governm ent officials. Its value is further enhanced by the large num ber o f extant m anuscripts, which, though not w ithou t lacunae and other problem s, constitute a nearly com plete tex t.81 Lines from a “ M u-lien transform ation” (Mu-lien pien) are quoted in a hum orous dialogue betw een the poet, Po C hu-i (772-846),

81 V ictor H . M air’s translation in Tun-huang Popular Narratives fu rther increases the value o f this tex t. I have also consulted the translation by Iriya Yoshitaka, “ Dai m ok k en - ren m eikan kyubo h enbun ,” in Bukkyo bungaku shii, ed. Iriya Y oshitaka, C h u g o k u koten bungaku taikei (Tokyo: H eibonsha, 1975), pp. 54-81. W alcy’s incom plete bu t elegant translation m ay still be consulted w ith advantage; A rth u r W aley, trans., Ballads and Stories from Tun-huang: A n Anthology (London: G eorge Allen and U n w in , 1960). M y references are to the C hinese tex t in T H l’W C , pp. 714-55, usually fo llow ing M air’s em endations. The Transformation T ext on Mu-lien Saving His Mother is also collated in C h o u Shao-liang, ed ., Tun-huang pien-wen hui-lu (Shanghai: Shang-hai ch’u -pan kung-ssu , 1955), pp. 149-85. For o th er studies, see A oki M asaru, “ T o n k o isho Mokuren engi, Dai mokkenren meikan kyiibo henbun, oyobi Coma dzabun ni tsu ite ,” Shinagaktt 4:3 (O ctober 1927): 123—30, reprin ted in Shina bungaku geijutsu kd (Tokyo: K obundo , 1942), pp. 172— 82; K uraishi Takeshiro, “Mokuren henbun shokai no ato n i,” Shinagaku 4:3 (O ctober 1927):130-38; K aw aguchi H isao, “ T onko henbun no sozai to n ihon bungaku: Mokuren henbun, Coma henbun,'' Nihon chugoku gakkai ho N o . 8 (1957): 116-33; K anaoka Shoko, Tonko no bungaku (Tokyo: D aizo shuppansha, 1971), pp. 249-57; and idem , Tonko no ntinshu: sono seikatsu to sltiso, T oyo jin no kodo to shiso, Vol. 8 (Tokyo: H ydronsha , 1972), pp. 189-232.

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and a visitor that took placc in 825 or 826 in Su-chou (present-day K iangsu).82 The current text o f The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother m ay be dated roughly to the year 800, although the unw ritten traditions on w hich it draw s probably extend back several centuries before that.

T he story o f the founding o f the ghost festival (the m ain focus o f the canonical yii-lan-p’en sources) form s but a fraction o f The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother. Instead, the audience’s attention is given over alm ost entirely to M u-licn’s quest for his m other, C h ’ing- t ’i. T he transform ation text begins w ith a b rief account o f C h ’in g -t’i’s previous actions, her avaricious lies and refusal to donate food to m onks, w hich land her in the deepest o f all hells, Avici Hell. M ost o f the story focuses on M u-lien’s efforts to find his dear, departed m other, w hom he believes to be free o f sin. He finds his father in B rahm a’s Heaven, bu t not his m other. Descending beneath the surface o f the continent o f Jam budvlpa, M u-lien questions a long succession o f hell dwellers and bureaucrat-gods concerning her whereabouts. The narrative serves as a guidebook to the hells. It points ou t such im portan t landm arks as the W atthellwedo River, w hich all sinners m ust cross, and it details the titles and functions o f all o f the m em bers o f the underw orld bureaucracy from the lowliest gaolers and m essengers to King Yama and the M agistrate o f M ount T ’ai. It spares few details in describing the tortures undergone by hell dwellers, w hile the heavens (B rahm a’s Palace and the Heaven o f T hirty-T hree, w here C h ’in g -t’i eventually achieves rebirth) are m entioned sum m arily in uninspired term s.

In The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother, M u-lien em erges as a brave adventurer w illing to risk anything for the salvation o f his m other. While the Buddha docs break dow n the gates o f Avici Hell to release C h ’in g -t’i, the hero o f the story is clearly M u-lien. It is M u-lien, a m erely hum an disciple, w ho braves the spears and flames o f hell, and it is M u-lien w ho undertakes the jo u rney to the o ther w orld to com m unicate w ith anccstral spirits. The transform ation text is not prim arily concerned w ith abstract values like filiality o r w isdom , w ith rebirth in the Pure Land or achieving the unproduccd state o f nirvana,

*2 T he d ialogue betw een Po C hii-i and C hang H u is first recorded by M eng C h ’i (ca. 886) in Pen-shih shih, contained in Pen-shih shih, Pen-shih t z ’u, C h u n g -k u o w cn-hsiieh ts ’an -k ’ao tzu-liao hsiao ts ’ung-shu . Series 2, N o . 2 (Shanghai: K u-tien w cn-hsiieh ch 'u - pan-shc, 1957), p. 23. See also A rthu r W aley, The Life and Times o fPo Chii-i, 772-846 A .D . (London: G eorge Allen and U nw in , 1949), pp. 44, 219. T h e d ialogue is also included in T'ai-p'ing kiiang-chi (com pleted 978), Li Fang, 5 vols. (Peking: Jen -m in w cn- hsiieh ch’u-pan-shc, 1959), p. 1948.

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or w ith the exem plary enlightenm ent experience o r sotcriological role o f the Buddha. Rather, the pien-wen story expresses the m ore concrete and visceral interests o f the popular im agination: the experience o f the spirit m edium , the frightening realities o f the underw orld , and the rituals needed to help the ancestors escape suffering.. T he transform ation tex t reflects in its ow n w ay the fascinating syn

thesis o f originally Chinese and Indian m otifs characteristic o f Chinese religion from medieval times onw ard. T he hells that it describes are staffed by deities originating in Indian tradition as well as by indigenous bureaucrats, all o f w hom adm inister a single karm ic law. M u-lien holds the sw ord o f the Chinese sham an at the same tim e as he tours the cosm os in the guise o f a m editating m onk. The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother also offers a dram atic and convincing account o f the ultim ate harm ony o f family life and m onasticism . It is precisely his pow ers o f m editation— the province o f the m onk— that enable M u-lien to provide for the salvation o f his ancestors. M u-lien achieves the status o f filial son because he is a m onk and vice versa, thus dem onstrating the potency o f com bining renunciation w ith w orld ly responsibility.

T he m yth related in The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother rem ained an enduring part o f popular Chinese culture after the T ’ang, its characters and plot form ing the basis for plays and precious scrolls even in the tw entieth ccntury.

T s u n g - m i ’s Commentary on the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra ’■!&(CA. 830) *

T he Commentary on the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, w ritten by T sung-m i (780- 841), stands as eloquent testim ony to the centrality o f the ghost festival in early n inth-century Chinese society and to the genius o f its author, a highly placed scholar-m onk w ho gave system atic expression to the tradition o f Sinicized B uddhism .83 For T sung-m i, the presuppositions

10 O k abe Kazuo provides a good , b rie f in troduction to the place o f the y ii-lan-p’en co m m entary in T su n g -m i’s w o rk in “ Shum itsu ni okeru k o ron no tenkai to sono h o h o ,” IBK 15:2 (M arch 1967):574-78. O n T su n g -m i see also Furuta Shokin, "K eihd shum itsu no k en k y u ,” Shina bukkyo shigaku 2:2 (1938):83—97; K am ata Shigeo, Shumitsu kyogaku no shisdshiteki kenkyu: chugoku kegon shiso shi no kenkyu (Tokyo: T o k y o daigaku shuppansha, 1975); T akam ine R yoshu, Kegon shiso shi, seconded . (Tokyo: H yakkaen, 1963), pp. 29 9 - 316; and Yam azaki, Z u i to bukkyo shi no kenkyu, pp. 223-37. For tw o recent studies in English, each o f w hich significantly revises traditional view s o f T su n g -m i, sec Y iin-hua

Jail, "T su n g -m i: His Analysis o f C 'h 'an B uddhism ,” T P 58 (1972): 1—54; and Peter N. G reg o ry , "T h e Teaching o f M en and G ods: the D octrinal and Social Basis o f Lay B uddhist Practice in the H ua-yen T rad itio n ," in Studies in C h ’aii and Hua-yen, eds. P eter N.

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and practice o f the ghost festival represent a synthesis o f core Chinese values w ith the tenets and rituals o f Buddhism . In his lengthy com m entary, over eleven tim es longer than the sutra, the festival emerges no t as an inchoate or sloppy m ixture, but as the positive expression o f a well-reasoned, all-encom passing hierarchy o f values. The ghost festival is not viewed from the heights o f an otherw orld ly philosophy or through the lens o f m editative culture, approaches w e m ight expect o f such well-read m onks as Tsung-m i. Instead, T sung-m i dem onstrates the relevance o f the festival to the realities o f social life o f the vast m ajo rity o f Chinese people. The regulating principle o f the householder’s life is never even questioned; T sung-m i sim ply assumes the im portance o f the ancestors in Chinese family religion. For T sung-m i filial devotion is the one consistent teaching o f The Yii-lati-p’cn Siitra, and he articulates this concept through every source available to him , including M ahayana sutras and the Chinese classics.

T su n g -m i’s com m entary also retains a singular place in the narrow er w orld o f Chinese B uddhist exegesis. By the Southern Sung dynasty, it had becom e the standard com m entary on The Yii-lan-p’en Sutra, spaw ning num erous subcom m entaries and sub-subcom m entaries.84 For m any o f these later com m entators it was T sung-m i’s language, not that o f the original sutra, which now deserved exegesis.

T sung-m i, w hose surnam e was H o, was bom in 780 in the prefecture o f K uo (present-day Szechuan).85 As a youth he com bined a traditional course o f education as preparation for a career in governm ent w ith a lay interest in Buddhist w ritings. At the age o f tw enty-seven he left the householder’s life and began a period o f travel and study w ith

G regory and R obert M . GimcIIo, Studies in East Asian B uddhism , N o . 1 (H onolulu: U niversity o f H aw aii Press, 1983), pp. 253-320.

84 T su n g -m i’s com m entary w as the basis for dozens o f C hinese and Japanese subcom - m entarics. T h e extan t C hinese subcom m entaries include: Lan-p'ett ching shti-ch'ao yii-i (Further Meanings o f the Commentary on the Lan-p’en Siitra), Jih -hsin (ca. 1068, Z . 1, 94:4; Yu-lan-p’en ching shu hsin-chi (A N ew Record o f the Commentary on the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra), Y iian-chao (1048-1116), Z . 1, 35:2; Yu-lan-p’en ching shu hsiao-heng ch’ao (A Consideration o f Filial Devotion in the Commentary on the Yu-lan-p’en Siitra), Y ii-jung (Sung), Z . 1, 94:4; Yii-lan-p'en ching shu hui-ktt t ’ung-chin chi (A Record o f the Commentary on the Yii-lan-p'en Sutra Which Comprehends the Old and Understands the N ew ), P ’u -kuan (ca. 1178), Z . 1, 35:2; Yii-lan-p’en ching hsin-shu (A N ew Commentary on the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra), C hih-hsu (1599-1655), Z . 1, 35:2; Yii-lan-p’en ching shu che-cliung shu (Commentary Giving Equal Measure to jTsung-m i's and Chih-hsii's] Commentaries on the Yii-lan-p’en Sutra), L ing-yao (C h ’ing), Z . 1, 35:2; and Yii-lan-p’en ching liieh-shtt (Condensed Commentary on the Yii-lan- p ’en Sutra), Y uan-ch ’i (C h ’ing), Z . 1. 35:2.

85 B iographical details in this paragraph and the next are d raw n from Sung kao-seng chuan. T. no. 2061, 50:741 c—43a; Fo-tsu t'ung-chi, T. no. 2035, 49:293c; and T akam ine, Kegon shiso shi, pp. 299-316.

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different teachers. He w ent to a m onastery near K uci-feng M ountain (near C h ’ang-an) for the first tim e in 821 and w ould return there frequently in later years. In 828 T sung-m i lectured on B uddhism during the ritualized debates held on the em peror’s birthday and was later bestow ed a purple robe and the rank o f M onk o f Great Virtue. T sung-m i died in 841 and was later granted the honorific title “ M editation M aster o f C oncentration and W isdom ” (T ing-hui ch’an-shih).

T sung-m i em braced m any seem ingly divergent trends in his life w ork, a distinction that is apparent in his posthum ous elevation to the status o f patriarch in tw o “ schools” o f Chinese Buddhism , H ua-yen and C h ’an. T sung-m i read broadly in the Buddhist canon, and he w ro te and lccturcd extensively on H ua-yen texts. He studied with m editation teachers and lived in seclusion during various periods o f his life, w riting im portan t com m entaries and com piling a lengthy collection o f C h ’an texts. T sung-m i also took an interest in the details o f daily life and w ro te several w orks on m onastic ritual. M odern scholarship has recently portrayed Tsung-m i as a thinker o f great catholicity, pluralistic in his acceptance o f divergent form s o f Buddhism , synthetic in his m elding o f thought and practice, and all-em bracing in his affirm ation o f core Chinese values. As Peter G regory writes, “ By creating a fram ew ork in w hich Confucianism , Taoism , and Buddhism could be synthesized, T sung-m i not only transcended the polemical intent o f the earlier debates betw een the three teachings, but he also laid ou t a m ethodology by w hich Confucian term s— infused w ith Buddhist m eaning— were later to be resurrected in the Confucian revival o f the Sung dynasty .”86

T sung-m i’s catholic interests are perhaps m ost apparent in his Commentary on the Yii-lan-p’en Sutra, w ritten betw een 822 and 841.87 The first chaptcr o f the com m entary discusses the general significance o f The Yii-lan-p 'en Siitra, while the second chapter contains a phrase-by- phrase exegesis.

T sung-m i begins by singing the praises o f filial devotion:

Beginning in formless chaos, filling all o f heaven and earth, uniting men and spirits, connecting noble and poor; Confucians and Buddhists both revere it— it is the Way o f filial devotion. Re-

G regory , “ T h e Teaching o f M en and G ods,” p. 268.87 For the date, see Furuta, “ K ciho shum itsu no k enkyu ,” pp. 88-90. I have used the

T aisho edition o f T su n g -m i’s com m entary , Yii-lan-p’en ching shu, T. no. 1792, occasionally em ended on the basis o f Sung subcom m entaries. T he Taisho text is based on M ing and T okugaw a recensions, w hich w ere based on a copy belonging to C h u -h u n g (1535— 1615).

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sponding to filial sons’ sincerity, saving parents from distress, repaying broad heaven’s kind virtue— it is the teaching o f yii-lan- p ’en.88

For T sung-m i filial devotion is the Tao, the origin and goal o f all teachings. It begins in the “ formless chaos” (hun-tun), the prim al condition devoid o f names and dichotom ies, expanding w ithou t discrim ination to inform all processes and every form o f life. It is a universal tru th , the single Path followed by all religions, and it is precisely through yu-lan- p ’en that this tru th is m ade fully real.

After a section paying hom age to the Buddha, T sung-m i presents his ow n analysis o f the sutra. Sakyam uni established the ghost festival, says T sung-m i, for several reasons: to repay the kindness his parents had show n in raising him , to repay M u-lien’s filial efforts, to teach filiality to others, and to establish an effective w ay o f m aking m erit. Here (and th roughou t his com m entary) Tsung-m i quotes extensively from traditional Chinese as well as from Buddhist sources, exploring different dim ensions o f the concept o f filial devotion. T sung-m i proceeds to place The Yii-lan-p’en Sutra w ithin the system s o f doctrinal classification current in the ninth century. A m ong the Three Baskets (Sutra, Vinaya, A bhidharm a), it belongs in both the category o f Sutra, since it teaches a m ethod o f deliverance, as well as the category o f Vinaya, since it teaches a means o f control. W ithin the Five Vehicles (hum ans, gods, sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas), it constitutes a vehicle for hum ans and gods, a m ethod o f cultivating virtue through good deeds to achieve rebirth in the higher heavens.89 T sung-m i sum marizes the basic teaching o f The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra in four concepts: “ filial obedience, m aking offerings, rescuing those w ho suffer, and repaying kindness.”

In the second chapter o f his com m entary T sung-m i notes the textual history o f the sutra and explains the meaning o f the term “ yii-lan- p ’en” :

“ Yii-lan” is an expression o f the western regions m eaning “ hanging upside-dow n.”90 This derives from the soul o f the H onored

88 Yii-lan-p’en ching shu, T. 39:505a. Cf. Jan , “ T sung-m i: H is Analysis o f C h ’an B udd h ism ,” pp. 22-23.

OT O k abe qu ite reasonably equates these tw o vehicles w ith the “ Teaching o f M en and G ods” (jen-t’ien chiao), w hich T su n g -m i form ulates in his Yuan-jen lun (Inquiry into the Origin o f M an), T . no. 1886; see O kabe, “ Shum itsu ni okeru koron no tcnkai to sono h d h o ,” p. 576. See also G regory , “ T he Teaching o f M en and G ods,” passim .

90 Tao-hsien occurs in Mencius, 2A: “ At the present tim e, if a sta te o f ten thousand chariots w ere to practice benevolent governm ent, the people w ould rejoice as if they had been

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O n e’s [M u-lien’s] m other being bogged dow n in the dark paths, suffering hunger and thirst and a fate akin to hanging upside- dow n. Even the m ighty num inosity o f her sagely son could not bring an end to her fiery fate. T he Buddha ordered that a bow l filled w ith all kinds o f food be offered to the Three H onored O nes [sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas] out o f respect for the lum inous kindness o f the great assembly and to deliver [those w ho suffer] from the affliction o f hanging upside-dow n.91

T sung-m i divides the sutra into three sections: an in troductory section on M u-lien’s unsuccessful effort to save his m other; a section on the principal teaching o f the sutra (the B uddha’s establishm ent o f the ghost festival as a m ethod for aiding the ancestors); and a section on the p ropagation o f the teaching, in w hich M u-lien carries out the offering to the Sangha and his m other attains deliverance.92

In his exegesis T sung-m i draws on the avadana o f M u-lien’s m other to explain how she arrived in hell, quoting, w ithou t a ttribution, from The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra. H ui-ching did not m ention the previous lives o f M u-lien or his m other in his earlier Commentary Praising the Yii-lan-p’en Sutra, and T sung-m i’s is the first com m entary to take account o f this version o f the M u-lien m yth, a version made popular in the noncanonical Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra and in The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother.

T he length and the exegetical style o fT su n g -m i’s com m entary make it difficult to sum m arize further, although in later chapters I shall draw frequently on its line-by-line com m ents.

T h e S u p p r e s s io n o f Y u - l a n - p ’e n i n 844

A diary kept by the Japanese m onk Ennin (793-863) preserves an im portan t record o f the celebration o f the ghost festival in the tem ples o f C h ’ang-an in the year 844. E nnin’s record is no tew orthy for several reasons. First, it confirm s that the celebration o f the ghost festival enjoyed great popularity am ong the T ’ang people, w ho came in large

released from hanging upsid e -d o w n ” ; M eng-tzu yin-te, H arvard-Y enching Institu te Sinological Index Series, S upplem ent N o . 17 (reprin t ed ., Taipei: C h ’eng-w cn Publishing C o ., 1966), p. 10; translation fo llow ing D . C . Lau, trans., Mencius (H arm ondsw orth : Penguin Books, 1970), p. 76. For o th er M encian te rm ino logy in The Yii-lan-p’en Sutra, see Fujino R yunen, "Urabon kyo d o k u g o ,” Ryukoku daigaku ronshii N o . 353 (1956):340- 45.

91 Yii-lan-p’en ching shu, T. 39:506c-7a.1,2 T su n g -m i divides The Yii-lan-p 'en Siitra differently than docs H ui-ching. The Lecture

T ext on the Yii-lan-p'en Siitra also follow s T su n g -m i’s divisions.

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num bers to provide lavish offerings to Buddhist tem ples in the capital city. Second, it sheds significant light on the suppression o f B uddhist institutions carried out during “ H ui-ch’ang,” the reign nam e given to the years o f Em peror W u-tsung’s (r. 840-846) rule. The drastic measures o f these years effectively cripplcd Buddhism as an institutional religion, destroying much o f its econom ic base o f support and em asculating the ranks o f its m onkhood. But E nnin’s account also suggests that this T ’ang-dynasty cultural revolution had only inconsequential effects on the practice o f the ghost festival.

T he effect o f the H ui-ch’ang suppression on the practice o f Chinese B uddhism is know n to later history through the journal Ennin kept during his stay in China. This unparalleled literary artifact rem ains one o f the best single sources on the practice o f B uddhism in the T ’ang dynasty and still serves as a lode tapped by social historians investigating political and institutional history, econom ics, and international relations in n in th-century China.

Born in 793 in eastern Japan, Ennin studied Tendai though t and practice under the em inent m aster Saicho (767-822) at Enryakuji on M ount H iei.93 After Saicho’s death Ennin rose to som e prom inence as a teacher and lecturer, but w ent into seclusion at the age o f forty. His herm itage ended early, how ever, w hen he was appointed to a Japanese delegation to China. The em bassy arrived in China in 838, and for the next nine years Ennin trekked through m uch o f eastern, central, and northern C hina, recording his peregrinations in his diary, Nitto guhd junreigyoki (The Record o f a Pilgrimage to China in Search o f the Law). In 847 Ennin returned to his hom eland, w here he was im m ediately accorded an honored place in the clergy. As the abbot o f Enryakuji Ennin lectured to the clerical elite and taught B uddhist rituals to em perors. In his later years Ennin successfully introduced the use o f mandalas and the cerem ony o f consecration (Skt.: abhiseka) into m ainstream Tendai practice. In recognition o f his teaching and accom plishm ents, as well as his discipleship under Saicho, Ennin was posthum ously bestow ed the title o f “ Great Teacher o f Com passion and Insight” (Jikaku daishi).

93 E nn in ’s diary, Nitto guhd junrei gyoki, is still che best b iographical source for his years in C hina. I have used the critical ed ition o f the diary in O n o K atsutoshi, Nitto guhd junrei gyoki no kenkyu, 4 vols. (Tokyo: Suzuki gakujutsu zaidan, 1964-69). O n o ’s translation and notes are invaluable, as is Reischauer’s translation , E dw in O . Reischauer, trans., Enn in’s Diary: The Record o f a Pilgrimage to China in Search o f the Law (N ew Y ork: Ronald Press C o ., 1955). For E nn in ’s years in jap an , see Zokugunsho ruijii (Tokyo: Z ok u gunsho ruiju kanseikai, 1923-28), 8:684-700; O n o , Nitto guhd junreigyoki no kenkyu, csp. 4:345— 450; and E dw in O . Reischauer, Ennin’s Travels in T 'ang China (N ew Y ork: R onald Press C o ., 1955), pp. 20-38.

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T he suppression o f Buddhism witnessed by Ennin stretched over a num ber o f years, culm inating in a series o f edicts prom ulgated in the year 845 w hich formalized and made even m ore severe m any o f the measures taken prior to that tim e.94 The B uddhist clergy was repeatedly purged, limits w ere placed on ordinations into the Sangha, and private property belonging to m onks was seized by state authorities. Pilgrim ages to holy places were prohibited, as w ere donations to shrines, and local officials were directed to close m ost o f the smaller tem ples w ithin their jurisdiction. Finally, in the m ost dam aging series o f cdicts, m ost o f the property belonging to the larger B uddhist tem ples, including land, slaves, grain, cash, and cloth, was transferred to state coffers, bells and statues w ere melted dow n for copper coinage, and all m onks under the age o f forty were returned to lay life.

There can be no doubt that the H ui-ch’ang suppression dealt an unprecedented blow to Chinese B uddhist institutions, from which they never fully recovered. In the historical records the suppression rings ou t as the death knell to organized B uddhism . But the real effects o f the suppression rem ain beyond the reach o f analysis, largely because all o f the surviving records o f the suppression (Ennin’s diary, B uddhist histories, and standard histories) are so heavily colored by the political interests o f either the staunch defenders or the avow ed enemies o f the B uddhist establishm ent. V iewed in a broader context, the H ui-ch’ang suppression followed the pattern o f the other w ell-know n persecutions o f B uddhism in 446 and 574, w ith a similar interplay betw een econom ic, political, and ideological factors. Furtherm ore, the years follow ing the H ui-ch’ang suppression were m arked by a strong infusion o f m oney and land into the Buddhist church, which now received heavy official support under the revitalizing reign o f Em peror H siuan- tsung (r. 846-859).95

If the effects o f the suppression on B uddhism as an institution w ere less horrific than the B uddhist historians claim, its effects on noninsti- tutional form s o f B uddhism were even less dam aging. The practice o f m ortuary ritual, the annual round o f festivals, feats o f magic and curing

94 O n the H u i-ch ’ang suppression, see W einstein, Buddhism under the T'ang, pp. 114- 36; K am ekaw a Shoshin, “ Kaisho no kaibutsu ni tsu ite ,” Shitia bukkyo shigaku 6:1 (July 1942):47-68; K enneth K. S. C h ’cn, “ T h e Econom ic B ackground o f the H u i-ch ’ang Suppression o f B uddhism ,” HJAS 19:1-2 (June 1956):67-105; O n o , Nitto guho junrei gyoki no kenkyu, 4:544-63; and Reischauer, Etmin's Travels, pp. 217-71.

95 H siuan-ts im g’s nam e is correctly transliterated as H siian-tsung. I follow standard practice in using the irregu lar form to avoid confusion w ith E m pero r H siian-tsung (r. 712-756). For details on the rebuild ing o f Buddhist institu tions under H siuan-tsung , see W einstein, Buddhism under the T'ang, pp. 136-51.

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by popular preachers— there exists little evidence show ing that these form s o f religious life w ere very m uch affected by the H ui-ch’ang suppression.

E nnin’s description o f the celebration o f the ghost festival in 844 is a case in point. H e writes:

O fferings arc made at the various temples in the city on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth. A t each tem ple [people] present flashy candles, colored cakes, artificial flowers, fruit trees, and the like, vying w ith one another in their rarities. C ustom arily the offerings are set ou t in front o f the Buddha halls, and the w hole city w anders am ong the temples at their pleasure. It is quite a flourishing festival.

This year the offerings set out in the various tem ples surpassed those o f norm al years, but an edict ordered that all o f the flowers, medicines, and the like offered at the Buddha halls o f the various temples be taken to the H sing-t’ang kuan to be sacrificed to the Celestial Venerables. O n the fifteenth day the Son o f Heaven visited the Taoist tem ple [i.e., the H sing -t’ang kuan]. He sum m oned the people to com e and see, bu t they scolded, “ Seizing the B uddha’s offerings to sacrifice to gods and spirits— w ho w ould dare com e and w atch?” The [Son of] Heaven was surprised that the people did not come. The various temples were extrem ely distressed that their offerings had been seized.96

According to Ennin the celebration o f the ghost festival in C h ’ang- an in 844 drew a large num ber o f people to B uddhist tem ples, w here they made offerings typical o f medieval times: fancy fruits, festive foods, specially decorated candles, and paper flowers. T he ongoing suppression o f Buddhism apparently had no effect on the m ajor participants in the ghost festival. It is only at the instigation o f the em peror that we see any change in public opinion. And, if Ennin’s account may be trusted, E m peror W u-tsung’s order to seize the offerings given at B uddhist tem ples only served to strengthen the predilection o f “ the people” to give presents to the Sangha: attendance was m inim al for the em peror’s visit to the H sing-t’ang kuan, a m ajor Taoist tem ple located in the northeastern corner o f C h ’ang-an.97 Y ii-lan-p’en was so well es

96 Ennin, Nitto guhd junrei gyoki, tex t in O n o , N itto guho junrei gyoki no kenkyu, 4:70; translation m ostly follow ing O n o , ib id ., 4:72; cf. Reischaucr, trans., Unnin’s Diary, p. 344.

97 T h e H sin g -t’ang kuan was built in 730 and restored in 806. It was located ju s t o p posite the [Ta| A n-kuo ssu in the southw estern corner o f the C h ’ang-lo q uarter and ju st

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tablished am ong the residents o f the T ’ang capital that m ost people boycotted the imperial celebration w hen it was m oved to a Taoist setting.

E nnin’s account also sheds im portant light on the logic o f ritual transactions in Chinese religion. N either the em peror no r the com m on people questioned the efficacy o f m aking offerings to the B uddhist church or to the Taoist church. If the em peror had doubted the efficacy o f such offerings, he w ould not have shifted the gifts from B uddhist to Taoist recipients. If the people had not believed that offerings to either church w ould bring results, they w ould no t have m ade the offerings, nor w ould they have objected to the switch. T he events o f this year dem onstrate that offerings in B uddhist temples to Buddhist deities and offerings in Taoist temples to Taoist deities w ere interchangeable. By taking advantage o f this functional equivalence (as well as the popularity o f m aking offerings on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth), Em peror W u-tsung insured that the celebration o f the ghost festival in 844 w ould not be forgotten.

The Lecture Text on the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra (c a . 850)

T he appeal o f the ghost festival to a specifically B uddhist bu t nonm onastic audience may be judged from an untitled m anuscript fragm ent kept in the Taiw an collection o f Tun-huang m anuscripts, the title o f w hich may be reconstructed as The Lecture Text on the Yii-lan-p’en Sutra.™ T he text is a record o f a lecture on The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra in w hich a m onk presents an oral exegesis o f the sutra to a lay audience gathered for the specific purpose o f receiving instruction on yii-lan-p’en. D uring the T ’ang such lectures w ere an im portant means o f propagating Buddhist teachings am ong lay people affiliated loosely w ith B uddhist tem ples. Surviving m anuscripts o f the “ sutra lecture tex t” genre serve as an index o f w hich sutras w ere m ost popular as lecture to p ic s ." T he them atic focus o f The Lecture Text on the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra is the conccpt o f filial devotion, explained by reference to M u-lien and by an ex

sou th o f the im perial living quarters in the northeastern corner o f C h ’ang-an. See T'ang liang-ching ch’eng-fang k ’ao in Todai no choan to rakuyo, ch. 3. p. 18v.

'* T h e tex t is T un-huang M S. no. 32 in the Taiw an colletion, photographically rep ro duced in Tun-huang chiian-lzu (Taipei: Shih-m en t ’u-shu , 1976), Vol. 2. I reconstruct its title as Yii-lan-p’en Ichingj chiang-ching-wen.

w O th e r popular su tras for w hich there survive sutra lecture texts include the Vimala- kirtinirdefa, sutra lecture texts included in T H P W C , pp. 517-645; the Diamond Siitra, sutra lecture text in T H P W C , pp. 426-50; l :u-nm rn-chung ching, sutra lecture texts in T H P W C , pp. 672-94; and the Lotus Siitra, siitra lecture tex t in T H P W C , pp. 488-516.

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tended discussion o f the hardships that parents undergo in the process o f nurturing and raising children. U nfortunately the surviving text represents only a small fraction o f an entire lecture on The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra. The lecture text is not m entioned in earlier scholarship, so that until now its significance for the developm ent o f the ghost festival in medieval Chinese religion has not been explored.100

In style and content, The Lecture Text on the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra reflects the interests o f its audience, w hich was probably com posed o f lay people w ith a m inim al level o f literacy. As a genre, “ sutra lecture texts” (ichiang-ching-wen) fall m idw ay betw een the com m entaries w ritten for m onks and well-educated lay people on the one hand and the transform ation texts perform ed for the benefit o f the unlettered masses on the other. Sutra lecture texts grew out o f the “ popular lectures” (su-chiang) delivered by m onks to lay people w ho periodically came to tem ples to receive instruction in B uddhist tex ts .101 People w ho attended these lectures represent an audience m ore specialized than the com m oners w ho m erely made offerings at B uddhist tem ples and less specialized than m onks, for w hom B uddhism defined a distinctive form o f social life. T he actual surviving texts o f the sutra lecture text genre discovered at T un-huang arc either transcripts o f these teaching sessions or notes com piled for use by the lecturer. Like transform ation texts, they com bine prose and verse portions, their language show s m any traces o f the vernacular, and they are oriented largely tow ard a nonm onastic audience. But in their exegesis they follow m ore closely the text o f the sutra, and they lack one essential characteristic o f the transform ation tale, the pictures around w hich the narrative was organized.

An investigation o f the literary form o f The Lecture Text on the Yii-

100 Even the m ost recent book-leng th s tudy o f the m y th o f M u-lien , C 'h'en Fang- y ing’s Mu-lien chiu-ntu ku-shih chih yen-chin, neglects The Lecture T ex t on the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra. T h e lecture tex t is m iscatalogucd as a pien-wen in the catalogue o f the T aiw an collection o f T un-h u an g m anuscripts; Li C h ’ing-chih , Kuo-li chung-yang t ’u-shu-kuan so-tsang tun-huang chiian-tzu chiao-tu cha-chi (N .p .: m im eograph , 1973), pp . l l r - v ; see also P ’an C h ’ung-kuei, "K uo-li chung-yang t ’u -shu -kuan so-tsang tun -h u an g chiian-tzu t’i-ch i,” Hsin-ya hsiieh-pao 8:2 (A ugust 1968), pp. 368-69. See also M air, “ Lay S tudents and the M aking o f W ritten Vernacular N arra tive ,” pp. 5-96, Item no. 598. V ictor H . M air first alerted m e to the im portance o f this tex t, and T im o th y T su generously helped in tran scrib ing it and solv ing m any problem s o f o rthography .

101 O n sutra lecture texts and popular lectures du ring the T 'an g , sec K enneth K. S. C h ’en, The Chinese Transformation o f Buddhism (Princeton: P rinceton U niversity Press, 1973), pp. 240-55; Reischauer, Ennin's Travels, pp. 183-87; H siang Ta, " T ’ang-tai su- chiang k ’ao” ; and M air, “ Lay S tudents and the M aking o f W ritten Vernacular N arra tiv e ,” pp. 5 -6 , 90-93.

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lan-p’en Siitra yields a general idea o f how popular lectures were conducted. N ear the beginning o f the text the lecturer instructs his audience “ to invoke K uan-shih-yin Bodhisattva three [tim es],” 102 and the lecture was probably concluded w ith a sim ilar ritual. T he lecturer-ex- egete announces each section o f the sutra w ith the stock form ula, “ Please sing the next section o f the sutra. It reads. . . .” 103 A t this point either a cantor or the audience recites a passage from the scripture, and then the lecturer explains the m eaning o f the passage. In his exegesis the lecturer usually uses poetry in seven-w ord lines. W hoever recorded The Lecture Text on the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra (the lecturer h im self or a note- taking listener) uses the w ords “The B uddha’s Son [or D isciple]” (Jo- tzu, S k t.: Buddhaputra) as a stage direction to indicate w here the lecturer (“T he B uddha’s D isciple”) begins his exegesis. The transition from the end o f one exegctical section to the next is usually m arked w ith a rhetorical question, “ N ow w hat about [e.g ., M u-lien attaining the Way]?” 104 Judging from the lecturer’s prom ise to his “ lay disciples” (men-t’u) that “ I will explain [this topic] to m y lay disciples on another day ,” 105 it m ay be inferred that the serm on on the ghost festival form ed part o f a regular program o f religious instruction.

The Lecture Text on the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra opens w ith several verses setting forth the general idea o f saving one’s ancestors from the woeful states o f existence. Following this preface, the preacher announces the title o f the sutra on which he will lecture, calling it “ The Sutra on the Purity o f Y ii-lan.” The preacher also discusses the organization o f the text, dividing it into three sections: “ an in troductory section,” “ [a section on] the principal teaching,” and “ a section on the propagation o f the teaching.” 106

A fter these preliminaries, the lecture text presents a line-by-line exegesis o f The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra. U nfortunately the m anuscript breaks o ff halfw ay through its explanation o f the fourth sentence o f the siitra, although the few surviving sections provide helpful clues as to w hich subjects a lay audience found pertinent to the ghost festival.

T he tw o m ajor them es o f the surviving portions o f The Lecture Text on the Yii-lan-p’en Sutra are charity and filial devotion. T he virtue o f charity is em phasized in the exegesis o f the locale described in the sec

102 The Lecture T ex t on the Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, in Tun-huang chiian-tzu, p. 1.103 The Lecture T ext on the Yii-lan-p'en Sutra, in Tun-huang chiian-tzu, pp. 2, 3, 4.104 The Lecture T ex t on the Yu-lan-p’en Siitra, in Tun-huang chiian-tzu, p. 3.105 The Lecture T ext on the Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, in Tun-huang chiian-tzu, p. 2.1,16 C f. Tsung-mi Commentary, T . no. 1792, 39:507a; and Hui-ching Commentary, T . no.

2781,85:540a.

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ond sentence o f The Yii-lan-p’en Sutra, the garden o f Jetavana trees in the kingdom o f Sravasti. The explanation notes that the garden was established through the pious contribution o f the rich laym an, A nathapindika.

T he bulk o f the lecture text constitutes a serm on on the requirem ents and rew ards o f filial devotion. T he text describes the generic filial son as one w ho waits diligently at his parents’ side, always putting their com fort and needs ahead o f his ow n. M u-lien is identified as the paragon o f devotion, since he used his pow ers o f spiritual penetration to bring help to his poor suffering m other.

The Lecture Text on the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra draw s extensively on the concept o f reciprocity to elucidate further the them e o f serving one’s parents and ancestors. Fully half o f the surviving lecture text concerns the “ ten kindnesses” (shih-en) bestow ed by parents (especially m others) upon their children. These “ kindnesses” sum m arize the travails o f childrearing. C hildren enter the w orld ow ing a debt to their parents. T he debt m ust be repaid by providing them w ith m aterial support in old age and w ith ritual aid (including yii-lan-p’en offerings) after their death. The “ ten kindnesses,” a frequent topic o f la te-T ’ang apocrypha, are: (1) carrying the pregnancy safely to term , (2) enduring suffering as birth approaches, (3) forgetting sorrow in giving birth to a son, (4) taking the b itter and foregoing the sweet, (5) avoiding wetness and keeping the child dry, (6) nursing, feeding, and raising the child, (7) cleaning up the child’s filth, (8) acquiring bad karm a through actions for the child’s benefit, (9) longing for the child when far away, and (10) being always com passionate and sym pathetic.107

T he one extant m anuscript o f The Lecture Text on the Yii-lan-p’en Sutra lacks a colophon and any other data that w ould supply a certain date. It divides The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra into the same three sections as docs T sung-m i, and, as noted above, it contains references to the “ ten kindnesses,” a concept that was quite popular in the late T ’ang. O n this adm ittedly slim basis, The Lecture Text on the Yii-lan-p’en Sutra may be dated roughly to the year 850.

107 T h e “ ten kindnesses” form the m ain subject o f several versions o f The Siitra oti the Importance o f Kindness Bestowed by Parents {Fu-mu en-chung ching). The Lecture T ext on the Yii-lan-p'en Siitra quotes from this source, m any versions o f w hich surv ive from the late T ’ang. T h e list o f ten kindnesses in the sutra lecture text m atches the list in Fu-mu en- chung t ’ai-ku ching, prin ted from a K orean w oodblock dating from the late fourteenth cen tury and contained in M akita, C ikyo kenkyu, pp. 52-55. Sec C hap te r Seven, below, for ano ther discussion o f this sutra.

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C h i h - y u a n ’s “ H y m n s in P r a is e o f L a n - p ’e n ” l f |

( c a . 1 0 2 0 )

H istory does not preserve any record o f the actual prayers used in the ghost festival during the medieval period, but later sources may be used to reconstruct loosely the mechanics o f the ritual in the late T ’ang. O ne such source, entitled Lan-p’en li-tsan-wen (“ H ym ns in Praise o f Lan-p’cn”), was w ritten by the m onk C hih-yuan (976-1028) and incorporated in a m ore com plete liturgical text a century later. A lthough it was w ritten and used after the medieval period covered in this chapte r’s survey, it is included here because it preserves the earliest surviving liturgy for ghost festival ceremonies. C hih-yuan’s hym ns, nom inally addressed to the Three Treasures, w ere probably chanted by lay people as they made offerings in the temples o f south China.

C hih-yuan, w hose surnam e was Hsu, was born in 976 in H ang-chou (present-day C hekiang).108 He entered the m onkhood at an early age, studying T ’icn-t’ai teachings and m editation under the m onk Yuan- ch’ing (d. 996). He later took up residence at M ount Ku, which had a beautiful view o f the surrounding lakes in C hekiang. M any students flocked there to hear his teachings. Chih-yiian was afflicted by g row ths on his neck, w hich also supplied the topic o f m any o f his poem s on suffering and retribution. His friends included the recluse-poet Lin Pu (965-1026) and the m onk Tsun-shih (964-1032). He died in 1028 and was posthum ously bestow ed the title “ Great M aster o f D harm a Wisd o m ” (Fa-hui ta-shih).

C hih-yuan’s interests ranged far beyond the sectarian disputes w ithin the T ’ien-t’ai school for which he is best know n in B uddhist historiography. He w rote several essays disputing the interpretations o f

,r* B iographical details in this and the nex t paragraph are d raw n prim arily from C h ih - yiian’s b iography in Shih-men cheng-t'ung, T sung-ch ien (Sung), Z . 2B, 3:5, pp. 414rb - 16rb. S horte r accounts and extracts from C h ih -y iian ’s w ritings arc included in Fo-tsu t ’ung-chi, T. no. 2035, 49:418c-19a, 446c-47b; Fo-tsu li-tai t'ung-lsai, N ien -ch ’ang (d. 1341), T . no. 2036, 49:661b-c; and Wang-sheng chi, C h u -h u n g (1535-1615), T. no. 2072, 51:136c-37a. C h ih -y u an ’s au tobiographical picce, “ C hu n g -y u n g -tzu chuan" is contained in Hsien-chii chi, Z . 2A, 6:1, pp. 55va-57ra. Lists o f C h ih -y u an ’s w orks are contained in M B D J, p. 3550b; and in the appendix to Hsien-chii chi, Z . 2A, 6:1, pp. 107va- 8ra. For C h ih -y u an ’s place in the schism p itting the “ N o n -m o u n ta in School” against the “ M ounta in S chool” (shan-wai, shan-chia) in T ’ien-t’ai doctrine, see M ichihata R yoshu, Chugoku bukkyo shi, second ed. (K yoto: H ozokan, 1958), pp. 183-84, 205-6; Shim aji T aito , Tendai kyogaku shi (1933; reprin t ed ., T okyo: N akayam a shobo, 1978), pp. 151- 233; C h iang W ei-ch’iao, Chting-kuofo-chiao shih (1933; rep rin t ed ., Taipei: T in g -w cn shu - chii, 1974), ch. 3, pp. 20-30; and K uo P ’cng, Sung yuan fo-cliiao (Fukien: Fu-chien je n - m in ch 'u -pan -she , 1981), pp. 170-76.


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T ’ien-t’ai doctrine offered by C hih-li (960-1028), but he also w rote com m entaries on Pure Land texts and on such core M ahayana sutras as the Heart, Nirvana, and Diamond Sutras. C hih-yuan consistently taught the harm ony o f the Three Teachings, and the poem s and letters collected in his Hsien-chii pien (roughly, “Essays in Idleness”) attest to his broad reading in all genres o f Chinese literature. He also w rote a subcom m entary on T sung-m i’s com m entary on The Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, Lan-p’en ching shu chih-hua ch’ao (Collected Blossoms from the Commentary on the Lan-p’en Siitra), w hich is quoted extensively in a later subcom m entary .109

C hih-yiian’s “ H ym ns in Praise o f Lan-p’en” form s the skeleton o f a later w ork by Yiian-chao (1048-1116), w ho lived at Ling-chih ssu (present-day Chekiang) and also w rote his ow n subcom m entary on T sung-m i’s com m entary on The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra.u0 Y iian-chao’s Lan-p’en hsien-kung i (Ceremonial for Lan-p’en Offerings) com bines C hih - yuan’s “ H ym ns in Praise o f Lan-p’en” w ith some brief invocations and explanatory passages. C hih-yuan’s six hym ns arc addressed to the im mediate recipients o f ghost festival offerings: the Buddha, the D harm a (as em bodied in sutras), and the Sangha (represented by bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, srdvakas, and M u-lien). I translate below the six hym ns, each prefaced by an invocatory line:

I. W ith one m ind we bow deeply to Sakyam uni Buddha, the C h ief Teacher o f L an-p’en, w ho always repays familial kindness.

O ver m any kalpas o f cultivation he perfected the Way o f the sages,A t M u-lien’s sorrow ful request he expounded the true vehicle.

His father the k in g " 1 leapt into space to pay him respect;Farmers and fisherm en, hearing his w ords, set aside their plow s and

nets.

In cultivating the cause and collecting the fruit, he always takes refuge in filial devotion;

In transform ing others and practicing it himself, he fully repays [his parents’] kindness.

We pray that he regard all sentient beings w ith his com passionate eye, Causing them all, living and dead, to receive his gifts.

,t,!’ C h ih -y u an ’s com m entary m ay be partially reconstructed from the citations in J ih - hsin’s (ca. 1068) Lan-p'en chingshu-ch'ao yii-i (1068), Z . 1, 94:4.

1,0 Yii-lan-p'en ching slut hsin-chi. Y iian-chao (1048-1116), Z . I, 35:2.111 O r “ Fathers and k ings."

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II. W ith one m ind we bow deeply to the ultim ate teaching o f Lan-p ’en, the Sutra Collection, w hich repays kindness and saves from suffering.

T he golden m outh speaks forth an unbounded teaching;For repaying kindness there is only this fortuitous event [o f yu-lan-

P’en],

T o relieve suffering it specially calls upon m onks w ho have freed themselves;

It show s com passion in handing dow n the Lan-p’en D harm a.

H appily rejoicing and spreading the teaching, its w ords are com plete; With the translation o f the D harm a, the Way becom es luminescent.

K ings and counselors, rich and poor, everyone carries it out,T he brilliance o f its w ondrous precepts surpasses sun and m oon.

III. W ith one m ind we bow deeply to the Bodhisattva M onks, thosesages and w orthies w ho have freed themselves and gained the Way.

T heir com passion and w isdom practiced to the full, they are called great men;

Seeking enlightenm ent above and transform ing others below, they m ove through the Sangha.

T hey aid beings, forever boarding the boat o f the Six Perfections, T hey benefit others, forever sending them to the shore o f the Three

E m ptinesses.112

T heir internal realization w ould extend to all the B uddha realms;In accord w ith conditions they som etim es manifest themselves in the

form o f a bhiksu.

A nd now as they descend to this sacred place,We pray that they will release all o f our living and dead relatives from

suffering.

IV. W ith one m ind we bow deeply to the M onks w ho haveA w akened to Causality [pratyekabuddhasj, those sages and w orthies o f the ten directions w ho have freed themselves and gained the Way.

112 T h e "S ix Perfec tions” arc giv ing , m orality , patience, v igor, m editation , and w isdo m . T h e “ T hree E m ptinesses” arc em ptiness, m arklessncss, and desirelessness.

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T heir sharp w isdom is not passed dow n from masters or teachers;By exam ining dependent origination they awaken to the unborn.

Preaching the D harm a and transm itting the lam p they call sectarian practice;

C ultivating the m ind w ithou t com panions, they evoke the parable o f the lin [female “ unicorn” ].

W ith true em ptiness com pletely realized, they regard splendor and decline;

W ith afflictions fully elim inated, they lend an ear to m ild sounds.


suffering.

V. W ith one m ind we bow deeply to the M onks w ho have 1 leard theVoice [o f the B uddha, i.e ., sravakas], those sages and w orthies o f the ten directions w ho have freed themselves and gained the Way.

In m ountains and under trees, they com plete the [sum m er] retreat;C ontem plating deeply the Four N oble T ruths, they attain a surplus

[o f understanding].

N oisily they overturn fully the fruits o f birth-and-death.Silently they have already experienced the m ind o f nirvana.

W ith the six penetrations and self-m astery, they pass over M ara’s realm;

R oam ing freely in the eight form s o f liberation, they are called a field o f m erit.


suffering.

VI. W ith one m ind we bow deeply to the H onorable M u-lien, w ho entered the Way to repay his parents, giving rise to the teaching w hich profits life.

M ost accom plished at spiritual penetrations, he abides am ong those w ho have nothing m ore to learn;

To repay his parents’ kindness, he left the householder’s life.

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W ith ju s t his ow n pow er it was hard to end his dear m o ther’s m isfortune;

H e cried ou t in sorrow and sought instruction from the T hus-C om e O ne.

H e gave rise to the subtle w ords that bring aid to later generations, And extolled the Way o f filial devotion that profits all beings.

A nd now as he descends to this sacred place,We pray that he will release all o f our living and dead relatives from

suffering.113

P o s t s c r i p t : T h e G h o s t F e s t iv a l a f t e r T ’a n g T im e s

A reasonable survey o f the vagaries o f the ghost festival in p o s t-T ’ang China w ould fill several volum es. Sourccs for the study o f Chinese social history began to proliferate after the T ’ang, and the m yth o f M u- lien was repeated and rew orked in a variety o f new literary form s. In light o f its vitality after the medieval period, a highly selective survey o f the ghost festival in later times is offered here sim ply as a postscript.

Like m any other form s o f religion in late medieval China, the celebration o f the ghost festival took on ritual form s deriving from the Tantric trad ition .114 T he influence o f Tantra on the practice o f the festival m ay be gauged prim arily from the rapid production o f liturgical texts beginning in the late T ’ang. Just how widespread these Tantric practiccs w ere at that tim e is harder to judge, although certainly before the M ing dynasty many rites perform ed during the ghost festival could be traced back to liturgical texts attributed to the great Tantric masters, Siksananda (652-710) and Am oghavajra (705-774).115 Such liturgical

113 T ransla tion from Lan-p'en hsien-kung i, Y iian-chao, Z . 2B, 3:2, p. 90ra—b.1.4 Y oshioka Y oshitoyo provides a com prehensive bibliographical survey o f T an tric-

influenced texts on feeding h u n g ry ghosts in Dokyo to bukkyo, Vol. 1 (Tokyo: N ih o n ga- kuju tsu sh inkokai, 1959), pp. 369—432. M akita Tairyo traces the practice o f feeding hung ry ghosts from the Sung th ro u g h the M ing in “ Suirikue sh o k o ,” Toho shfikyd N o . 12 (July 1957): 14-33.

1.5 See, fo r exam ple, Chiu tnien-jan o-kuei t ’o-lo-ni shen-chou ching, Siksananda, T . no. 1314; and such texts a ttribu ted to A m oghavajra as Chiu-pa yen-k’ou o-kuei t ’o-lo-ni ching, T . no . 1313; Shih chu o-kuei yin-shih chi shui-fa, T . no. 1315; and Yu-ch’ieh chi-yao chin a- nan t ’o-lo-ni yen-k’ou kuei-i ching, T . no. 1318. For a m ore com plete listing, see Y oshioka, Dokyo to bukkyo, 1:412-30. See also Ferdinand Lessing, “ Skizze des Ritus: D ie Spicsung der H ungergeister,” in Studia Sino-Altaica: Festschrijt jiir Erich Haenisch zum 80. Geburts- tag, in Auftrag der Deutschen Morgenldndischen Gesellschajt (W iesbaden: Franz Steiner V erlag, 1961), pp. 114-19; and de Visscr, Ancient Buddhism in Japan, 1:76-84.

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texts as Chiu-pa yen-k’ou o-kuei t ’o-lo-ni ching (The Sutra ofDharanis for Saving Hungry Ghosts with Burning Mouths) rccord the dharams to be spoken, describe the mudras to be perform ed, and provide the nam es o f the m any Buddhas to be invoked in m aking offerings to hungry ghosts, m endicants, and the Three Jew els.116 While these liturgies had no intrinsic connection to the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth , they w ere used at various rites th roughou t the year, including the ghost festival.

T he Sung dynasties saw the g row th o f a liturgical tradition centering on the “ Assem bly o f W ater and Land” (shui-lu hut), a kind o f mass dedicated to w andering spirits. O fferings to spirits haunting w aterw ays w ere dum ped into stream s and rivers, while presents destined for souls suffering recom pense in the hells w ere th row n onto the ground. This ritual too was practiced at irregular intervals th roughout the year, including the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth . T sun-shih (964-1032) was particularly active in propagating the Assembly o f W ater and L and.1’7 W ithin a century after his death, the ritual had acquired an elaborate origin m yth associating its rise w ith the patronage o f the m onk Pao-chih by Em peror Wu (r. 502-550) o f the Liang dynasty .118 In M ing tim es C hu-hung (1535-1615) was quite active in revitalizing and revising liturgies used in the assem bly.119

The relative profusion o f sources on daily life and custom s beginning in the N orthern Sung perm its the reconstruction o f m any o f the details o f ghost festival celebrations in the new ly arisen urban centers o f C h ina .120 These sources show that from the eleventh through the th irteenth centuries, the seventh-m oon festival b rought together all classes o f society in B uddhist temples and in m arkets w here an astonishing va-

' “ T. no. 1313, 21:464b-65b.1,7 T ex ts on the A ssem bly o f W ater and Land w ritten by T sun-sh ih include Chih-sheng-

kuang tao-ch'ang nien-sung i, T. no. 1951; and those collected in Chin-yiian chi, Z . 2A, 6:2. T sung-hsiao (1151-1214) collects a num ber o f im p o rtan t w orks in his Shih-shih t'ung-lan, Z . 2A , 6:3.

118 See M akita T airyo , “ H oshi osho den k o ,” Toho gakuho 26 (M arch 1956):64—89; and idem , “ Suirikue sh oko ,” pp. 21-24.

Som e o fC h u -h u n g ’s w orks on feeding h ungry ghosts arc included in chs. 18-21 o f his Yiin-ch’i fa-hui (N anking : C h ing-ling k ’o -ch ing -ch ’u, 1897). See also C hiin -fang Yii, The Renewal o f Buddhism in China: Chu-hung and the Late M ing Synthesis (N ew Y ork: C o lum bia U n iversity Press, 1981), pp. 184-85.

120 For a goo d overview , see Sawada M izuho, Jigoku hen: chugoku no meikai selsu (K yoto: H ozokan , 1968), pp. 128-35. See a lso jacqucs G crnet, Daily Life in China on the Eve o f the Mongol Invasion, 1250-1276, trans. H . M . W right (Stanford: S tanford U n iversity Press, 1970), p. 195.

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riety o f goods were sold. In m ost locales offerings w ere placed in bam boo bowls, som e o f w hich w ere decorated w ith draw ings o f M u-lien saving his m o ther:121 Som etim es the bo ttom half o f a length o f bam boo was splayed into several strips that served as legs; spirit m oney was then placed inside the top half, and the entire offering was transm itted to the other w orld by fire .122 Som etim es the bam boo bow ls w ere saved for use in divining the weather, in which case the bow l was flipped over onto the ground and the direction in which it ended up pointing was taken as a prediction o f the com ing winter: if pointing north , a cold one; i f pointing south, a w arm one; i f pointing cast o r w est, a tem perate on e .123 G oods sold in m arkets included m elons, lilac flowers, peaches, pears, poultry , rice, noodles, and paper goods (clothes and m oney) for use by the dead .124

U ncom m on events w ere believed to occur on the full-m oon festival o f the seventh m onth. Legends report living persons ascending to m ansions in the sky125 and deceased relatives being allowed to leave the dark regions to visit their old hom es on this d ay .126 Even nonhum ans w ent through unusual transform ations during the ghost festival, as reported in a tcnth-ccntury collection o f tales:

Form erly in the T ’ang, before he had assum ed office, on chung- yiian Prefect Lu Yiian-yii set out banners and statues and placed a yu-lan [bowl] between them . All o f a sudden he heard a chirping sound com ing from the bow l. Yiian-yu looked and saw a tiny dragon barely an inch long, which was relaxed yet a little odd- looking, gentle and lovable. A t this he took som e w ater to m oisten it. The dragon stretched ou t its legs and bristled its mane, grow ing several feet long. Yiian-yii took a great fright. A w hite

121 Shih-wu chi-yiian (chi-lei), K ao C h 'en g (ca. 1078-1085) (Taipei: C om m ercial Press, 1971), ch. 8, pp. 2 3 r-v (pp. 585-86).

122 Sui-shih kuang-chi, C h ’en Y uan-ching (S. Sung). Sui-shih hsi-su Izu-liao hui-pien. Vols. 4 -7 (Taipei: I-w en y in-shu-kuan , 1970), ch. 30, pp. lv -2 r (pp. 970-71).

I2J Lao-hsiieh-an pi-chi, Lu Yu (1125-1210), in Hsiieh-chin I ’ao-yiian, Pai-pu ts’ung-shu ch i-ch’eng, N o . 46 (Taipei: I-w en yin -shu-kuan), ch. 7, p. lv .

,M See Shih-wu chi-yiian (chi-lei), ch. 8, pp. 23 r-v (pp. 585-86); Sui-shih kuattg-chi, ch. 30, pp. 1 v -2 r (pp. 970-71); Tung-ching meug-htia lu, M eng Y iian-lao (ca. 1235), in Tung- ching mcng-hua lu, wai ssu-chung (Shanghai: K u-tien w cn-hsiieh ch’u-pan-shc, 1957), pp. 49-50; Lao-hsiieh-an pi-chi, ch. 7, p. 1 v; and Wu-lin chiu-shih, C h o u M i (ca. 1280), in Tung- ching ineng-hua lu, wai ssu-chung, p. 381.

u ' See the sto ry o f T s’ui Wei in T 'a i-p ’ing kuang-chi, pp. 216-20.12,1 See the story o f W ang T su -te in l-chien chili. H ung M ai (1123-1202), 4 vols. (Taipei:

H sin-hsing shu-chii, I960), p. 360.

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cloud arose from the bow l, and the dragon left, follow ing the cloud .127

In the Southern Sung capital o f H ang-chou, those w hose relatives had recently died w ent to sweep o ff their graves. M ountains o f paper m oney w ere burned for use by ancestors in the underw orld , and freshly printed sutras on “ M u-lien, the M ost Venerable” w ere sold in m arkets. And in K ’ai-fcng, according to M cng Yiian-lao (ca. 1235):

In theaters,128 having passed the seventh night [the festival m arking the m eeting o f the C ow herd and Weaving M aiden], singing girls next staged the dram a o f M u-lien saving his m other. It w ent straight through the fifteenth day w ith throngs o f spectators.129

While no texts o f the w eek-long dram a (tsa-chti) on M u-lien survive from Sung or Yuan times, it is clear that the M u-lien m yth took on new life in the genres o f literature and dram a that succceded transform ation texts after the T ’ang. In fact the m ythology o f the ghost festival spread th roughou t so m any genres that even a brief survey is beyond the scopc o f this study, and a few examples will have to suffice.130

It is generally thought that a play recorded by Cheng C hih-chen in the M ing dynasty preserves the general outline o f the N orthern Sung dram a noted by M cng Yiian-lao. Cheng C hih-chen’s w ork, entitled Mu-lien chiu-mu hsing-hsiao hsi-wen (“ A Play on M u-licn Practicing Filial D evotion by Saving His M other”), adds significantly to the plot o f the story contained in The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother.131 In the play version M u-licn’s m other is not inherently

127 S to ry o f Lu Y uan-yti translated from T ’ai-p’ing kuatig-chi, p. 3438.128 I follow Sawada in em ending kou-ssu to kou-latr, se t Saw ada, Jigoku hen, pp. 141-42.129 T ranslation from Tung-ching meng-hua lu, p. 49.

po r g00(j overview s o f the literary h isto ry o f the M u-lien m yth in Sung and later tim es, see C hao C hing-shen , “ C h ’iian-shan ch in -k ’o ,” in Mitig ch'itig ch’ii-l'an (Shanghai: K u-ticn w en-hsiieh ch’u-pan-shc. 1957), pp. 154-62; idem , “ M u-lien ch iu -m u te yen- p icn" (1946), reprin ted in Chung-kuo min-chien ch'uan-shuo yen-chiu, cd. W ang C h ’iu-kuei (Taipei: L ien-ching ch’u-pan shih-ych kung-ssu , 1980), pp. 219-36; C h ’en, M u-lien chiu- mu ku-shih chill yen-chin; C h ’ien N an-yang , “ T u jih -p en K uraishi T akcshiro te M okuren g yoko g ibun yen-ch iu .” Min-su N o . 72 (A ugust 1929): 1-7; K uraishi T akeshiro , “ M o k u ren kyubo g y oko gibun ni tsu itc ,” Shjnagaku 3:10 (February 1925):5-24; P iet van der Loon, “ Les O rig ines rituelles du theatre chinois,” JA 265:1-2 (1977): 158-62; Sawada M izuho, Hokan no kenkyu, revised ed. (K yoto: K okusho kankokai, 1975), pp. 123—26; and idem , Jigoku hen, pp. 141—48.

131 I have consulted tw o editions o f C heng C h ih -ch en ’s play, one on m icrofilm from the N ational L ibrary, Peking, in 8 ch ., entitled H sin-k’an ch'u-hsiang yin-chu ch’iian-shnn mu-lien chiu-mu hsing-hsiao hsi-wen, C h in -lin g sh u -fan g ed ., ca. 1573-1620; and ono in Ku- pen hsi-ch’ii ts'ung-k’an cli'ii-chi (Shanghai: C om m ercial Press, 1954), Vols. 80-82.

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greedy. Rather, after her husband dies, her evil brothers persuade her to give up a vegetarian diet and to w ithhold offerings from m onks, actions for w hich she is reborn in hell. M u-lien sets ou t to rescue his m other, bu t before the underw orld search begins, the play includes a num ber o f scenes portraying M u-licn’s jou rney to the west. M u-lien, like the Tripitaka m onk Hsiian-tsang in the novel Hsi-yu chi (Journey to the West), enlists the aid o f a m onkey, he passes th rough the Black Pine Forest, and he depends at every turn upon the com passionate guidance o f K uan-yin. C heng C hih-chcn’s play also m arks the first appearance in ghost festival m ythology o f M u-lien’s fianccc, T s’ao Sai-ying, w ho jo ins the B uddhist order o f nuns after her betro thed becomes a m onk.

A nother im portan t literary guise in w hich the m yth appears is that o f the “ precious scroll” (pao-chiian), a genre that embellished popular stories in a form containing sections in vernacular prose and sections sung to the tune o f folk songs and operas. In the early M ing Mu-lien san-shih pao-chiian (The Precious Scroll on the Three Lives o f Mu-lien) was especially popular.132 This tale adds tw o incarnations to the relatively simple life M u-lien leads in the transform ation text. First, M u-lien was too successful in his battle w ith the armies o f hell. W hen he broke open the gates o f hell w ith his staff, eight million souls escaped from purgatory, but they m ust still be returned to purgatory to com plete their karm ic retribution. This provides the occasion for M u-licn’s second incarnation: he returns to the w orld above ground as the salt m crchant- rcbcl leader H uang C h ’ao, w hose peasant revolt betw een 874 and 884 effectively m arked the end o f the T ’ang. As H uang C h ’ao, M u-lien kills over eight million people, thus redressing the balance o f karm a he had disturbed by letting hell dwellers go free. The underw orld adm inistrator King Yama, how ever, judges that a large num ber o f pig souls and sheep souls have still not been returned to their places in the underw orld , and so M u-lien is reborn on earth a third time— as a butcher, w ho quickly meets the quota set by King Yama. Eventually, both M u- lien and his m other w ork ou t their karm ic punishm ents and are reunited w ith M u-lien’s father in the heavens.

M u-lien’s transform ations in C h ’ing and m odern times make a fascinating story, but one w hich cannot be told here in this b rief postscript. Sources for a survey o f the m ythology and practice o f the ghost

1,2 For bibliographical references on several pao-chiian on M u-lien saving his m o ther, see Li Shih-yii, Pao-chiian isiing-ht (Peking: C hung-hua shu-chii, 1961), Item nos. 2 73- 81 ,332 .

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festival in the past three hundred years, how ever, are readily accessible. T hey include Chinese rccords o f seasonal observances; detailed reports from Japanese ethnographers; appreciative accounts by visiting diplomats, m issionaries, and wives; and the masterful study by the D utch Sinologist and ethnographer, de G ro o t.133

135 A fter local gazetteers, the im perial encyclopedia provides a convenient overv iew o f local practices: Ku-chin t ’u-shu chi-ch'eng, ch. 68, pp. 692-94. Suzuki’s rep o rt on T aiw an and de G ro o t’s on A m oy rem ain the best studies o f m odern practices: Suzuki M itsuo, “ B on ni kuru re i,” M inzokugaku kenkyii 37:3 (1972):167-85; a n d ja n J . M . de G ro o t, Les Fetes annuellement celebries a Emotii, 2 vols., trans. C . G. C havannes, A nnales du M usee G uim ct, N o . 12 (Paris: E rnest Leroux, 1886), pp. 404-35. O th e r accounts include: Ju lie t B redon and Igor M itrophanow , The Moon Year: A Record o f Chinese Customs and Festivals (Shanghai: Kelly and W alsh, 1927), pp. 376-86; V alentine R. B urkhard t, Chinese Creeds and Customs, 2 vols. (H ong K ong: South C hina M orn ing Post, 1953-55), 2:53-64; F. J . D y m o n d , “ T h e Feast o f the Seventh M o o n ,” The East o f Asia M agazine 2:4 (D ecem ber 1903):376-78; W olfram E berhard , Chinese Festivals (1952; reprin t ed ., Taipei: W en-hsing shu-tien , 1963), pp. 129-33; H uang Y u-m ei, "C h in a ’s G host Festival,” Free China Review 32:11 (N o v em b er 1982):68-72; C laudine L om bard-Salm on, “ Survivancc d ’un rite bouddh iquc a Java: la cerem onie du pu-du (avalambana)," B E FEO 62 (1975):457-86; D uane Pang, “ T h e P ’u -tu R itual,” in Buddhist and Taoist Studies /, eds. M ichael Saso and D avid W. C happell, Asian Studies at H aw aii, N o . 18 (H onolulu : U niversity Press o f H awaii, 1977), pp. 95-122; Reichclt, Truth and Tradition in Chinese Buddhism, pp. 92-114; T anaka Issei, Chugoku saishi engeki kenkyu (Tokyo: T o k y o daigaku shuppansha, 1981), pp. 230-41; T un L i-ch’en, Annual Customs and Festivals in Peking, second e d ., trans. D erk B odde (H ong K ong: H o n g K ong U niversity Press, 1965), pp. 60-63; and de Visser, A n cient Buddhism in Japan, 1:84-88.

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F O U R

The Mythological Background

In m e d ie v a l t i m e s the m yth o f M u-lien saving his m other served to justify one o f the m ost w idespread o f annual celebrations in China. The m yth itself was elaborated in a variety o f genres: entertaining picture stories recounted in the marketplace; short, dry sutras acccptcd into the B uddhist canon; and a host o f com m entaries, hym ns, lecture texts, and apocryphal sutras. While they differ widely in form , all o f these sources constitute a coherent group that can conveniently be called “ yu-lan- p ’en literature.”

T his chapter places yii-lan-p’en literature in the context o f Chinese B uddhist m y tho logy .'M ost o f the motifs o f the m ature y ii-lan-p’en story w ere present in Chinese Buddhist m ythology long before catalogues first noted the existence o f The Yu-lan-p 'en Siitra and before historians first recorded the observance o f the ghost festival. By surveying som e o f the antecedents o f yii-lan-p’en literature, I hope to cast m ore light on the m ythological context out o f w hich the ghost festival em erged. In this and later chapters I also hope to show the dram atic and literary in tegrity o f the various versions o f the yii-lan-p’en story, suggesting that the constraints o f genre and the dem ands o f various audiences partly determ ined the shape o f any one version. A nd rather than iso la ting specific m otifs as essentially “ Ind ian” o r irreducib ly “ C hinese,” I shall read the m yths as they w ere enacted, read, and understood by Chinese o f the first m illennium : no t as schizophrenic m ixtures bu t as w hole and healthy narratives.

1 For the m ost recent and com prehensive study o f the antecedents o f the yu -lan -p ’en m y th , sec C h ’en Fang-ying, Mu-lien chiu-mu ku-shili chill yen-chin chi cli’i yu-kuan wen- hsiieli chih yen-chiu, H isto ry and L iterature Series, N o . 65 (Taipei: T aiw an N ational U n iversity , 1983), pp. 7-22. See also the im p o rtan t studies by Ishigam i Z enno, “ M okuren se tsuw a no keifu ,” Taisho daigaku kenkyu kiyd N o. 54 (N ovem ber 1968): 1—24; Iw am oto Y utaka, Bukkyo setsuwa kenkyu, Vol. 2, Bukkyo setsuwa nogenryii to tenkai (Tokyo: K aim ei sho ten , 1978), pp. 373-93, Vol. 4, Jigoku ineguri no himgakti (w hich incorporates Mokuren densetsu to urabon) (Tokyo: K aim ei shoten , 1979), pp. 171-99; Lo T su n g -t’ao, Tun-huang chiang-ching pien-wen yen-chiu (Taipei: Wen shih che ch’u-pan-she, 1972), pp. 229-302 passim ; V ictor M air, “ N o tes on the M audgalyayana Legend in East A sia,” paper p resented at the M id-A tlantic Regional M eeting o f the A ssociation for Asian Studies, O ctob er 1984; and O gaw a K an'ichi, Bukkyo bunka shi kenkyu (K yoto: N agata bunshodo , 1973), pp. 165-71.

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A n E x a m p l e

In The Yii-lan-p’en Sutra M u-lien is a disciple o f the B uddha, a m editato r skilled in the pow ers o f the seer, a traveler w ho reveals the structure o f the cosm os, and a figure instrum ental in providing a means o f salvation to his m other. N one o f these motifs was original to The Yii-lan- p'en Sutra; they all appear in a tale that had already been translated into Chinese by the end o f the fourth ccntury. The talc is contained in the Tseng-i a-han ching (The Additional Agama, Ekottaragama), a canonical collection o f short sutras translated into Chinese by Gautam a Sam ghadeva betw een 397 and 398. As one o f the Agamas (corresponding to the Pali Nikayas), the Tseng-i a-han ching was part o f the heritage com m on to all schools o f B uddhism in India and China, and it comes as close as any Buddhist scripture to representing precanonical B uddhist beliefs o f the fourth ccntury B .C .2 For our purposes its value lies not in its “ Indi- anncss,” bu t in its antiquity and unassailable position in early Chinese Buddhism .

T he story related in the Agama, w hich is sum m arized in the A ppendix to this chapter, illustrates that m any o f the roles that M u-lien plays in later Chinese tradition had already been blocked ou t in early Chinese m ythology. In the Agama tale, M u-lien is portrayed as the quintessential sham an, one w ho uses his unusual martial and m editative pow ers to travel through the universe. The story begins w ith M u-lien responding to a cosmic disturbance: from their position under the T ri- kuta rocks that support M ount Sum eru, tw o naga kings (N anda and Upananda) breathe fire th roughou t the continent o fjam budv lpa .3 M u- lien is the only disciple o f the B uddha pow erful enough to engage the naga kings in battle, so he soars through the air to fight them on their hom e ground o f M ount Sum eru, the axis muttdi. M u-lien transform s him self into a fourteen-headed naga, he shrinks him self to an infinitesimal size, he changes a hailstorm o f stones and knives into a canopy o f flowers and jew els, using his supernorm al strength to persuade the derelict naga kings to assume their proper place w ithin the w orld order. In the end, M u-lien succeeds in convincing the naga kings to relinquish their position o f pow er at the center o f the w orld and to conform to the harm onious Way o f the Buddha.

2 See E tienne Lam otte, Hiiloire du bouddhisme indien, des origincs a I 'm Saka, Publications de l'ln s titu t O rientalistc de Louvain, N o . 14 (1958; reprin t ed ., Louvain-la-N cuvc: Institu t O rientaliste , 1976), pp. 167-71.

3D e Visser cites H ard y ’s Manual o f Buddhism (p. 44): “T h e N agas reside in the loka (w orld) under the T riku ta rocks that support M cru, and in the w aters o f the w orld o f m en ” ; M arinus W illem de Visser, The Dragon in China and Japan (1913; reprin t cd ., N ew Y ork: Philosophical Library, 1972), p. 2.

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T H E M Y T H O L O G I C A L B A C K G R O U N D

W ith the naga kings vanquished, the Agama narrative resum es its m ajor theme: the ascension o f the Buddha to the Heaven o f T h irty - Three to preach to his m other.4 B uddhist literature abounds w ith adm onitions to “ repay the kindness” (pao-en) that parents show to children th rough birth and nurturing, and in this story the B uddha h im self carries ou t the teaching.5 He goes to the Heaven o f T h irty -T hree and preaches the D harm a, bringing enlightenm ent to his m other and to all o f the gods w ho reside there. B oth the Agama tale and the y ii-lan-p’en m yth give special attention to the m others o f m onks. In the form er, the m other o f the Buddha is placed in one o f the heavens, while in the latter, M u-lien’s m other awaits salvation from the torm ents o f hell.

In both Agama and yii-lan-p’en m yths, M u-lien perform s a very particular function. He is a savior but not a Buddha; he plays the role o f a bodhisattva in the M ahayana tradition w ithout ever being called one. In the Agama tale, M u-lien converts errant naga kings to the Buddhist Way. In the yii-lan-p’en m yth, he defeats the armies o f hell and brings aid to his m other. Yet unlike the fully A wakened O ne, M u-licn’s salvific pow er is not complete: the naga kings are constantly in need o f rehabilitation, and M u-licn’s pow ers alone arc insufficient to free his m other from her sufferings in hell. The pow er o f the Buddha o r the D harm a or the Sangha is needed for true salvation. But while the B uddha’s pow er is absolute in both m yths, he also rem ains a m ore distant figure than docs M u-lien, w ho is fallible and hcnce m ore accessible.

Even in this abbreviated exam ination o f the Agama story o f the B uddha preaching to his m other in the Heaven o f T hirty-T hree, the M u-licn that emerges from the tale bears a strong resemblance to the M u-licn presented in yu-lan-p’en m ythology. In fact, early Chinese B uddhist m ythology, com prising a rich corpus o f materials translated in to Chinese by the fourth o r fifth ccntury, provided m any o f the them es and sym bols out o f w hich the yii-lan-p’en m yth was fashioned. M u-licn’s sham anic attributes will form the main topic o f C hapter Five, and w hat M u-lien secs on his spirit jou rney— the cosm os he maps ou t for his audience— will be explored in C hapter Six. The discussion in this chapter will be confined to only three topics as they arc pre-

* T h e H eaven o f T h irty -T h ree (Skt.: T rayastrim sa, C h .: san-shih-san t ’ien artao-li t ’ien) is located atop M oun t Sum eru , still w ith in the w orld o f desire. Beings bo rn there lead p leasurable lives bu t rem ain in need o f salvation. Indra presides ov er this heaven from a central court. A t each o f the four corners arc situated eight cities o f gods, hence the nam e, “ H eaven o fT h ir ty -T h re c Ipalaces o r g o d s |.”

5 T su n g -m i cites num erous canonical and apocryphal sources in w hich the B uddha preaches the necessity o f "repay ing the k indness," Tsung-mi Commentary, T . no. 1792, 39:5<)Ha-c.

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sented in Chinese B uddhist m ythology prior to the developm ent o f the ghost festival: M u-licn’s biography, hungry ghosts, and m others.

M u - l i e n ’s B i o g r a p h y

Mu-lien in Yii-lan-p’en Literature

M u-lien is such an im portan t figure in B uddhist m ythology that a com plete survey o f the medieval Chinese understanding o f his life as a disciplc o f the Buddha w ould require a book-length study .6 By contrast, y ii-lan-p’en literature tells us little about M u-licn’s career as a disciple o f the Buddha. T he main interest o f yii-lan-p’en literature lies elsewhere: in M u-licn’s jou rney to the hells to save his m other and, to a lesser extent, in the events o f his previous life.

T he tw o earliest yii-lan-p’en sutras, The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness and The Yii-lan-p’en Sutra, offer no inform ation concerning M u-lien aside from his vision o f his m other as a hungry ghost, his discussions w ith the Buddha, and his perform ance o f the first yii- lan-p’en cerem ony.7

The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra contains a long section on M u-lien’s past life. The sutra, in fact, is explicitly styled an “avadana,” the term used to designate a legend conccrning the past lives o f its subject.8 The

6 A kanum a, for instance, gives references to 92 episodes in th e life o fM ah am o g g a llan a (Skt.: M aha-M audgalyayana) in Pali, Sanskrit, and C hinese sources; A kanum a C hizen, Indo bukkyo koyii m eishijiten (1931; rep rin t ed ., K yoto: H ozokan, 1967), pp. 375a-80b. U n til a separate study on M u-lien is undertaken , M ig o t’s excellent study o f Sariputra rem ains quite helpful; see A ndre M igo t, “ U n G rand D isciple du B uddha, Sariputra: son role dans 1’h isto ire du bouddhism e c t dans le developpem ent de i ’Ahhidharma,” B E FE O 46:2 (1954):405-554, esp. 503-18.

7 The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness, T . no. 686, 16:780a; The Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, T . no . 685, 16:779a-c.

8 T h e tex t styles itself a yin-yiian, w hich , philologically speaking, shou ld be translated nidana. B ut C hinese usage in this case is ra ther loose, so I have follow ed Leon Fcer and o thers in using “ avadana” to refer to a genre o f B uddhist literature, w hether the co rrespond ing C hinese term is yin-yiian, p'i-yii, o r pen-sheng. Fcer defines avadana as “ a teaching in tended to m ake clear the tie w hich links events o f the present life to acts perform ed in p revious existences, the present being considered as a p roduct o f the past. T hu s all A vadanas are basically com posed o f tw o stories: the sto ry o f a real event— the sto ry o f a past event w hich determ ined it. T h is second sto ry , the telling o f w hich requires com plete know ledge o f o th e r tim es, cannot be to ld by ju s t anyone. It is on ly the om niscient B uddha w h o can call up such recollections; and as the B uddha is basically a healer, the explanation that he gives is necessarily follow ed by a w arn ing , a precept, a practical teach ing” ; Leon Feer, trans., L ‘Avadana-Cataka: cent legendes bouddhiqiies, A nnales du M usec G ui- m et, N o . 18 (Paris: E rnest Leroux, 1891), p. xi. O n this genre sec also M aurice W inter- nitz, Geschichte der indischen Litteratur, 2 vols. (Leipzig: C . F. A m clangs Verlag, 1912-20),

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sutra begins w ith a description o f the audicncc and then says, “ H aving gathered the entire great assembly, [the Buddha] revealed to them the causes and conditions o f M u-lien’s previous lives.”9 T he sutra then recounts the founding o f the yii-lan-p’en cerem ony, after which the Buddha’s disciples request him to relate the story o f M u-lien’s and his m o th er’s past lives:

At this tim e Ananda and five hundred arhats rose from their seats and addressed the Buddha. T hey asked, “ W orld-H onored O ne, w hat karm ic acts did the m other o f bhiksu M u-licn perform during her lifetime, w hat sin did she com m it to be reborn as a hungry ghost and suffer punishm ent for three fyalpas? O n account o f w hat causes and conditions was M u-lien reborn in her house, and w ith this karm ic result, how has he become a sage? We entreat the W orld-H onored O ne to explain the causes and conditions o f M u- licn’s m other, so that the entire great assembly m ight hear it to gether.”

T hen the W orld-H onored O ne told Ananda and the five hundred householders: “ The karm ic retribution o f the actions o f all living beings is inconceivable. You should listen well!

“ Long ago, at a tim e five hundred kalpas ago, a Buddha nam ed Lam plighter [D lpam kara]10 appeared in the w orld, living in the country o f R adha.11 At this tim e M u-lien was born in the hom e o f a brahm in, and his name was Lo-pu [T urn ip].12 His m o th er’s nam e was C h ’in g -t’i .13 W hen he was young, the son, Lo-pu, loved charity; the m other was very stingy and did no t like charity. W hen the son, Lo-pu, was setting out on a long trip, he enjoined his m other, ‘In the m orning a num ber o f guests will come looking for

2:215-29; J . S. Speyer, ed ., Avaddnafataka: A Century o f Udifying Tales Belonging to the Hinaydna, (1909; rep rin t ed .. T h e H ague: M outon and C o ., 1958), pp. i-x iv ; and Jo h n S trong , The Legend o f King Afoka: A Study and Translation o f the “Asokdvaddna" (Princeton: P rinceton U niversity Press, 1983), pp. 22, 32-36.

9 The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, II. 3-4 .W hen D ipam kara B uddha was in the w orld , a previous incarnation o f Sakyam uni

m ade offerings to him and received the prophecy that he w ould later attain B uddhahood.11 M y reconstruction o f Radha is uncertain. T he Chinese, L o-t’o, m ay well be a m is

taken rendering o f Rajagrha, w hich is usually transcribed phonetically as Lo-yiieh.12 V ictor H . M air suggests that the C hinese understanding o f M u-lien’s nam e as “ T u r

n ip ” is based on a m istranslation from the Sanskrit for “ m ung bean” ; V ictor H . M air, trans. Tun-huang Popular Narratives (C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press, 1983), pp. 224—25, second n. to I. 17.

'■* M air reconstructs N iladhi as the Sanskrit original o f C h ’in g -t’i; Tun-lniang Popular Narratives, p. 232, n. to I. 152.

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me. M other,14 w ould you set out a meal for the guests, and, w ith respect and obedience,15 see to it that each one is happy?’ A fter her son left, m any guests arrived, but the m other never had any intention to set ou t a meal. Instead she deceptively scattered rice, vegetables, and seasonings, strew ing them all over the ground as if there had been a meal.

“ W hen the son came back he asked his m other, ‘This m orning w hen the guests came, how did you treat them ?’

“ The m other answered, ‘D on’t you see how the [scraps from the] meal I served them are strew n all over the ground like this?’ The m other spoke lies and falsehoods to dcccivc her son. She was stingy and lackcd hum an feeling.

“ The m other has been M u-lien’s m other for five hundred reincarnations, her avarice continuing to the present day. M u-lien has been her son for five hundred reincarnations. . . . I f I w anted to recount all o f the examples o f her avarice, a kalpa w ould not suffice for the telling o f it. I have sim ply sum m arized one exam ple o f her stinginess to dem onstrate to the great assembly the inconceivability o f karm ic retribution in the Three T im es.” 16

M u-lien’s b iography is given as an appendage to his m o ther’s in The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra. The dram atic and didactic focus o f the sto ry is his m o ther’s avarice and its ineluctable result: her continued rebirth as M u-lien’s m other w ho, in her last life, com m its evil deeds that result in her rebirth as a hungry ghost. The only details about M u-lien to be gained from the story arc those conccrning time, place, nam e, and piety: five hundred kalpas ago he was born into the household o f a rich brahm in in Radha, he was nam ed “T u rn ip ,” and he was especially religious, practicing charity (pu-shih, Skt.: datta) for the benefit o f unspecified m onks.

H ui-ching, w ho w rote his com m entary on The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra around the tim e o f the com position o f The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, makes no m ention o f M u-lien’s previous life. I Ic writes:

M u-lien is his surnam e. His personal name is Kolita, w hich he was given because [before his birth, his parents] sacrificed to the spirit

14 A -p ’o, T ’ang colloquial, m igh t be tter be rendered inform ally as “ M o m .” T h is usage occurs frequently in pien-wen; see Iriya Yoshitaka, "Tonko henhun shii" kogo goi sakuin (K yo to , 1961 [m im eographed]), p. 27b.

15 Reading kung-shun ra ther than kung-hsii.16 T he T hree T im es are past, present, and future. T ranslation from The Pure Land Yii-

lan-p’en Sutra, II. 79-102; cf. Tsung-mi ('ommentary, T . 39:5()9c-IOa.

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o f a Kolita tree .17 Since people o f that country honor the surnam e, he was called by his surnam e; hence “ M u-licn .” 18

T sung-m i, w riting in the early ninth century, includes in his com m entary both types o f biographical inform ation discusscd thus far: a linguistic and rather scholastic discussion o f M u-lien’s Sanskrit and Chinese names, as well as the tale contained in The Pure Land Yii-lan- p ’en Siitra narrating the deeds o f m other and son five hundred lifetimes ago. In his section on M u-lien’s name, T sung-m i adds that an im m ortal w ho was an ancestor o f M u-licn often ate a kind o f legume, and that the nam e o f this legume, the lu-tou, is the m eaning o f M u-lien’s Sanskrit name, (M aha-)M audgalyayana. He also provides M u-lien w ith a paternity: he is the son o f Fu Hsiang o f the city o f R ajagrha.19

T sum g-m i paraphrases the avadana tale from The Pure Land Yii-lan- p ’en Sutra, prefacing the story w ith the w ords, “ A sutra says. . . .”20 T he fact that this is the only place in his com m entary that T sung-m i refers to The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra— and not even by name— suggests that this particular episode from M u-lien’s and his m o ther’s lives was quite popular in T sung-m i’s time. In his retelling o f the story, T sung-m i makes no changes in plot or detail and occasionally in terrupts the narrative to discuss the finer points o f karm a and rebirth. He asks, for instance: 1

Question: From the tim e o f Lam plighter Buddha until now [five hundred lifetimes], M u-lien was not born from ju s t one m other. W hy was he partial in saving ju s t C h ’in g -t’i [from the torm ents o f hell]?

Answer: There w ere deep karm ic bonds betw een C h ’ing -t’i and M u-lien. In this life she had been reborn again as his m other. He saved the m other w ho gave birth to him in this life; it is not the case that he saved that o ther C h ’ing -t’i from m any lifetimes ago .21

The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother narrates a version o f the story o f M u-lien’s and his m other’s previous lives m ore abbreviated than that o f The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Sutra. In this pien-wen version the story concerns M u-lien’s actions in this life, not in a previous one. As a young boy, T urnip believes in the Threcjcw cls. Before

17 Follow ing T su n g -m i, Tsung-mi Commentary, T . 39:507c.T ranslation from Tsung-mi Commentary, T . 85:541b.

''' Tsung-mi Commentary, T . 39:507c. M air reconstructs the Sanskrit for Fu H siang as Siilaksana; Tun-huang Popular Narratives, p. 232, n. to 1. 153.

211 Tsung-mi (Commentary, T. 39:509c; fo llow ing the w ord ing in the Yiian-chao Commentary, "yu thing shuo"; Z . I, 35:2, p. H 9vb .

11 T ranslation from Tsung-mi Commentary, T . 39:509c-l0a.

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going abroad on business, he entrusts som e m oney to his m other and asks her to use it to provide a vegetarian feast for the Buddha, D harm a, Sangha, and anyone w ho m ight com e begging. C h ’in g -t’i hides the m oney and falsely claims to have held feasts while her son was away. As a result, w hen she dies she falls into Avici Hell. After he com pletes the m ourn ing obligations for her, M u-lien enters the Sangha, quickly attains arhatship, and then em barks on a search for his deceased parents.22

In the pien-wen the episode o f M u-lien as a youth occurs at the beginning o f the narrative, not in the m iddle as it does in the less theatrical Pure Land sutra. The episode, ending w ith C h ’in g -t’i’s falling into Avici Hell (the hell o f “ N o-In terval” ), sets the stage for the action that follows. By placing her fall into Avici Hell at the beginning o f the story, The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother im m ediately arouses the interest o f the audience. M u-licn’s goal— to save his m other from hell— is clearly established from the very start. The audience also know s ju s t how evil his m other is and how terribly she suffers for her sins. W ith her hopes for salvation so bleak, an elem ent o f tension pervades the entire story as M u-lien travels to the hells, battles armies o f dem ons, and enlists the aid o f the Buddha on the w ay to liberating his m other from torm ents. In this version o f the y ii-lan-p’en m yth , the biographical details— M u-lien’s piety, his m o th er’s avarice, and her rebirth in hell— are included for dram atic as well as them atic purposes.

Mu-lien in Other Genres o f Literature

Chinese literature preserves m any accounts o f M u-lien’s previous lives that diverge from the accounts in yii-lan-p’en literature noted above. Collections o f fables translated in the late third century by K a n g Seng- hui (d. 280) describe M u-lien’s previous incarnations as a king, a cygnet, an otter, a serpent, a m inister o f state, and an ascetic.23

A sim ilar d ichotom y characterizes biographies o f M u-lien in his reb irth as the boy Turnip: while yii-lan-p’en literature show s little interest in M u-lien’s previous career, Chinese B uddhist literature as a w hole abounds w ith accounts o f his m onastic life. In particular, M u-licn’s

22 T H P W C , p. 714; M air, trans., Tun-huang Popular Narratives, pp. 87-88.23 Sec the selections translated in E douard C havannes, trans.. Cinq Cents Contes el apo

logues: extraits du Tripitaka chinois, 4 vols. (Paris: Libraire Ernest Leroux, 1910-11, 1934), 1:49, 72, 77, 93, 227, 304, 2:412. T hese selections are from tw o w orks translated by K ’ang Seng-hui, Liu-tu chi ching, T . no. 152, and (M u Isa p ’i-yii ching, T. no. 206; cf. h'a- yuan chu-lin, T. 53:607a-b.

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long-standing friendship w ith Sariputra and the tw o friends’ entry into the B uddhist order are discussed in num erous w orks.24 In this section I shall survey som e o f these accounts. M y survey is based prim arily on the Shih-chia p ’u (The Genealogy o f the Sakyas) by Seng-yu (445-518), and T ao-shih’s seventh-century Fa-yiian chu-lin (Pearl Grove o f the Dharma Garden). These tw o w orks occupy an im portan t place in Chinese Buddhist historiography, their author-com pilcrs having culled a large body o f preexistent literature before w riting w orks that conform to Chinese m odels.25 T heir versions o f the story o f Sariputra and M u-lien may thus be taken as accurate reflections o f m edieval Chinese perceptions o f the tw o disciples.

M ost accounts agree that Sariputra and M u-lien were close friends before they entered the B uddhist Sangha.26 U patisya (Sariputra) was the youngest son o f a rich brahm in o f N alandagram aka, and Kolita (M u-licn) was the son o f a rich brahm in o f K olitagram aka. T hey w ere inseparable friends and decided together to give up the householder’s life and becom e disciples o f a Vcdic teacher. After spending som e tim e under their teachcr, Sanjaya,27 they decide to pursue separately their search for the Way. Before splitting up they vow that, w hichever one first hears the true D harm a, he will share his discovery w ith the other.

In all sources it is Sariputra w ho first discovers the true Way to liberation.28 By chance Sariputra encounters a m onk on his begging rounds. Sariputra is so impressed by the m o n k ’s dignity and com posure while begging that he pursues him to inquire about the Way he follows. The m onk, nam ed Asvajit, is a disciple o f the Buddha. H e re

24 See E tienne Lam otte, trans., Le Traite di- la grand vertu de sagesse de Nagarjuna (Maha- prajndpdramitdsdstra), 5 vols. (Louvain-la-N cuve: Institu t O rientaliste, 1949-80), pp. 623-27, n. 2.

25 O n Seng-yu sec A rth u r E. Link, “ Shih Seng-yu and H is W ritings,’’JA O S 80:1 (Jan- u ary -M arch 1960): 17—43. O n T ao-shih see Stephen F. Teiser, “ T ’ang B uddhist Encyclopedias: A n In troduction to Fa-yiian chu-lin and Chu-ching yao-chi," T'ang Studies N o . 3 (1975): 109-28.

2,1 D etails in this paragraph are d raw n from Fa-yiian chu-lin, T. 53:683a-b, w hich cites Fo pen-hsing ching, T. no. 193, 4:81a-c; and from Ta chih-tu tun (Mahdprajndpdramitdsas- Ira), T. no. 1509, 25:136b—c; cf. L am otte, trans., Traite, pp. 623-33. C om pare the account in The Mahdvastu, trans. J . J . Jones, 3 vols. (London: Luzac and C o ., 1949-56), 3:56-61.

27 Lam otte, trans., Traite, pp. 623-27, n. 2, notes tha t sources preserve tw o trad itions on their teachcr, Sanjaya. In one Sanjaya is inimical to the B uddha (as in The Mahdvastu account). In the o th er he is a precursor o f the B uddha w ho, before dying, predicts the B uddha 's b irth (as in Fa-yiian chu-lin).

* In this paragraph I follow Shih-chia p ’u, T . 50:47c-48a; see also Ta chih-tu luit, T. 2 5 :136b-c (cf. Lam otte, trans., Traitf, pp. 630-33); Ssu-fen lit (Dharmaguptavinaya), T. no. 1428, 22:798b-99.i; l ;o pen-hsing ching, T. 4:81a; and Fa-yilan chu-lin, T. 53:683b.

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sponds to Sariputra w ith a very b rie f stanza encapsulating the B uddhist teaching on causality. U pon hearing these few w ords, Sariputra has an enlightenm ent experience and attains insight into the nature o f things. W hen Sariputra returns, M u-lien im m ediately notices a difference in his old friend. In The Genealogy o f the Sdkyas, M u-lien questions Sariputra closely:

“ I’ve been observing you. Your sense and your countenance are different than usual. You m ust have already gained the sw eet dew o f a w ondrous D harm a. Long ago we sw ore to each other that if one o f us heard a w ondrous D harm a, then he w ould enlighten the o ther— you have som ething you w ant to tell me?”

S arip u tra re sp o n d ed , “ I have indeed gained a sw ee t-d ew D harm a.”

M u-lien heard this and was happy beyond measure. “ W onderful,” he cried. “ N o w you m ust tell m e.”

Sariputra said, “ W hen I was ou t ju s t now I ran into a bhiksu. Me was w earing a robe and carrying a bow l and had entered tow n to beg for food. His senses were quiescent and his m ighty deportm ent was perfectly restrained. U pon seeing him I respected him im m ensely, so I approached him and asked, ‘I w ould have guessed that you only recently left the householder’s life, yet you arc able to restrain your senses so well. I w ould love to hear your response to som e questions I w ant to ask. W hat is the nam e o f your great master? W hat D harm a does he tcach and propound?’

“ Asvajit com posed him self and responded, ‘M y great m aster has gained every kind o f know ledge. He is o f the Sugar Cane clan,29 a teacher o f gods and men. He loves equally w isdom and the pow er o f spiritual penetrations.30 He has no equal.’

“ Asvajit continued, ‘Since I am young and have practiced the Way for only a little while, how could I set forth the w ondrous D harm a o f the T hus-C om e One? B ut I shall tell you w hat I kn o w .’ T hen he spoke these lines:

‘All dharm as basicallyAre produced from causes and conditions and have no essence. W hoever understands this Will gain the true, full W ay.’

29 “ Sugar C ane d a n ” (kan-che chung) is ano ther epithet for the clan o f G autam a, the Sugar C ane Princc having been one o f Sakyam uni’s ancestors; see C W T T T , 22138.183 and M B D J, pp. 691a, 2417b.

A fter becom ing disciples o f the Buddha, Sariputra will cxcol at w isdom and M u-lien at spiritual penetrations.

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U pon hearing Sariputra speak these w ords, M u-lien distanced him self from dust and left behind defilements, and in regard to all dharm as gained the purity o f the D harm a eye.31

After this experience w ith one o f the B uddha’s disciples, Sariputra and M u-lien w ant to learn from the Buddha himself. Joined by their ow n group o f tw o hundred disciples, they set out to jo in the B uddha’s Sangha. Before they arrive, the Buddha secs them com ing and p rophesies their specialties:

A t this tim e the W orld-H onored O ne saw Sariputra and M u-lien com ing, leading all o f their disciples one after the other. He said to the bhiksus fin his audience], “ You should all know that these tw o people leading their disciples have come to us seeking to leave the householder’s life. The first is named Sariputra, the second is nam ed M u-lien. In m y D harm a they will be superlative disciples. Sariputra will be first in w isdom , and M u-lien will be unsurpassed in spiritual penetrations.”32

Sariputra and M u-lien, together w ith their disciples, take the tonsure and don m o n k ’s robes. U pon hearing the Buddha preach the Four N o ble T ru ths, Sariputra and M u-lien im m ediately attain arhatship.33

Different Mu-liens, Different Genres

The story o f Sariputra’s and M u-lien’s entry into the B uddhist order was recorded in num erous versions in a w ide range o f sources in medieval China. It is, therefore, som ew hat surprising that y ii-lan-p’en literature contains only one reference to it, and a very tangential one at that. In his com m entary on The Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, H ui-ching glosses one particular passage by alluding not to M u-lien, but sim ply to the episode o f Sariputra encountering Asvajit.34

•” T ransla tion from T. 50:47c-48a.32 T ranslation from Shih-chiap’u, T. 50:48a-b. Cf. Ta chih-tu Urn, T . 25:136c; L am otte,

tran s., Traite, pp. 632—33.33 Shih-chia p ’u, T . 50:48b.34 H ui-ch ing explains the phrase “ his v irtue is vast” (ch'i le wang-yang) w ith the gloss,

“ the w onderfu l appearance o f a m igh ty d ep o rtm en t” (sheng-mao chili wei-i). H e explains the gloss, in tu rn , by referring to the sto ry o f Sariputra encountering Asvajit: A svajit’s d ep o rtm en t was so im pressive that Sariputra w as led to attain arhatship. H u i-ch ing docs n o t even m ention M u-lien here. H e sim ply cites the episode o f Sariputra encountering ASvajit to explain a passage in The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra (“ his v irtue is vast” ) describ ing a hypothetical m onk w ho receives y ii-lan-p’en offerings. Sec Hui-ching Commentary, T. 85:542c-43b. In contrast to the language o f The Yii-lan-p'en Sutra and to H u i-ch in g ’s gloss, popular literature often uses the expression "wei-i hsiang-hsii" to describe a m o n k ’s

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The disinterest— or blindness— show n by yii-lan-p’en literature tow ard this episode in M u-lien’s life may be explained in several ways. The various audiences o f the y ii-lan-p’en m yth, especially the m onkish ones, may well have know n the story o f M u-licn’s entry into the Sangha and m ay sim ply have deem ed it unnecessary to repeat in their com m entaries on The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra. M u-lien, in fact, does not com e o ff well in the story: it is Sariputra w ho has the encounter w ith Asvajit, and M u-lien’s aw akening occurs merely secondhand. Further, the teaching on causation that gives rise to the tw o friends’ enlightenm ent, while not un im portan t in Chinese Buddhist philosophy, was not as exciting or as hotly debated as such subjects as the im m ortality o f the spirit, the practice o f B uddhism , the nature o f Buddha nature, or the division o f the teachings.

Reasons for the absencc o f the story in the m ore popular versions o f the y ii-lan-p’en m yth are probably o f a different sort. The disciplined M u-lien o f the sources cited above looks nothing like the irrepressible M u-lien o f The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra or The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Sawing His Mother. In his quest for the Way, the disciple M u- licn finishes second, behind his friend, Sariputra.35 By contrast, the shaman M u-lien know s no bounds; he travels to heaven and flings open the gates o f hell. M u-lien’s lineage, the record o f his study under different teachers and o f his acccptance into the B uddhist order, was probably o f little interest to people w ho came to watch storytellers illustrate M u- licn’s transform ations. They w ere interested no t in his legitim acy but in his pow ers. This may well explain w hy we do not find the story o f M u-lien’s disciplcship in the m ore dram atic form s o f yii-lan-p’en literature and find only passing reference to it in the canonical yii-lan-p’en sources.

H u n g r y G h o s t s

Chinese B uddhist m ythology abounds w ith stories o f M u-lien encountering those unfortunate beings reborn as hungry ghosts (o-kuei, Skt.:

stern com posure; see C hiang L i-hung, Tun-huang pien-wen tzu -i I’ung-shih, revised cd. (Taipei: K u -t’ing shu-ya, 1975), pp. 33-34.

35 M igo t suggests that in the B uddhist trad ition , Sariputra w as associated w ith k n o w ledge w hile M u-lien w as associated w ith pow er. A lthough bo th are deem ed necessary for salvation, know ledge, especially in a m onastic context, is rated first. M igo t, " U n G rand D isciple du B uddha ,” p. 517, w rites: “ For certain people, stunadhi |concen tra tion !, as a m eans o f ob tain ing m agical pow ers, is a goal w hich in itself is m ore im p o rtan t than the Abhidharma [scholarship] as a means o f ob tain ing prajna |w isd o m |; som e placc k n o w ledge in the fo reground , o thers placc pow ers in the fo reground . T h ose w h o pursue p o w ers address their devo tions to M audgalyayana, those w ho pursue know ledge to $3ripu- tra ."

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preta). Som etim es residing in one or another cham ber in hell, som etimes haunting m ountains, valleys, or even cities, they w ander about forever in search o f food and drink. De G root describes them well:

Pretas are horrid m onsters, disgusting objects, frightful wretchcs. T hey have long bristly hairs, arm s and legs like skeletons. T heir volum inous bellies can never be filled, because their m ouths for throats] are as narrow as a needle’s eye. Hence they arc always to rm ented by furious hunger. T heir colour, blue, black, o r yellow, is rendered m ore hideous still by filth and dirt. They are also eternally vexed by unquenchable thirst. N o m ore but once in a hundred thousand years do they hear the w ord water, but w hen at last, they find it, it im m ediately becomes urine and m ud. Some devour fire and tear the flesh from dead bodies o r from their ow n limbs; but they are unable to sw allow the slightest bit o f it because o f the narrow ness o f their m ouths.36

His spiritual pow ers perm it M u-lien, m ore readily than other people, to see these crcaturcs. A cycle o f stories from the Chuan-chi po-yiian ching (Siitra o f One Hundred Selected Legends, Avaddnas'ataka),i7 translated from Sanskrit into Chinese in the early third century by C hih C h ’icn (ca. 220-252), describes M u-licn’s experiences w ith pretas. In these encounters discussion invariably turns to the subject o f the ghosts’ evil actions in previous lives, as a result o f w hich they now suffer the agonies o f ghosthood.

In one o f these avadana tales, “ The Legend o f Purncccha Falling D ow n to Be Reborn As a H ungry G host,” M u-lien sees a hungry ghost w ith his body aflame, his stom ach as large as a m ountain, his th roat as thin as a needle, and his hairs like sharp knives that prick his body. The ghost is running about seeking excrem ent for food, but is unable to obtain any. M u-licn asks the reason w hy he suffers so, but the ghost is so hungry he cannot respond to M u-licn’s question. M u-lien then relates w hat he has seen to the Buddha and asks, “ W hat evil karm a did he create that he now suffers such distress?” The Buddha explains that there was oncc a rich man o f Rajagrha w ho had made his fortune selling sugar-cane juice. A w andering m onk camc to his house, seeking som e o f the ju ice to cure an illness. T he rich man had to depart because o f a previous engagem ent, bu t before leaving he instructed his wife, Pur-

■v'J a n J .M . de G roo t, "B u d d h is t Masses for the Dead at A m o y ,” Actes du sixiane congres international des orientalistes, Fart 4, Section 4 (Leiden: E. J . Brill, 1885), pp. 20-21.

” T. no. 200. For a com parison o f the C hinese and Sanskrit versions, see Iw am oto Yu- taka, liukkyd setsuwa kenkyu, Vol. I, liukkyd setsuwa kenkyu josetsu (Tokyo: H ozokan, 1962), pp. 113—34. For a translation from the Sanskrit version, see Feer, trails., Ai/addna- (.’ataka.

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ncccha, to offer the m onk the medicinal drink in his absence. After her husband left, how ever, Purncccha urinated secretly in the m o n k ’s bow l, added sugar-cane ju ice to it, and presented it to the m onk. K now ing that she had defiled his bow l, he dum ped out the drink and departed. A fter her death, Purneccha was reborn as the same hungry ghost w hom M u-lien had ju s t encountered.38

A second legend, “The Legend o f the Wife o f the Elder, W orthy- and-G ood, Falling D ow n to Be Reborn As a H ungry G host,” sounds a similar theme. From his m editating position under a tree, M u-lien sees a hungry ghost. The story describes the ghost in standard term s. W hen M u-lien inquires w hy this fate has befallen him , the ghost directs the disciplc to go ask the Buddha. T he W orld-H onored O ne explains that long ago in a very prosperous country there lived a pious elder nam ed “ W orthy-and-G ood” w ho loved practicing charity. T he elder was on the point o f leaving his house when a m onk came begging, so he instructed his wife to give the m onk som e food. After W orthy-and- G ood left, his wife was overcom e by greed. B egrudging the m onk his alm sm anship, she decided to teach him a lesson. So she called him into her courtyard and, rather than giving him an offering, she had him loeked up in an em pty room w ithout food for the w hole day. As a result she was reborn as a hungry ghost for innum erable lifetimes, dow n to the tim e o f her encounter w ith M u-lien .39

O th er legends from this avadana collection follow the same pattern: M u-lien, often in m editation, encounters a hungry ghost w ho, in a previous lifetime, was a greedy w om an w ho refused to give donations to m onks or w ho desecrated a food offering.40

O th er sources, w ith titles like Kuei wen mu-lien ching (The Siitra on Ghosts Questioning Mu-lien), also picture M u-lien in conversation w ith hungry ghosts.41 In one legend M u-lien meets five hundred hungry ghosts on the banks o f the Ganges River. They all pay obeisance to him and ask him about the sins they had com m itted in previous lives. The ghosts step forw ard one-by-one to learn the karm ic acts o f past lives that have led to their currcnt state o f suffering. O ne was a diviner

58 S tory paraphrased from Cluiaii-chi po-yiian ching, T. 4:222b-23a. Cf. Fcer, trans., Avadana-Cataka, pp. 162-66, w here the offender is n o t the rich m an ’s w ife bu t one o f his m ale servants. T h e sam e them e is struck in the fourth legend in this decalogue, T. 4 :223c- 24a; cf. Feer, trans., Avadana-Cataka, pp. 171-74.

39 Paraphrased from T. 4:223a-b. Cf. Fcer, trans., Avadana-Cataka, pp. 166-68.* E .g ., the next tw o legends, T. 4:223b-c, 223c-24a.11 Kuei wen mu-lien ching, attribu ted to An Shih-kao (ca. 148—170), T. no. 734. See also

the very sim ilar O-kueipao-ying ching, anonym ous (ca. 317-420), T. no. 746; stories cited in Ching-lii i-hsiang, P ao-ch 'ang (ca. 520), T. no. 2121, 53:73a—76a, 24015—44a; and C h 'en , M u-lien chiu-mu ku-shih chih yen-chin, pp. 7-22.

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(hsiang-shih) in a previous life w ho constantly misled people for his ow n gain so that now, w henever he takes a sip o f water, his insides turn to fire; one was in charge o f animal sacrifices in a previous life and is now attacked daily by dogs w ho eat all o f the m eat o ff his bones, only to have the flesh grow back w hen the wind blows; and so o n .42

Early Chinese m ythology not only recounts M u-lien’s special pow ers to see hungry ghosts and to know their past lives, but also includes a precedent for M u-lien’s m ajor activity in the y ii-lan-p’en m yth: p ro viding a com m unal feast to save departed souls from the torm ents o f life as pretas. 1 translate below “T he Legend o f M u-lien Entering the C ity and Seeing Five H undred H ungry G hosts” from the early th ird- ccntury collcction o f one hundred avadana tales:

T he Buddha was at Vcnuvana-kalandakanivapa43 in Rajagrha. T he tim e for begging having arrived, M u-lien donned his robes, picked up his bow l, and entered the city to beg for food. A t the city gates there happened to be five hundred hungry ghosts also entering. When they saw M u-lien, their hearts w ere gladdened. They said to him , “ We entreat you, H onored O ne, to be kind and to take pity on us. We will tell you our surnam es and personal names, and you inform our relatives at our old hom es. Tell them that we have received bodily form and fallen to the state o f hungry ghost because we did not cultivate goodness and did not practicc charity. Wc entreat you, H onored O ne, to collect riches and goods from our relatives and to set ou t a feast o f delicacies for the Buddha and the Sangha. If the goods are insufficient, please instruct the danapati [donors) com m unally to set out a feast on our behalf. This will bring us all deliverance from the state o f hungry ghost.”

M u-lien though t for a m om ent and then consented. He w ent on to ask them , “ W hat karm ic acts did you perform in a previous life to receive this unfortunate retribution?”

All o f the hungry ghosts answered M u-lien w ith a single voice: “ In a previous life we w ere all sons o f elders in Rajagrha. Wc were arrogant and indolent, hated charity, and craved w orldly pleasures. We did not believe in the Three Jewels, the Teaching o f the H ighest Way. W hen wc saw m onks enter the city to beg for food, wc ourselves gave nothing, and we restrained others from giving, [saying]: ‘These holy men don’t provide for themselves, they ju s t sponge o ff o f the people. If you give them som ething now , they’ll

T h e sto ry occurs in Fa-hsien's (ca. 399-416) Tsa-tstmg ching, T. no. 745, 17:557b— 58c. It is also cited in Ching-lii i-hsiiing, T . 53:243a-44a.

T h is was the m onastery com plex donated by King Bim bisara.

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ju s t com c back again for m ore, and you’ll end up w an ting .’ As a result o f this karm ic conditioning, after our death we fell into the state o f hungry ghost, suffering this unfortunate re tribu tion .”

M u-lien said to the hungry ghosts, “ I will go now on your behalf and tell your relatives to make it a jo in t enterprise, to establish the observance o f a com m unal feast. Then you can all com e to the gathering .”

T he hungry ghosts said to the H onored O ne w ith a single voice, “ O u r currcnt state is the fruition o f past sins. A lthough we have received corporeal form , our bodies are like charrcd pillars, our stom achs like huge m ountains, our throats like tiny needles. O u r hairs are like sharp knives that slicc into our bodies; the spaces between our jo in ts arc all aflame. W herever we run in search o f food or drink, w e end up getting none; w here sweet delicacies arc set o u t [as offerings] and we dash o ff in that direction, the food turns to blood and pus. H ow could wc possibly come to the gathering in our present bodily form ?” Then M u-lien, on behalf o f the hungry ghosts, related all o f the preceding events to their relatives. T hey w ere all deeply troubled when they heard it, and, jo in ing forces, they all w ished to set up a com m unal feast.

Then M u-lien entered into concentration and looked for w here the hungry ghosts were. He thoroughly searched the sixteen kingdom s,44 but still did no t see them . N ext he searched th ro u g h ja m - budvipa and the four em pires45 and then through a thousand w orld system s and three thousand great-thousand w orld system s,46 but did not see them. He w ondered w hy this was so and sought out the Buddha. “ W orld-H onored O n e ,” M u-lien said, “ on behalf o f all hungry ghosts, I ju s t now exhorted people to m ake m erit by com ing together w ith their relatives and sponsoring a large com m unal feast. I have searched th roughout the cosmos, but cannot find any [o f the hungry ghosts]. W ith incom plete understanding I ask you, W orld-H onored O ne, w here the hungry ghosts arc.”

The Buddha told M u-lien, “ Those hungry ghosts arc all blow n about by the w ind o f karma. This is not som ething that you, as a voicc-hcarcr [srauaka], could understand. B ut now those hungry ghosts will partake o f the com m unal feast you have established,

** T h e sixteen k ingdom s o f India.45 T h e “ four em pires” are the four continents su rround ing M oun t Sum cru.46 T hree thousand great-thousand w orld system s com prise 10(H) sm all w orld system s,

1000 m idd ling w orld system s (each com prising KKX) small w orld system s), and 1000 great w orld system s (each com prising 1000 m iddling w orld system s), 01)1 )J, p. 643b.

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and the burden o f their past sins will be w iped out. I m yself will dispatch them to the com m unal gathering.”

O n behalf o f the hungry ghosts, M u-lien set ou t all sorts o f delicacies and invited the Buddha and the Sangha. T he Buddha used his spiritual pow er to enable hungry ghosts to com e to the com m unal feast. The brahmins, ksatriyas, and lay people o f Rajagrha, having seen the foul and terribly fearful condition o f the hungry ghosts, consequently gave up their greedy thoughts and developed an aversion to birth-and-dcath; their m inds w ere opened and their thoughts liberated. Some attained the fruits o f srotapanna [strcam -enterer], sakrddgdmi [once-comer], andgami [non-returncrl, and arhat. Some produced the thought o f pratyekabuddhahood. Som e produced the though t o f unsurpassed bodhi.

Then the W orld-H onored O ne, on behalf o f the hungry ghosts, variously preached the Law and explained the sin o f greed, giving rise to fervent belief and reverence. T hat n igh t the lives fo f the hungry ghostsj came to an end, and they were reborn in T rayastrim sa Heaven [the Heaven o f T hirty-T hree).

Then they thought to themselves, “ W hat m eritorious karm a did w e m ake to attain rebirth in this Trayastrim sa Heaven?” U pon consideration, they realized, “ We have been reborn here because the H onored O ne, the G reat M u-lien, set up a com m unal gathering, inviting the Buddha and the Sangha on our behalf. We should go now and repay this kindness.” After speaking these w ords they descended from heaven, adorning their bodies w ith heavenly caps and jew eled necklaces. T hey each brought incense and flowers to offer to the Buddha and to the Great M u-lien. W hen they were done m aking offerings, they sat dow n facing the Buddha as he preached the Law. T heir m inds were opened and their thoughts liberated, and they each attained marks o f the Way. T hey circum - am bulatcd the Buddha three tim es and returned to heaven.

T he Buddha told M u-licn, “ Those five hundred hungry ghosts, if you w ould like to know , arc the five hundred em perors.”

H aving heard w hat the Buddha said, the great assembly rejoiced and upheld it.47

This avadana story supplies m any o f the m otifs that appear later in yii-lan-p’en literature from the fifth through ninth centuries. The story begins w ith M u-licn encountering hungry ghosts. Like the M u-lien in the avadana tales discusscd above, this M u-lien discusses w ith the

47 T ransl.ition from ('.hitnn-chipo-yiiait clung, T . 4:224,i-c. C f. Fcer, trails., Avadatm-Cti- Utkti, pp. 175-78.

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ghosts their previous lives. Like M u-lien’s m other as she is presented in y ii-lan-p’en literature, these ghosts were greedy in their previous lives, refusing to make donations to w andering m onks. To alleviate their suffering M u-lien establishes a com m unal feast. T he feast is sponsored by the living relatives o f the ghosts, w ho pool their resources and m ake donations to the Buddhas and the Sangha—-just like the yii-lan- p ’en feast.

A nother m o tif found in both this story and in yii-lan-p’en literature is the intervention o f the Buddha. M u-lien first attem pts to organize the feast all by himself: he directs the ghosts’ descendants to set ou t offerings and to invite the Buddha and the Sangha, but the feast cannot be consum m ated because the hungry ghosts arc unable to attend. M u- lien, in fact, has lost track o f them , and even after searching the cosm os he still cannot find them . Similarly, the yii-lan-p’en ritual at first remains unachieved: the food offering M u-lien sends to his m other bursts into flame. In both cases M u-licn’s pow er alone is insufficient to alter the w orkings o f karm ic retribution. T he five hundred ghosts as well as M u-licn’s m other m ust each suffer the consequences o f their previous acts; they are prevented from enjoying the food sent by their relatives, and so they m ust w ander about as hungry ghosts. T he ritual succccds only after the Buddha abrogates the laws o f karm a. In the avadana story the Buddha uses spccial pow ers to bring the ghosts to the com m unal gathering, while in yii-lan-p’en m yths he directs M u-lien to rely upon the accum ulated pow er o f the Sangha. In both cases the rituals proceed w ithou t misfire only w ith the aid o f the Buddha.

Finally, it should be noted that the five hundred ghosts in the story arc reborn in the Heaven o f T hirty-T hree, w hich is w here M u-licn’s m other is reborn in The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother.

M o t h e r s a n d M o n k s

T he foregoing survey o f Chinese m ythology has unearthed m any o f the m otifs that recur later in yii-lan-p’en literature. Avadana literature is a particularly rich storehouse o f yii-lan-p’en themes: M u-licn’s frequent encounters w ith pretas, his know ledge o f their sins in previous lives, his attem pts to free them from suffering, and the role o f the Buddha in com pleting this process. All that appears to be lacking is a precedent for M u-lien saving not ju s t any hungry ghost, but his mother as hungry ghost.

The kinship tie is, o f course, a contingent matter. As som e scholars

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arc fond o f rem inding us, one m an’s ancestor is another m an’s g h ost,48 and, as the Buddhists w ould say, one m an’s hungry ghost may well have been his m other in a previous life. These relativities n o tw ith standing, proto types o f a son providing M u-lien style for the salvation o f his m other arc indeed present in Chinese m ythology. T he Agama story about M u-lien and the naga kings citcd at the beginning o f this chapter describes the paradigm atic filial son, the Buddha, ascending to the Heaven o f T h irty -T hree to liberate his m other from the cycle o f b irth-and-dcath by prcaching the Dharm a.

A nother story comcs from a m uch later sourcc, the early cighth-ccntury Chinese translation o f the Vinaya rules o f the Sarvastivada scct. T he episode begins w ith M u-lien reflecting on the kindness show n by parents to their children and on how difficult it is for children to make up for the hardships that parents endure in prcgnancy, childbirth, and childrearing. O ne way to repay parents, M u-lien know s, is to encourage them to follow B uddhist m orality, thus ensuring a better rebirth or even a final release from the cyclc o f rebirth. W ith this in m ind M u-lien begins m editating to search for his dcccascd m other. U sing his special pow ers o f vision, M u-lien sees his m other reborn in M arlci’s heaven.49 He w ants to go there and preach the D harm a to her, but he know s that only the Buddha can do that. So he borrow s the B uddha’s cassock, and together the tw o o f them use their supernatural pow ers to travel to M arici’s heaven. They arrive after seven days. The B uddha preaches to M u-licn’s m other and she attains the fruit o f a stream -w inner, thus beg inning on the noble Way tow ard liberation from birth-and-dcath .50

A m ore striking precedent for M u-lien saving his m other from ghosthood is to be found in an early avadana tale. T he sim ilarity betw een the avadana talc and The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother extends to the last detail: in both, the final resting place o f the m other (so far as the narrative goes) is the Heaven o f T hirty-T hree. O ne m odern scholar, Lo T su n g -t’ao, even suggests that the Chinese

■** Sec, for exam ple, A rth u r P. Wolf, "G ods, G hosts, and A ncestors,” in Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society, ed. A rth u r P. W olf (Stanford: Stanford U niversity Press, 1974), pp. 131-82.

M arici (C h.: M o-li-chih) is the Indian god o f fire, included by B uddhists in their pan theon o f gods. A ccording to trad ition , M arici travels in front o f the sun, see MI5DJ, pp . 4764c-65c. I am no t sure w here this heaven is located in the standard B uddhist cosm ology . T he au thorsh ip o f three sho rt sutras on M arici is a ttribu ted to A m oghavajra (705-774): T. nos. 1255a, 1255b, and 1258. For M arici in later folk religion, see H enry D ore, S.J., Researches into Chinese Superstitions, 10 vols., trans. M . Kennclly, S.J. (1911- 15; reprin t ed ., Shanghai: T ’usew ei P rin ting Press, 1914-33), 7:303-11.

Sum m arized from Ken-pen-sltuo i-ch'ieh-yu-pii p'i-nai-yeh yao-shih, trans. l-ching (635-713), T. no. 1448, 24 :l6 a-b .

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nam e o f “T u rn ip ,” by which M u-licn is popularly know n, derives from an orthographic error in transcribing the m eaning o f the nam e o f the protagonist-son, U ttara, in the avadana talc.51 T he story , contained in C hih C h ’ien’s th ird-century collection o f tales, begins w ith an elder o f Rajagrha w hose w ealth was beyond measure. H e took a wife and after ten (lunar) m onths o f pregnancy she gave birth to a boy so fine and unequalled that his parents nam ed him “ U tta ra” (U tterly-G ood, o r Superlative). After som e tim e the boy’s father died. U ttara was a pious B uddhist and had little interest in the acquisition o f wealth o r in the householder’s life. O ne day the boy asked his m o ther’s perm ission to becom e a m onk. Since he was her only son she refused, insisting that only after her death could he follow his vow to becom e a m onk. W hen U ttara threatened to sw allow poison if he could not jo in the Sangha, his m other responded, “ D o n ’t say such things! W hy do you w ant to leave the householder’s life now ? From now on, if you w ant to invite sratnatias, brahmins, and others, I will follow your lead and give them offerings.” U ttara was placated w ith this com prom ise, and for a while he frequently invited w andering ascetics, w ho camc to the house in large num bers.

O ne day while U ttara was out, his m other became greedy. She scolded the m onks w ho came to their house begging for food, and she scattered food and drink all over the ground. W hen U ttara returned, she show ed him the scraps and claimed to have made offerings to m any m onks. W hen she died she was reborn as a hungry ghost.

T he legend relates that after his m other’s death, U ttara fulfills his wish to becom e a m onk and soon attains the fruit o f arhatship. O ne day, while sitting in m editation in a cave, a hungry ghost w ith a burn ing m outh appears before him. T he ghost explains that in the last life she was his m other. She has been reborn in this terrible state, she explains, because o f her greed and disrespect for m onks in her previous incarnation. She describes her torm ents, w hich include always having luxuriant fruit trees w ither as she runs tow ard them . Finally, she entreats U ttara to m ake offerings to the Buddha and the Sangha and to perform repentance rituals on her behalf.

U ttara prepares a feast as requested, inviting the B uddha and the Sangha. The hungry ghost appears at the gathering, and after hearing the Buddha preach the D harm a, she repents. T hat n igh t she is reborn as a flying hungry ghost. A dorning herself, she returns to U ttara and asks for a m ore elaborate feast, one w ith finer offerings (such as m at

51 See Lo, Tun-huang chiang-chitig pien-wen yen-chiu, p. 239.

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tresses, no t ju s t food) and m ore recipients, w hich will free her from her ghostly body. The son complies, and that n ight she is reborn in the Heaven o f T h irty -T hree .52

This legend supplies m any o f the elements that w ere later made part o f y ii-lan-p’en literature. As in The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Sutra and the transform ation text, the greedy m other o f a pious son feigns charity and is reborn as a hungry ghost as a result. Like all versions o f the yu-lan-p’en m yth, the avadana tale show s the filial son sponsoring an ancestral feast in which offerings are made to m onks, and the ritual succeeds in freeing the pro tagonist’s m other from her torm ents. Furtherm ore, U tta ra ’s m other is reborn in the Heaven o f T h irty -T hree , ju s t like M u-licn’s m other in The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother.

Even the tim ing o f the yii-lan-p’en festival— the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth , the day on w hich m onks em erge from their sum m er retreat— has precedents in Chinese Buddhist m ythology. C hapter Eleven o f the Kuan-ting ching (The Consecration Sutra), for instance, relates the story o f a pious son nam ed N a-shc w ho conducts rituals for the salvation o f his greedy parents, w ho have been reborn in hell. When the rituals fail to bring relief, the Buddha instructs N a-she to invite the Sangha to a feast at the end o f their sum m er retreat and to present the m onks w ith gifts o f food, clothing, flowers, incense, gold, silver, and jew els. N a-she carries ou t the pro to-y ii-lan-p’en offering as directed, and his parents achieve rebirth in the heavens.53

A nother story relating the origins o f ancestral offerings on the seventh m oon— although dedicated indiscrim inately to both parents, not ju s t the m other— brings the bodhisattva K uan-yin into the picture. The story , contained in Wang Yen’s (ca. 500) collcction o f ghost stories, Ming-hsiang chi (Record o f Good Fortune in the Dark Regions), describes the underw orld experiences o f the m onk H ui-ta w ho, for several days after his death, jou rneyed through various hells before being resuscitated. In one cham ber o f hell he is taken before K uan-yin, w ho preaches the benefits o f m aking offerings on the full m oon o f the seventh m onth . K uan-yin further specifies that offerings placed in bowls given to the T hree Jewels should be inscribed w ith the nam e o f the deceased person to w hom the m erit is dedicated:

52 S um m arized from Chuan-chi po-yiian ching, T. 4:224c-25b. Cf. Feer, tran s., Ava- dana-Cataka, pp. 178-82. In the Sanskrit and T ibetan versions U tta ra ’s m o ther does no t escape ghosthood .

s' T h e sto ry o f N a-shc is contained in the Kuan-ting ching, attribu ted to S rim itra (ca. 307-155), T. no. 1331, 21:530b-31b.

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W henever one makes m erit on behalf o f the deceased— for parents and siblings up to the seventh generation; w ife’s kin, extended family, friends and acquaintances; m onk and lay alike— then the deceased undergoing suffering will achieve deliverance. O n the full m oon o f the seventh m onth , when sramana [ascetics] pass the new year, one should m ake offerings— the m ore, the better. If one provides vessels filled w ith offerings and labels cach vessel w ith the recipient’s nam e and a dedication to the T hreejcw els, then the m ore m erit one bestow s, the quicker the blessings arrive.54


A concern w ith m others, offerings to m onks on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth , M u-lien’s affinity for hungry ghosts— m ost o f the elem ents o f y ii-lan-p’en literature had prcccdcnts in earlier Chinese m ythology. V irtually all o f the m otifs that bccame part o f the ghost festival in later times w ere already part o f the corpus o f stories, treatises, and histories o f Chinese B uddhism prior to the fifth ccntury. While m ost o f the precedents are to be found in avadana talcs and o ther literature translated from Sanskrit and other Indie languages, indigenous sources (like W ang Yen’s Record o f Good Fortune in the Dark Regions) also preserve im portan t antecedents. But perhaps the question o f origins— Indian versus Chinese— is really beside the point in the case o f fifth- century China. Avadana tales translated from the Sanskrit took their placc alongside Chinese miracle tales collcctcd in encyclopedias, and together they constituted the copious fund from w hich y ii-lan-p’en m otifs were later draw n. The M u-lien m yth as it em erged in medieval times had m any o f its roots in this fully m atured body o f Chinese literature.

M oreover, the storehouse o f m ythology ou t o f w hich the yii-lan- p ’en m yth developed appears to have spanned the poles o f folk and elite. T he variety o f sources cited in this survey is unquestionably large; the antecedents o f the yii-lan-p’en m yth w ere probably distributed th roughou t Chinese socicty, ju s t as the m yth in its later medieval vcr-

54 T ranslation from Ming-hsiang chi, W ang Yen (ca. 500), contained in Lu H siin , Ku hsiao-shuo kou-ch'en (Peking: Jen-m in w cn-hsiieh ch ’u-pan-she, 1951), p. 407; based on the version in /-a-yuati chu-lin, T ao-shih (d. 683), T. no. 2122, 53:919b-20b. T h e story is also referred to in Shih-sliih yao-lan, T ao -ch ’cng (ca. 1019), T . no. 2127, 54:304b—c. A no th e r biographical trad ition on H ui-ta connects him w ith an A sokan stupa in K ’uai-chi; sec, for exam ple, Ming-seng chuan ch’ao, copy m ade by Slnisho o f P ao-ch’an g ’s (ca. 519) table o f con ten ts, Z . 2B, 7:1, p. 5rb; and Kao-seng chuan, llu i-ch iao (497-554), T. no. 2059, 50:409b-l0a.

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sions was the com m on property o f all social classes. Scholastic treatises like K um arajlva’s Mahdprajndparamitasdstra related the entry o f M u- lien into the B uddhist order and spoke o f his supernorm al pow ers. The various rules for the conduct o f m onastic life contained stories o f M u- licn’s discipleship and o f his ascent to M arlci’s heaven to deliver his m other. Chinese B uddhist historiography drew upon these sources and others to fill in the details o f M u-lien’s life. And avadana tales contain perhaps the greatest variety o f motifs that later becam e popular in the celebration o f the ghost festival. Such scholars as Chavannes and Iw am oto have long m aintained that this last genre o f tales and fables represents the m ost “ popular” level o f belief—popular in being m ost w idespread and in com ing closest to the unlettered m asses.55 It is thus likely that M u-licn’s frequent encounters w ith hungry ghosts, his role in establishing an ancestral festival for the benefit o f the dead, and the story o f a m onk providing for the salvation o f his m other were well know n th roughout Chinese society as early as the third century.

An awareness o f the antecedents o f yii-lan-p’en literature in Chinese m ythology, how ever, is only the first step in assessing the significance o f the ghost festival in medieval China. It rem ains to be seen ju s t w hy the festival and its m ythology took the shape that they did in later times. Some stories, like those concerning M u-lien’s carccr as a disciple o f the Buddha, were ignored in later sources. A lthough it is recounted at length in m any early accounts, M u-lien’s discipleship rem ains un- m cntioncd in alm ost all y ii-lan-p’en literature because it portrays in unflattering (or at least m uted) light the hero o f an epic adventure. O th er episodes that arc described only m inim ally in early sources com e to dom inate the narrative in later ones. By telling the story o f C h ’in g -t’i’s greed in The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother, for instance, storytellers w ere able to set up the ritual and cosmological rift which M u-lien spends the rest o f the story try ing to m end. Thus, considerations o f literary genre and the dem ands o f dram atic form help to explain som e o f the perm utations in yii-lan-p’en literature.

B ut o ther questions rem ain unsolved. W hy, for instance, did M u- licn, rather than U ttara, N a-she, or Sariputra, becom e the central actor in the transform ation texts and popular entertainm ents perform ed in T ’ang and later dynasties? The data presented in this chapter help in form ulating such questions, while discussions o f sham anism , cosm ol-

" See C h.ivam ies, C/m/ CYtits (Ionics et apologues, I :i-xx; and Iw am oto Yutaka, Bukkyo setsuwa kenkyu, Vol. 2, liukkyd setsuwa nogenryu to tenkai (Tokyo: Kaimei shoten , 1978), passim .

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ogy, and other features o f Chinese religion in later chapters arc intended to help answ er them .

A p p e n d i x : T h e B u d d h a ’s A s c e n s io n t o t h e H e a v e n

o f T h i r t y - T h r e e t o P r e a c h t o His M o t h e r

I sum m arize below the story o f the B uddha’s ascension to the Heaven o f T h irty -T hree contained in the Tseng-i a-han ching (Ekottardgama

Part One: Mu-lien Vanquishes and Converts Two Naga Kings

O nce, the Buddha resided w ith a large assembly in the kingdom o f Sravasti in the Jetavana trees in the garden o f A nathapindika.57 From his preem inent place in the Heaven o f T hirty-T hree, Indra descends to inform the Buddha that the B uddha’s m other is in his heaven w aiting to hear her son preach the Law. H aving been rem inded by Indra o f his previous lectures on the value o f enlightening and liberating one’s parents, the Buddha silently consents to ascend to the Heaven o f T h irty - Three and prcach to his m other.

Before the Buddha is able to get o ff the ground, how ever, tw o naga kings, N anda and U pananda, cause a cosmic disturbance. A pparently because these nagas reside at the base o f M ount Sum eru, the axis mundi, and since m onks usually ascend in m editation via this route, the nagas had becom e angry. They thought to themselves, “ All o f these bald- headed m onks arc always flying about on top o f us. We m ust com e up w ith an expedient device to stop them from trespassing.” So they breathed fire th roughou t Jam budvlpa, the w orld o f m en .58 As the nagas had hoped, their fiery w rath disturbs the peace o f the B uddha’s dis— ciplcs. M onk after m onk volunteers to fight the dragons, but the Buddha dissuades them from attem pting it, w arning them o f the nagas’ ferocity.

A m ong the disciples o f the Buddha only M u-lien braves the chal-

56 S um m arized from Tseng-i a-han ching, trans. G autam a Sam ghadeva (ca. 383-397), T . no. 125, 2:703b-8c. For com parisons w ith the Anguttaranikaya, sec A kanum a Chizcn, Kan-Pa shibu shiagon goshdroku (N agoya: H ajinkaku shobo , 1929). Parts T hree, Four, and Five o f the sto ry are sum m arized in Kao-seng fa-hsien chuan, T. no . 2085, 51:859c-60a.

57 T he action o f the three y ii-lan-p’en sutras also occurs here.“ Jam bu d v lp a is the con tinen t located to the south o f M ount Sum eru in o u r current

w o rld system . It is the con tinen t on w hich hum ans live.

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lcngc. W ith a wave o f his arm he flies o ff to M ount Sum eru. O nce there he transform s him self into a large, fourtccn-hcaded naga king and, encircling the m ountain fourteen times, tries to scarc N anda and U pananda w ith his m ighty pow er. They respond by using their tails to splash w ater from the ocean, their fountains reaching up to the Heaven o f T h irty -T hree. U ntouched, M u-lien splashes them back. T he nagas next consider changing weapons from w ater to fire. H oping to avoid any fire battle that w ould im peril people living on Jam budvlpa, M u- lien again changes form , shrinking him self to an infinitesimal size. He succeeds in terrifying the poor naga kings by running in and ou t o f their m ouths and noses. They are furious but unable to capture their tiny invader.

R esum ing hum an form , M u-lien sits atop their brow s and lectures them , “ You naga kings should know that M oun t Sum eru here is the pathw ay for all gods. It is not your ow n private dw elling place.” Defeated by superior pow ers and now repentant, N anda and U pananda wish to follow the Way o f M u-lien. He explains that his Way is that o f the Buddha and that they m ust travel to Sravasti to take refuge in the Three Jew els in the prcscncc o f the Buddha himself. Together the three travel to Sravasti, and, after changing from naga into hum an fo rm ,59 N anda and U pananda receive the lay precepts from the Buddha.

Part Two: Mu-lien Protects King Prasenajit,Whom the Buddha Chastises

A fter the tw o naga kings (tem porarily in hum an form) and M u-lien have rejoined the B uddha’s follow ing in Sravasti, King Prasenajit arrives for an audience w ith the Buddha. The king*notices that am ong all o f his subjects present there, only tw o do not bow dow n to him in the custom ary m anner. The tw o nonconform ists arc the naga kings in disguise. It seems that nagas, because o f their privileged position am ong sentient beings, bow dow n only to Buddhas, not kings. K ing Prasenajit takes um brage at these tw o disrespectful seem ing hum ans and w ants to have them caught and killed. But before he is able to issue orders, the nagas read his thoughts, beat a hasty retreat, and plot to ruin the king before he can ruin them.

Em ploying his ow n ability to read others’ m inds, the Buddha dis—

5g O n ly hum ans m ay jo in the B uddhist order. As part o f the initiation cerem ony, n o v ices are asked w hether o r n o t they arc nagas; see de Visser, The Dragon in China and Japan, p. 4; and Jean Phillipe Vogel, Indian Serpent Lore, or the Nagas in Hindu Legend and Art (London; A rth u r P robsthain , 1926), pp. 93-165.

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patches M u-lien to protect the king and defuse the conflict. M u-licn sits in m editation atop King Prascnajit’s palace, and from that position he transm utes the rain o f stones and knives sent dow n by the naga kings into flowers, food, fine clothing, and jewels.

T he ignorant King Prasenajit, seeing beautiful offerings show er dow n from the heavens, assumes that they signify the com ing o f a sage (the Buddha) to the kingdom o f a righteous, w heel-turning king (him self). Acting upon this conceit, the king takes the offerings to the Buddha so that he m ight fulfill his role as a universal m onarch. The Buddha exposes the k ing’s haughtiness and turns the offering to productive use as well: rejecting the k ing’s claim to the status o f a C akravartin , he instructs him to hand over the gifts to his disciple, M u-lien; and he lectures the king on his greed, inform ing him that in his next life he will be reborn again as a hum an being.

Part Three: The Buddha Preaches in the Heaven o f Thirty-Three

H aving finished w ith King Prasenajit, the Buddha makes good on his original prom ise and ascends to the Heaven o f T h irty -T hree to preach the D harm a. His m other and Indra welcom e the W orld-H onored O ne, and he preaches the D harm a. They all attain w isdom , and the Buddha gives them an added treat by allowing them to watch him enter samddhi.

M eanw hile the assembly at SravastI, aware only o f the B uddha’s absence and no t o f his cosmic travels, has grow n w orried. N o t even Ananda, the B uddha’s closest disciple, know s w here he is. King U dyana suggests that a statue o f the Buddha be m ade and that offerings be set before it, apparently in the hope that the B uddha will respond by reappearing. King Prasenajit, not to be outdone in displays o f piety, also com m issions a statue. Finally Ananda asks another disciplc, Ani- ruddha, to use his divine eye to search the cosm os for their master. A n- iruddha looks over m any heavens and all o f the continents surrounding M ount Sum eru, but is unable to find the Buddha. A t this point Ananda begins to fear that perhaps the Buddha has entered nirvana.

All o f this tim e the Buddha has rem ained in the Heaven o f T h irty - Three, bestow ing boons upon the gods there and receiving their offerings. A fter three m onths he realizes that the residents o f Jam budvlpa m ight have begun to miss him , so he dispatches a god to report on his w hereabouts to A niruddha. A niruddha receives the message in a dream and uses his divine eye to confirm that the Buddha is in fact in the Heaven o f T hirty -T hree preaching to his m other.

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Part Four: Mu-lien Retrieves the Buddha

At A nanda’s request, M u-lien agrees to travel to the Heaven o f T h irty - T hree to pay respects to the Buddha on behalf o f the assembly at Sravasti. M u-lien waves his arm and a m om ent later is w elcom ed by the gods o f the heaven. T he Buddha inform s M u-lien that he will return to the w orld o f men, this tim e to the kingdom o f Kasi, after seven days. M u-lien returns to Sravasti and reports to the B uddha’s follow ing. O verjoyed, they make preparations to greet the B uddha w ith lavish offerings and full-dress armies.

Seeing that the Buddha has given up the “ spiritual feet” (shen-tsu) that allow him to fly, Indra asks the god Isvara to construct three paths from the Heaven o f T h irty -T hree dow n to Kasi. T he Buddha, accom panied by all o f the gods, follows the golden path in the center dow n to Kasi. After a great welcom e, the Buddha preaches to the assembled men and gods, w ho offer flowers, burn incense, and make m usic to delight the Buddha.

Part Five: A Disguised Nun Gains an Audience with the Buddha

In this last part, a pious nun nam ed U ptalavarna im personates a C akravartin king so that she can have the honor o f being the first person to greet the Buddha. The assem bly o f men and gods treats her like a C akravartin rather than a nun, stepping aside to let her greet the Buddha first. As soon as she reaches him , she returns to her norm al form . The B uddha praises her, bu t everyone else is upset at seeing a w om an assum e such an honored position. The kings finally gain their audience w ith the B uddha, and the story closes after they have been instructed to m ake statues and build temples for honoring the Buddha and m aking m erit.

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F I V E

Mu-lien as Shaman

It is a relatively simple task to docum ent the m any guises in w hich M u- lien appeared in medieval China; it is quite a different m atter to understand the strength o f his appeal. T he m ythology o f the ghost festival portrays M u-lien as a paragon o f filiality, as a devoted son w illing to sacrifice his life for the sake o f his ancestors. Given the im portance o f filial devotion th roughou t Chinese society, it is hardly surprising that a legend com bining the them e o f filiality w ith vivid descriptions o f other w orlds and cosmic battles should becom e a standard item in storytelling traditions. C hapter Four discussed some o f the precedents o f the y ii-lan-p’en story in Chinese m ythology, which provides m ost o f the building blocks for the m yth o f M u-lien saving his m other from hell.

B ut w hy should the hero o f the ghost festival be M u-licn rather than Sakyam uni Buddha, U ttara, or N a-shc, all o f w hom w ere also identified in Chinese m ythology as sons dedicated to their ancestors’ salvation? The crucial difference, I w ould suggest, is that M u-lien appeals to Chinese audiences bccause he plays the role o f the sham an. M u-lien’s tou r o f hell, his visions o f other w orlds, his martial prow ess— all present striking parallels to the actions o f the sham an in Chinese religion and in Buddhism .

In the m ost com m on form o f sham anic ritual in C hina, the spirit medium undertakes a tour o f hell w hich he recounts to a small group using the vernacular language. The sham an com m unicates m ost often not ju s t w ith any god or ghost, but w ith the anccstral spirits related to m em bers o f his audience. In the B uddhist tradition, the sham an’s visionary experience and even his physical prow ess arc though t to be grounded in his m editative expertise; his ability to save people from suffering is based on his m astery o f the techniques o f consciousness training that arc the special forte o f the m onk.

M y argum ent in this chapter, sim ply put, is that M u-licn is so popular in m edieval China because he conform s to one o f the m ost im portant form s o f indigenous Chinese religion— sham anism — and because he conform s to the B uddhist ideal o f the holy man. H istorically speaking, the sources o f M u-licn’s popularity are to be found in both prc-

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B uddhist China and in the Buddhist tradition as a pan-Asian phenom enon.

It w ould be misleading, how ever, to let history have the last w ord since the tw o traditions w ere effectively synthesized in China beginning in medieval times. M u-licn’s shamanic attributes, especially as they arc portrayed in the m ore popular sourccs, attest to this union: M u-lien rises from m editation, borrow s the B uddha’s staff, and then m arshals the yang forces at his disposal to fight the arm ies o f the underw orld . B uddhist discipline and Chinese cosm ology are thoroughly interfused. If there is a d ichotom y— or rather, polarity— it has to do w ith the form s o f sham anism acceptable to different classes o f society. In m onastic and poetic accounts, M u-licn cxcrciscs the pow ers o f the seer in his mystical roam ing, while the oral traditions tend to concretize M u-lien’s martial abilities by focusing on his physical feats o f strength.

“ Sham anism ” is, o f course, a m uch-debatcd topic in com parative studies.1 For the purposes o f this discussion, the term may be used as an um brella category for the set o f sym bols and rituals involving cosm icjourneys and spirit-m edium ship, which will be explored below no t in general term s, but in their specifically Chinese and B uddhist contexts.

T h e C h in e s e B a c k g r o u n d

The History o f Shamanism in China

Spirit m edium s, exorcisers, and diviners have been an essential part o f Chinese religion at all levels o f society for well over tw o m illennia.2

1 For tw o representative studies, see M ircea Eliadc, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques o f Ecstasy, revised ed ., trans. W illard R. T rask , Bollingen Scries, N o . 74 (Princeton: P rinceton U niversity Press, 1964); and loan M. Lewis, Ecstatic Religion: A n Anthropological Study o f Spirit Possession and Shamanism, revised ed. (H arm ondsw orth : Penguin Books, 1978). '

2 J a n J .M . de G ro o t’s s tudy rem ains the best general trea tm en t o f C hinese sham anism . Entitled “ T h e P riesthood o f A n im ism ,” it constitutes B ook II, Part V o f The Religious System o f China, 6 vols. (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1892-1910), pp. 1187-1341. For historical studies o f sham anism , see also: K w ang-chih C hang, A rt, M yth, and Ritual: The Path to Political Authority in Ancient China (C am bridge: H arvard U niversity Press, 1983), pp. 4 4 - 55; H enri M aspero, China in Antiquity, trans. Frank A. K ierm an, Jr. (A m herst: U n iv ersity o f M assachusetts Press, 1978), pp. 111-19; M iyakaw a H isayuki, “ R ikucho jid a i no fuzoku ," Sliirin 44:1 (January 1961 ):74—97; E dw ard H . Schafer, “ Ritual E xposure in A ncient C h in a ," HJAS 14:1-2 ((une 195l):I30-84; P. Joseph T hiel, “ Scham anism us im altcn C h in a ," Sinologica 10:2-3 (1968):149-204; and A rthur W alcy, Chiu Ko— The Nine Songs: A Study o f Shamanism in Ancient China (London: Allen and U nw in , 1955). For sham anism in m odern C hinese culture, see Alan J. A. E lliott. Chinese Spirit-Medium Cults in

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The significance o f the term “wu” (usually translated “ sham an” ) in the oracle bones o f the Shang dynasty is still disputed,3 but in the Eastern C hou period the term was clearly used to refer to the low est class o f the official priesthood o f the ideal governm ent supposed to have existed in earlier times. A text dating from the fourth ccntury B.C . explains the sham an’s role in ancicnt times:

Ancicntly, m en and spirits did no t interm ingle. A t that tim e there w ere certain persons so perspicacious, single-m inded, and reverential that their understanding enabled them to make m eaningful collation o f w hat lies above and below, and their insight to illumine w hat is distant and profound. Therefore the spirits w ould descend into them . T he possessors o f such pow ers were, i f men, called hsi [shamans], and, if w om en, wu [shamannesscs]. It is they w ho supervised the positions o f the spirits at the ceremonies, sacrificed to them , and otherw ise handled religious m atters. As a conscquence, the spheres o f the divine and the profane w ere kept distinct. The spirits sent dow n blessings upon the people, and accepted from them their offerings. There w ere no natural calamities.'1

By virtue o f their inspired personalities and unusual abilities, shamans w ere chosen for the vocation o f com m unicating w ith the gods, ancestors, and m alevolent forces o f the o ther w orld. Their religious and political calling was to insure the harm onious w orking o f the cosm os by attending to “ spiritual” m atters. These wu w ere responsible for exorcising the forces that cause illness, for calling dow n spirits during state cerem ony, for perform ing dances during droughts, and for invoking spirits during any great calam ity.5

Singapore, M onographs on Social A n th ropo logy , N o . 14 (N orw ich : London School o f Econom ics and Political Sciencc, 1955); Jack M . Potter, “ C antonese S ham anism ,” in Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society, ed. A rth u r P. W olf (Stanford: S tanford U niversity Press. 1974); Ryu Shim an [Liu C hih-w an], Chugoku dokyo no ntatsuri to shinko. Vol. 2 (Tokyo: O fusha, 1984), pp. 20-234; K ristofer Schipper, Le Corps taoiste: corps physique— corps social, L 'Espace interieur, 25 (Paris: Fayard, 1982). pp. 65-99, esp. pp. 70-79; and idem , “ V ernacular and Classical Ritual in T ao ism ,"JA S 45:1 (N ovem ber 1985): 121—57.

3 See A katsuka K iyoshi, Chugoku kodai no shukyd to buuka: In ocho no saishi (Tokyo: Ka- dokaw a shoten , 1977), pp. 323ff.; C h ’en M eng-chia, “ H an-tai tc shen-hua yu w u -sh u ,” Yen-ching hsiieh-pao N o . 20 (D ecem ber 1936):485-576, esp. 536-38; and L. C . H opkins, “ T h e Sham an o r C hinese Wu: His Inspired D ancing and Versatile C haracter.” Journal o f the Royal Asiatic Society o f Great Britain and Ireland (1945, Parts 1 and 2 ):3 -l6 .

4 T h e Kuo yii (fourth century B .C .) , cited in D erk Bodde, “ M yths o f A ncient C h ina ," in Mythologies o f the Ancient World, ed. Samuel N oah K ram er (G arden C ity : A nchor Books. 1961), p. 390.

5 See Chou-li cheng-i, (Taipei: K uang-w en shu-chii, 1972), ch. 25, pp. I77c-78b;

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W ith the unification o f China and the developm ent o f a centralized state adm inistration under the C h ’in and Han dynasties, the wu w ere made an uneasy but often-used part o f the im perial state religion. Alternately patronized and persecuted by Chinese rulers, their honesty and excesses were debated by ministers, historians, and philosophers o f Han times. While they were som etim es banished from the tem ples o f the state religion and their activities am ong the people proscribed, the cosm ological underpinnings o f their activities were rarely called into question. N go Van X uyct sum m arizes the com m on assum ptions and divergent attitudes o f the later Han literati w ith “ C onfucian” leanings (the ju ) and o f those technicians and diviners (fang-shih) w ho practiced spirit-m cdium ship. Both groups accepted the fact that sham ans acted as interm ediaries between this w orld and the o ther w orld. T hey disagreed, how ever, on the question o f w here and by w hom such activities should be perform ed: by officials o f the em pire in state tem ples o r by com m on thaum aturges in local and unofficial settings. N go w rites that, “ U ndoubtedly , ju and fang-shih share the general belief in the existence o f dem ons and spirits, but the first, prudent and reserved, do no t seek to enter into private com m unication w ith this transcendent w orld and to act upon it w ith secret techniques that cscapc the edifice o f official cerem ony, as do a certain num ber o f fang-shih w hose rites, being o f a private nature, are conducted outside o f consecrated placcs.”6

Shamans always m aintained a following at the local level, even w hen their activities w ere proscribed by the state. D eveloping ou t o f the state religion o f Han times, sham anism became one o f the m ajor form s o f “ diffused religion” in medieval and m odern China, a form o f religious activity w ith its ow n specialists, yet one which was well integrated into ancestral religion and local cults. In these noninstitutionally religious settings— the family and the local temple— shamans cured illness, expelled pestilence, fought dem ons, becamc possessed by spirits, and perform ed divinations. Called by different names according to locality— sai-kong [M andarin: shih-kung] in Fukien, dang-ki [M andarin: t ’ung-chi] and fa-shih in Taiw an— shamans entered into trances that car

E douard Biot, trans., Le Tcheoit-li on Riles des Tcheou, 2 vols. (Paris: Im prim erie N a tio - nalc, 1851), 2:102-4.

'■ N g o Van X uyct. Divination, magie, et politique dans la Chine ancienne: essai suivi de la traduction des "Biographies des ntagiciens” tirees de “ L'Histoire des Han posterieurs," B ib lio- theque do 1’Ecolc des Halites E tudes, Section des Scienccs Rcligicuscs, Vol. 78 (Paris: Presses Universit.iirc.s de France, 1976). p. 65. See also K enneth J. D cw oskin , Doctors, Diviners, and Magicians o f Ancient China: Biographies o f “l :ang-shih'' (N ew Y ork: C o lu m bia U niversity Press, 198.1), pp. 1-39.

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ried them through the heavens and hells o f the other w orld. Such adventures w ere rarely private; assisted by an interpreter o r m aster, shamans narrated their jou rneys to an assembled audience.

The Shaman’s Spiritual Powers

Spirit-m edium ship in China exhibits a seem ingly dualistic tendency: the m edium at tim es incarnates spirits in his or her ow n person and at o ther times sends his or her ow n spirit traveling to o ther realms. In the state cult, wu w ere responsible for invoking the spirits to w hom rites w ere addressed, and in popular religion m edium s called dow n spirits ranging from ancestral spirits and local gods o f the tem ple to such luminaries as K uan-ti and K uan-yin.7 In addition to possession proper, both B uddhist and Taoist accounts o f m edium s portray sham ans calling dow n spirits to speak w ith them and to receive their inspiration.8 N o t only did sham ans call dow n other spirits, but they also sent their ow n spirits traveling to o ther places. The ability to divide oneself into m any form s, so as to be present in m ore than one place at once (Jen- hsing), is attributed to advanced practitioners o f Buddhism and Taoism , as is the ability to fly to o ther parts o f the w orld or to have know ledge o f distant events. Isabelle R obinct sum m arizes the sham an’s ability to transform himself, or the science o f “ m etam orphosis” (pien-hua) as conceived in Taoism:

The Saint w ho know s how to transform him self is freed from corporal attachm ents and liberated from tem poral-spatial bonds. He can travel a thousand miles in a m om ent, fly like a bird across the seas, etc. . . .

Capricious, ethereal, and enigm atic, the Taoist vanishes or fades aw ay only to reappear elsewhere or at another time. H e docs not die but retires to another region, hides himself, or flies aw ay.9

T he apparent tension between sending one’s soul or spirit to another w orld and incarnating a spirit in this w orld in fact belies an underlying unity o f structure, w hich can be seen in the language used to refer to

7 See de G roo t, The Religious System o f China, pp. 1212-42 for m edieval exam ples. For m odern exam ples o f local and anccstral spirits being called do w n by sham ancsses, sec Po tter, “ C antonese S ham anism .” For exam ples o f m edium s calling d o w n gods w h o are h igher in the pan theon , sec E lliott, Chinese Spirit-Medium Culls in Singapore, pp. 73-79, 80-109.

8 See M urakam i Y oshim i, “Kosoden no sh in 'i ni tsu ite ,” Toho shukyd N o . 17 (A ugust 1961): 11—12.

9 Isabelle R obinct, “ M etam orphosis and D eliverance from the C orpse in Taoism ," H R 19:1 (A ugust 1979): 48-49, 51.

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the m edium ’s activities. The m edium no t only “ calls dow n spirits” (chao-shen) and allows people to “ see spirits” (chien-sheti), he also “ sends his sp irit roam ing” (yu-shen) .10 N ow the w ord sheti has m any m eanings. In “ calling dow n shen” and “ seeing shen,” it refers to the beings w ho reside in the heavens (“ gods”) or to a low er sort o f spirit often associated w ith ghosts and specters. The m edium possesses the special ability to com m unicate w ith , invoke, incarnate, and som etim es contro l these shen beings. A nother sense o f the w ord shen is operative in the expression “ sends his shen roam ing .” Here the w ord refers to the m ore refined com ponents o f the person, those energies and elem ents w hich, at death and during times o f illness or crisis, tend to separate from the body and ascend to the heavens." T hrough special selection o r initiation, the m edium masters the art o f liberating the shen parts o f his or her person from the coarser parts so that they may m ove and fly about untram m elcd.

T hus, the sham an is one w ho has special m astery over shen— spirits from afar, his ow n spirit, and spirituality in general. T he sham an’s special access to shen, then, implies that his m cdium ship w orks both ways: he can be possessed by spirits, and he is an adept at soul jo u rn ey s .12

In their role as spirit m edium s, shamans in China w ere associated w ith ancestral spirits perhaps m ore than w ith o ther kinds o f spirits. W hen they incarnated the spirits o f the dead, it was often the spirits o f family m em bers in their audience w ho possessed them . In their jo u rneys to the dark regions, it was the kin o f their listeners w hom they m ost frequently encountered in the other world. A lthough they som etim es occupied a peripheral social position, sham ans in China— like sham ans am ong the Veddas o f Sri Lanka, the Shona-speaking tribes o f southern Z im babw e, and the Kaffa people o f southw estern E thiopia— m ost often contactcd anccstral spirits, and their pronouncem ents car

10 For exam ples o f the first tw o usages, see de G root, The Religious System o f China, pp. 1214—15. For an exam ple o f the th ird usage, w hich m ight better be translated as “ roam s his sp irit,” see Hui-ching Commentary, T . no. 2781, 85:541b.

" See C W T T T , 25211, A: 1, 2, 4, 5.12 Som e scholars have tried to m ake historical and typological d istinctions betw een

these tw o form s o f m cdium ship , defining the first as m ere “ spirit possession” and the second as true “ sham anism .” See, fo r exam ple, Eliade, Shamanism, pp. 5 -8 , 499-507. Hvit this distinction does n o t appear valid even for C entral Asian sp irit-m ed ium sh ip , to w hich the d istinction w as first applied. As loan M. Lewis, Ecstatic Religion, pp. 55-56, w rites, “ the T ungus cvidcncc m akes nonsense o f the assum ption that sham anism and spirit possession arc totally separate phenom ena, belonging necessarily to different cosm ological system s and to separate historical stages o f d evelopm en t.” D cm ilv illc also suggests tile equivalence o f the tw o form s o f spirit travel; see l'au l D em ievillc, “ Le Yo- g ica rab h u m i de Sanglurak?*," U EFEO 44:2 (l954):38 l-82 .

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ried the authority o f the central ancestral cu lt.13 De G root attributes the pow er and popularity o f sham ans in China to their special relation w ith ancestral spirits. H e w rites that, “ the pow er o f the W u-ist priesthood to have intercourse w ith ancestors, even w ith the m ost exalted am ong them , and to reveal their will, was the great sourcc o f the influence o f that priesthood am ong every class upon hum an conduct o f every k ind .” 14 A nd M u-lien’s popularity in medieval Chinese religion, as I shall suggest below, was due in part to his perform ing the role o f a spirit m edium w ho made contact w ith his ow n ancestors in the o ther w orld.

T he sham an’s jo u rn ey to o ther realms was made possible by the exercise o f supernorm al pow ers. The sham an’s special pow ers include the abilities to penetrate physically the various planes o f the cosm os in travel, to pierce th rough norm al constraints and know events before they happen, to perceive sounds from all reachcs o f the universe, and to change oneself into an unbounded num ber o f forms, be they animal, hum an, or god. While these pow ers arc com m on to m any form s o f sham anism the w orld over, their elaboration in the Chinese context deserves further consideration .15

T he pow ers o f the shaman in medieval China came to be called “shen-t’ung,” w hich may be translated provisionally as “ spiritual penetrations.” This term has m any well-established nuances o f meaning. N o t only does the term have a very specific reference in B uddhist scholasticism (to be discussed below), it is also interpreted w ithin the context o f traditional Chinese cosm ology. A tw clfth-century lexicographer (and B uddhist m onk), Fa-yun, explains the term by referring to the oldest and perennially popular Chinese manual o f divination, The Book o f Changes. He explains shen, “ spiritual,” by referring to the line from the Changes which says, “ W hat yin and yang do no t fathom is w hat is m eant by shen.” Fa-yun glosses t ’ung, “ penetration,” w ith another quote from the Changes: “ He [the sage-shaman] is still and un- m oving. W hen he moves, he penetrates [all causes in the realm o f all- under—heaven].” *6 T he significance o f this quotation from The Book o f

13 For a discussion o f several cultures w here sham ans com m unicate m ostly w ith ancestors, see Lewis, Ecstatic Religion, pp. 127—48.

M D e G roo t, The Religious System o f China, pp. 1208-9.15 For a com parative study see Eliade, Shamanism, pp. 477-82.16 Fan-i mittg-i chi, Fa-yun (1088-1158), T. no. 2131, 14:1177a; citing Clwti-i yin-te,

H arvard-Y enching Institu te Sinological Index Series, Supplem ent N o . 10 (reprin t ed ., Taipei: C h ’eng-w en Publishing C o ., 1966), pp. 41a, 43a. Cf. W illardJ. Peterson, “ M aking C onnections: ‘C om m en ta ry on the A ttached V erbalizations’ o f the Hook o f Change," HJAS 42:1 (June 1982):104, 106. In the original con tex t in the Changes the last quote probab ly refers to change o r the Changes being still and unm oving .

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Changes is manifold. The book itself, and especially the chapter from w hich the glosses arc draw n, “ H si-tz’u chuan” (“ The C om m entary on the A ttached Verbalizations”), not only provides a technique for divination, it also claims to penetrate the processes o f change and transform ation in a uniquely illum inating way. As one scholar notes:

In affirm ing the potency o f The Book o f Changes, the “ C om m enta ry ” w ants to persuade us not only that The Book o f Changes is num inous, but also that it can be our m edium , in a double sense. First, The Book o f Changes in cffcct will be ou r wu, a shaman or diviner or “ possessed person,” w ho puts us in touch w ith shen, w hether we interpret that w ord as spirits, divinities, dem ons, nu- m inosity, or whatever. . . . The Book o f Changes is the m edium also in the sense o f being the means o f passing from the realm o f w hat is intelligible to us to the realm o f w hat is no t directly or only im perfectly know ablc.17

Situating the term "shen-t’ung” in the context o f The Book o f Changes helps to clarify the Chinese understanding o f the sham an’s pow ers. They arc “ shen” (“ spiritual” ) in all senses o f the term . The sham an’s abilities are m ysterious and occult, transcending the norm al measures and m odulations o f change. The sham an’s pow ers also pertain to the realm o f the spirits, both the refined, in-dw elling parts o f the person and the divinities o f the o ther w orld. The notion o f “t ’ung” (“ penetration” ) further specifies the sham an’s forte: passing through one w orld to the next, he is able to travel beyond the seen w orld and to com prehend w hat lies hidden. T he intentionally am biguous rendering o f “shen-t’ung” as “ spiritual penetrations” helps preserve all o f these nuanccs o f the term .

T h e B u d d h i s t B a c k g r o u n d

T he portrayal o f M u-licn in ghost festival stories draw s on tw o traditions o f sham anism . O n the one hand, M u-lien’s access to the dark regions and his concern w ith ancestral spirits m ark him as a central figure in Chinese religion. His popularity in medieval times may be a ttrib uted, in part, to the indigenous tradition o f sham anism . O n the o ther hand, M u-licn brings to the role o f wu several features that derive from B uddhism . He is often pictured engaging in spirit travel in a distinctively B uddhist posture o f m editation, and in m any instances his pow -

17 Peterson, "M ilk ing ('.onncctions," pp. 107, 108, m odify ing “Change" to “ The Booh o f Changes."

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crs are activated only after he borrow s items belonging to the Buddha. In fact, M u-licn’s rem arkable m astery o f cosmic travel dates back to the earliest periods o f B uddhism in India, w hen legends portrayed M u-lien (Skt.: M aha-M audgalyayana) as second only to the Buddha in the shamanic arts:

In the early stages o f B uddhist history cosmological m otifs w ere established in the very center o f the tradition through the visionary and m editative experiences o f the Founder and his earliest disciples. T he visionary experience that was a part o f the B uddha’s ow n E nlightenm ent proccss, and a special forte o f the B uddha’s great disciple M aham oggallana [Skt.: M aha-M audgalyayana], produced a scries o f vivid images o f the heavenly realms in w hich m en received retribution for their sins. The m editative experience . . . led to the developm ent o f conceptions o f cosmic w orlds corresponding to the various levels o f m editative consciousness (jhana [Skt.: dliydna]) that especially holy men could achieve through m ental discipline and concentration.18

In China the earliest yii-lan-p’en sutras begin w ith M u-licn’s visionary experience:

T hus have I heard. O nce the Buddha resided in the kingdom o f Sravasti, am ong thejetavana trees in the garden o f Anathapindika. The Great M u-lien began to obtain the six penetrations. D esiring to save his parents to repay the kindness they had show n in nursing and feeding him , he used his divine eye to observe the w o rld s.19

M u-licn’s w orld-piercing vision constitutes one o f the “ six penetrations,” usually callcd the six “ supcrknow ledges” or “ spiritual penetrations” (shen-t’ung, Skt.: abhijfta). T sung-m i describes them:

“ The six penetrations.” One: the penetration o f spiritual realms, [so-callcd] because one know s and verifies the spiritual realms. It is also called the “ as-you-w ish” penetration, because your body goes w herever you w ant it to. T w o: the penetration o f the divine eye. Three: the penetration o f the divine ear. These mean that one is able to see and to hear, close up and from afar, all sorts o f sights

18 Frank E. R eynolds and M ani B. Reynolds, Three Worlds According to King Ruang: A Thai Buddhist Cosmology, B erkeley B uddhist Studies Series 4 (Berkeley: Asian H u m an ities Press, 1982), p. 15.

19 The Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, T. no. 685, I6:779a-b. See also The Sutni on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness, T. no. 686, 16:780a.

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and sounds w ithin the walls [o f a room ] and from w ithout. Four: the penetration o f past lives, because one is able to know lives and events from previous existences. Five: the penetration o f others’ m inds, because one know s [others’ thoughts] w hether their m inds be settled or dispersed, w ith or w ithout outflow s. Six: the penetration o f exhausted outflow s, since one is able to know w ith one’s bodily outflow s exhausted. In all six there arc no obstructions,20 hence they are generally called “ penetrations.”21

As T sung-m i points out, the first penetration goes by several names in Chinese B uddhist literature, all o f them referring to the broadest o f the sham an’s pow ers, that is, his ability to fly to spccial realms by a num ber o f means: self-transform ation; m editative ccstasis; birdlikc flight; o r walking on his “ spiritual feet” (shen-tsu), w hich allow him to traverse great distances.22 His flight is spccial by virtue o f his m ode o f transportation (shen-likc feet) as well as his destination (shen realms). His abilities to penetrate the boundaries o f the seen w orld also include the pow ers o f invisibility and o f manifesting his physical form at will. This faculty is also called “ the penetration o f the body ,” described as “ flying about, hiding and manifesting [oneself].”23

T he second and third penetrations involve a sharpening o f the visual and auditory senses so that the eyes and ears perceive the m ost m inute and distant o f sense objects. T he fourth pow er makes it possible to look back in tim e, usually by a retrogressive analysis from effect to cause, finally reaching the actions in previous lives that gave rise to rebirth in this life. The fifth penetration allows one to read the m inds o f other beings or, as one au thor w rites, “ to m irror like w ater [their] m yriad

20 R eading yung‘ for yungb, follow ing Yiian-chao Commentary, Z . 1, 35:2, 115ra.21 T ranslation from Tsung-mi (Commentary, T. 39:507c—8a. D etails o f the six penetra

tions vary slightly in scholastic literature; sec A-p'i-ta-nio chii-she lun, T. no. 1558, 29:142c-43a; Louis de La Vallee Poussin, trans.. L ’Abidharmakoia de Vasubandliu, ed. E tienne Lam otte, 6 vols., Melanges chinois et bouddhiques. Vol. 16 (Brussels: Institu t Beige des H au te E tudes C hinoises, 1971), 5:98-103; and Ta chih-tu lun, T . no. 1509, 25:97c- 98b; E tienne Lam otte, trans., Le Traite de la grand vertu de sagesse de Nagarjuna (Maha- prajnapdrainitafastra), 5 vols. (Louvain-la-N euve: Institu t O rientaliste, 1949-80), pp. 328-33. For fu rther references, see Lam otte, trans., Traite, pp. 1809-16. For the abhijna in Pali literature, see Paravahcra Vajiranana, Buddhist Meditation in Theory and Practice: A (taieral Exposition According to the Pali Canon o f the Theravdda School (C olom bo: M . D. (iunasena and C o ., 1962), pp. 441-53.

22 Sec M B D J, pp. 1794b-95c.21 Shih-shuo Itsin-yii, Liu 1-ch‘ing (403-444), H sin-pien chu-tzu chi-ch’cng, Vol. 8

(Taipei: Shih-chieh shu-chii, 1978), p. 60; cf. Richard 1$. M ather, trails., Shih-shuo hsin- yii: A N ew Account o f Tales o f the World (M inneapolis: U niversity o f M innesota Press, 1976), p. 119.

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though ts.”24 O nly Buddhas attain the sixth penetration, w hich represents the culm ination o f w isdom and liberation over a long period o f time.

The Meditative Context

The B uddhist conception o f the sham an’s arts is evident in the accounts o f how M u-lien first gained his pow ers. In Fo wu-po ti-tzu tzu-shuo pen- ch’i ching (The Siitra o f the Five Hundred Disciples ojthe Buddha Explaining Their Previous Lives), an avadana com pilation from the early fourth ccntury, M u-lien tells o f his previous lives. In one such life as a practicing ascctic he happened upon a m onk w ho, starting from a position o f m editation, could fly in the air. U pon seeing him , M u-lien says:

I then b rought forth a vowT hat I too would gain spiritual feet,T hat I m ight gain them ju s t as he had:Great pow er, great spiritual feet.

A fter m any rebirths in jam budvipa and in various hells, M u-lien’s vow is fulfilled; w hen he becomes a disciple o f the Buddha he becom es a cham pion at spiritual pow ers.25 U nlike o ther m edium s w ho attain their pow ers through special initiation, sickness, o r inheritance, sham ans w ho are disciples o f the Buddha attain their pow ers because o f bodhi- sattvalike vow s made in previous existences. By the strength o f these vow s and through the w orkings o f karm a, M u-lien is graced w ith spiritual feet.

T he m ost com m on source o f shamanic pow ers, how ever, was no t a vow taken in a past life, but the practice o f m editation. Scholastic treatises and popular tales alike view the m edium ’s supernorm al pow ers as grounded in m editative practice.

T he Agama story included in the Appendix to C hapter Four relates several instances o f people exercising shamanic pow ers from a posture o f m editation. In protecting King Prasenajit from the fury o f the tw o naga kings, for instance, M u-lien changed a rain o f stones and knives into flowers, food, clothing, and jew els. In perform ing these transform ations, M u-lien rem ained invisible, seated atop King Prascnajit’s palacc; he “ sat atop the k ing’s palace w ith his legs crossed, m aking his

24 Shih-shuo hsin-yii, p. 60; cf. M ather, trans., A N ew Account o f Tales o f the World, p. 119.

25 l :o wu-po ti-tzu tzu-shuopen-ch’i (hint;, trans. D harm araksa (ca. 265-313), T. no. 199, 4:190c-9la .

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body invisible.”26 While engaged in m editation, A niruddha, know n for his supernorm al eyesight, looked through the cosm os for the B uddha:

Seated w ith his legs crossed, (A niruddha| com posed his body and his thoughts, his m ind unm oving. W ith his divine eye he observed the Heaven o f T hirty-T hree. . . . Then he arose from samadhi.

27

Y ii-lan-p’en literature similarly leaves no doub t that M u-licn’s pow ers derive from his m editative experience. The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother describes how M u-lien entered the Sangha after his m o ther’s death:

Inheriting the good effects o f his practiccs in form er lives and listening to the Law [preached by the Buddha], he attained the fruit o f <jr/uj/-ship. He then searched for his dear parent w ith his divine eye, but now here in the six paths o f birth-and-death did he find her. M u-lien arose from concentration full o f sadness and inquired o f the Buddha, “ In w hich place is m y dear m other enjoying happiness?”28

The first picture show n by storytellers in their recounting o f The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother, in fact, depicted M u- lien sitting in m editation in the m ountains, and there are tw enty-four lines o f verse describing him sitting in m editation and calm ing his m ind, his body crect and his respiration controlled .29 U nfortunately none o f the illustrations from this pien-wen survive.

Scholastic B uddhist literature affirms the origin o f the spiritual pow ers in m editation and makes clear precisely w hen in the process o f training the pow ers arc believed to arise.30 In the B uddhist scholastic

36 Tseng-i a-han ching (likottaragama), trans. G autam a Sam ghadcva, T. no. 125, 2:704c. 27 Tseng-i a-han ching, T . 2:706a.w T H P W C , p. 714; fo llow ing Iriya Yoshitaka, trans., “ Dai M okkcnrcn m eikan kyubo

h en b u n ,” B ukkyo bungaku shu, C hu g o k u koten bungaku taikci (Tokyo: H cibonsha, 1975), p. 54; cf. V ictor M air, trans., Tun-huang Popular Narratives (C am bridge: C a m bridge U niversity Press, 1983), p. 88.

T H P W C , p. 716; M air, trans., Tun-huang Popular Narratives, p. 90.As m any scholars have no ted , the a ttribu tion o f sham anic pow ers to accom plished

ascetics w as no t unique to B uddhism . Sec Louis de La Vallee Poussin, “ Le B ouddha et les abhijnas,” Le Museoii 44 (1931):335—42; Carl Sigurd L indquist. Siddhi und Abhinftd: liine Sludie iiber die klassischen WunJer des Yoga (Uppsala: A .-B . Lundequistska B okhan- dcln, 1935) passim ; Paul Dcmitfville, “ Sur La M em oire des existences antcricurcs,” B E- F E O 27 (1927):283-98; and M ircea Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, revised ed ., trails. W illard It. Trask, liollingen Scries, N o. 56 (Princeton: Princeton U niversity

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traditions transplanted in China, the spiritual penetrations arc coordinated w ith a standardized system o f m editation. Specifically, as the Abhidharmakosa says, “ T he first five penetrations depend upon the four dhyanas.”31 The picture o f a m onk exercising his shamanic pow ers from a m editating position is a com m on one at all levels o f Chinese m ythology, from pien-wen through scholastic literature. But the details o f the m editative process— the specific stages o f m editation and the attainm ent o f specific pow ers— arc spelled out systematically only in the m ore m onkish literature. It is this attention to m editative detail that distinguishes M u-lien as he is presented in m onastic literature from M u-lien as he is portrayed in m ore popular sources.

The system o f m editation w ith which the supernorm al pow ers are associated dates back to early Buddhism and is evident in w orks describing the B uddhist Path from the Pali canon o f the Theravada school.32 In medieval China the system was described in a variety o f w orks used by m onks and literati.

In this m editative system the practitioner ascends through four m editative states (ch'an, Skt.: dltyanas) by stripping away the em otional and intellectual activities that accom pany norm al, untrained consciousness. This process is begun after the m editator has ealmed his m ind, regulated his breath, and conquered such im pedim ents to sustained m edi-

Press, 1969), pp. 162-99, esp. pp. 173-85. La Vallce Poussin w rites that, “ India o f the B u ddha’s tim e did no t conceivc o f holiness, arhattva, unless it w as accom panied by faculties o f a magical o rd er.” Superknow ledges w ere a com m on a ttribu te o f the holy m an in s ix th -cen tu ry B .C . India, and in this con tex t the B uddha w as n o t exceptional in possessing them . In early B uddhism low er-level practitioners d id no t attain sham anic p o w ers. Later, as B uddhism developed in India and C entral Asia, it w as believed that any practicing ascetic could attain them . At this stage, says La Vallce Poussin, there developed in scholastic B uddhism a need to distinguish the B uddha’s superknow ledges from those o f o th e r practitioners. Sec La Vallce Poussin, “ Lc B o u d d h a ." pp. 335-42; quo ta tion from p. 336. T his historical process gave rise to the schem e o f the six spiritual penetrations k now n in m edieval C hina: anyone practicing ascetic arts could obtain the first five penetrations, bu t the pow ers o f non-B uddhists did n o t last as long as those o f B uddhists. See Ta chih-tu lun, T . 25:98a: “ T h e [magical) creations o f o th er schools never last m ore than seven days, w hile the m astery over creations by B uddhas and their disciples has an un lim ited d u ra tio n ” ; Lam otte, trans., Traite, p. 329. F urtherm ore, only B uddhas could obtain the s ix th penetration , in w hich all defilem ents are exhausted. See Ta chih-tu lun, T. 25:264a-65b; Lam otte, trans., Traite, pp. 1817-27. O n ly Sages (sheng, Skt.: dryas) o b tain the sixth penetration according to the Abhidharmakosa, T. 29:142c; La Vallee Poussin, trans., L'Abhidharmakosa, 5:100.

51 T. 29:143a; La Vallee Poussin, trans., L ’Abhidharmakosa, 5:101. For the reading o f ching-lii as ch’an-ting, see O B D J, pp. 722b-23a.

32 Sec Vajiranana, Buddhist Meditation, for canonical references. For later literature, cf. the Visuddhimagga, by B uddhaghosa (ca. 400); B hikkhu N anam oli, trails., The Path o f Purification (C olom bo: A. Sem agc, 1956).

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tativc practice as desire, ill will, torpor, distraction, and perplexity. H aving banished these hindrances, the practitioner is dissociated from sense desires and is able to enter the first dhyana, w hich is m arked by “ inquiry, judgm ent, jo y , happiness, and one-pointedness o f m ind .”33 M editation progresses by letting go o f inquiry and judgm en t, then jo y , then happiness, so that in the fourth dhyana only one-pointedness o f m ind remains. A scholastic com pendium attributed by Kum arajiva to N agarjuna, the Mahdprajndparamitasastra, (Ta chih-tu lun, Treatise on the Great Perfection o f Wisdom) describes the proccss:

For the sake o f all sentient beings the bodhisattva produces sentim ents o f great com passion and cultivates dhyana and concentration. A ttaching him self to the object o f thought, he leaves the five desires, gets rid o f the five hindrances, and enters the first dhyana, that o f great jo y . Extinguishing inquiry and jud g m en t, concentrating his thoughts, he enters profoundly into internal peace, obtains subtle and m arvelous jo y , and enters the second dhyana. Because this profound jo y distracts concentration, the bodhisattva leaves all joys, obtains com plete happiness, and enters the th ird dhyana. Leaving all suffering and happiness, getting rid o f all w orries and joys, as well as the inhalation and exhalation o f breath, he adorns h im self w ith a pure and subtle indifference and enters the fourth dhydna.M

T he w ay in w hich the six spiritual penetrations are projected onto this map o f the four dhydnas varies from one text to another. In the Mahaprajnapdramitasdstra, Kumarajiva notes the divergence o f opinion: som e people believe the penetrations arise in order from the divine eye (first) to the exhaustion o f outflows (sixth), w hile others associate the first dhyana w ith the divine car, the second dhyana w ith the divine eye, the third dhyana w ith the penetration o f “as-you-w ish ,” and the fourth dhyana w ith all o f the penetrations.35

Such is the B uddhist view o f the origin o f the “ spiritual penetrations” as elaborated in a stratum o f Chinese Buddhist literature that appeals m ostly to m onks. While any ascetic can conccivably obtain the pow ers o f the sham an, the m ost efficacious pow ers arc obtained by fol-

Ta (hili-lu lun, T . 25:185c-86b; Lam otte, trans., Traii(, pp. 1027-32. I have follow ed L am otte’s translation o f technical term s from the Ta chih-tu lun here and in the fo llow ing q uota tion .

w Ta chih-lu lun, T . 25:208b; Lam otte, trans., Traile, pp. 1237-38. T he account in Ssu- J'ai lii (l)harma$uptiwinay<i), trails. Huddhayasas (ca. 408-412), is alm ost identical; T. no. 1428, 22:781 a -b .

" 7'rt chih-lu lun, T. 25:2(>5b; Lam otte, trans., Train', p. 1827.

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low ing the trail blazed by the B uddha.36 This path, which consists o f the progressive stripping aw ay o f the factors o f consciousness, is described in term s o f the four dhyanas. For m onks and other preservers o f the “ Great T rad ition” o f Chinese B uddhism , then, the magical abilities o f the sham an should be grounded in the B uddhist orthopraxis o f m editation.

The Soteriological Context

If the sham an’s pow ers originate in the act o f m editation, they should also, according to the B uddhist view, be directed tow ard a specific end. Shamans should exercisc their pow ers not for their ow n liberation, but for the salvation o f others. This view o f the soteriological grounding o f the m agician’s pow ers is evident in yii-lan-p’en literature, in scholastic literature, in avadana tales expressing an ambivalence tow ard supernorm al pow ers, and in rules for the conduct o f m onks w hich restrict sham anic activities.

H ui-ching makes it quite clear that liberation from suffering is the unspoken goal o f supernatural pow ers. H ui-ching even suggests that w ithou t the pow ers, saving others from suffering is a doom ed enterprise. T he soteriological purpose— that M u-lien w ould use his pow ers for the salvation o f others— is sim ply assumed. H ui-ching writes:

Question: W hy did M u-lien no t save his m other first, rather than saving her only after he gained the fruit o f penetrations?

Answ er A t the tim e w hen he had no t yet gained the fruit [i.e., the spiritual penetrations], defilements were not yet exhausted. As long as there arc obstructions, one cannot save people from suffering.37

T h e m editative orig in o f the penetrations is also evident in accounts o f the experience o f the parad igm atic m editator, the B uddha. T h e course o f Sakyam uni’s en ligh tenm ent experience under the B odhi tree in B odh-gaya is often described in term s o f three w atches o f the n ight. In the first w atch (again according to the Ta chih-tu lun) he obtained the penetration o f “ as-you-w ish” and the know ledge o f previous existences. W ith these pow ers he engaged in an activity central to the sham anic vocation, the subduing o f dem ons: the B uddha conquered M ara and his arm y o f gods and dem ons. As his m editation p rogressed , the B uddha gained the penetration o f the divine eye and the know ledge o f the d ivine ear in the second w atch o f the n ight. A nd in the th ird w atch o f the n ig h t he gained the penetration o f know ing o thers’ thoughts and the know ledge o f the exhaustion o f outflow s. See Ta chih-tu lun, T. 25:265a; Lam otte, trails., Traite, p. 1824. C f. the account in Ssu-jen lii, T. 22:781 b -c . w hich only m entions the “ three know ledges" (son- ming).

•*7 Hui-ching Commentary, T . no. 1792, 85:541 b. T sung-m i attribu tes less p ow er to M u- licn than docs H ui-ching. T sung-m i w rites, "E ven the m igh ty m im inosity o f the sagely

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For H ui-ching, as soon as one masters the requisite level o f B uddhist discipline, the spiritual penetrations are autom atically engaged in com passionate activities.

Sources also show spccial tolerance for anom alous, seem ingly incom prehensible show s o f magic, as long as they arc perform ed in a soteriological context. The Mahaprajnapdramitdsdstra states:

Because he is detached from the five desires, has attained all o f the dhyanas, and possesses bcnevolcncc and com passion, the bodhisattva takes hold o f the spiritual penetrations on behalf o f all beings and manifests extraordinary and m arvelous things in order to purify the thoughts o f sentient beings. W hy is this so? Because if there were no extraordinary things, then he w ould not be able to cause m any beings to attain salvation.3®

Follow ing the logic o f M ahayana universalism, any expedient device, including a feat o f magic, is justified when it is used in the appropriate setting.

By the same measure, adepts are criticized w hen they exercise their pow ers outside the context o f salvation. In follow ing the Buddhist Way, the cultivation o f any religious practice always leaves open the possibility o f clinging. A ttaining higher states o f absorption, scoring points in philosophical debate, gaining the spiritual penetrations— Buddhist literature abounds w ith stories o f accom plished bu t ultim ately ignorant practitioners w hose pride in their achievem ents only hinders their march tow ard liberation. M u-licn, best am ong the Buddha’s disciples in the spiritual penetrations, not unexpectedly falls prey to conccit. O ne tale, from a late third-century avadana collection, portrays a M u-lien so haughty that he believes h im self superior to the Buddha. The tale begins:

O nce, seated beneath a tree, M u-licn tested his divine eye and saw eight thousand Buddha-ksetras [Buddha lands]. He thought to h im self, “ T he T hus-C om e O ne can’t even see w hat I can.” So, taking lion strides, he w ent to w here the Buddha was.

T he Buddha said to M u-lien, “ You arc merely in the class o f voicc-hcarcrs [sravakas]. Why do you now take lion strides?”

M u-licn told the Buddha, “ I m yself have seen eight thousand Buddha-ksctras in the eight directions. I don ’t think that w hat the Buddha sees can com pare w ith this. Hcncc the lion strides.”

son | M u-licn | could not b ring to an end her fiery late"; Tsmig-mi Commentary, T. .W:506c-7a.

“ 'I'll (liili-ln Inn, T . 25:2M b; cf, Lam otte, trans., '1'ntilf, pp. 1819-20.

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T he B uddha proceeds to show M u-lien his vanity. He does so no t by scolding M u-lien, questioning his logic, o r im pugning the efficacy o f his pow ers, but by besting him at his ow n magic. T he T hus-C om e O ne em its rays o f light from his body w hich illum inate unbounded B uddha lands as num erous as the grains o f sand in m any thousands o f Ganges rivers.39

Shamanic pow ers per se are not questioned in this legend; the issue is no t one o f “ no-m agic” or “ religion” versus “ m agic.” T he Buddha him self resorts to the sam e pow ers exercised by M u-lien, and he does a better jo b at exercising them . W hat the Buddha objects to is M u-lien’s attitude tow ard the pow ers and the use to w hich he puts them . M u- licn’s haughty attitude show s in his deportm ent. He takes lion strides, w hich signify fearlessness and w hich indicate the w ay the Buddha walks as he leads an arm y o f gods to w ipe away hells and to rm ents.40 Rather than using his pow ers for the benefit o f others, M u-lien has let them go to his head. Furtherm ore, the Buddha makes his point in a particularly instructive way: he uses the same pow ers that M u-lien did, only better; and he uses the pow ers for their proper purpose, as an expedient device for leading M u-lien tow ard enlightenm ent.

The am bivalent attitude o f the B uddhist establishm ent tow ard sham anic pow ers is evident in the rules for the conduct o f m onks. While accepting the reality and efficacy o f shamanic pow ers, the B uddhist Sangha (th roughout Asia) and state authorities (in China) sought to delim it the circum stances in w hich they could be used. Indian Vinaya texts preserve the frequent adm onition:

You arc not, O Bhikkus, to display before the laity the superhum an pow er o f Iddhi. W hoever does so, shall be guilty o f a dhukkhata [w rongdoing].41

Such rules recognizc the draw ing pow er o f shamans, but a ttem pt to keep them contained w ithin the am bit o f the m onkhood.

B uddhist m onks arc also prohibited by the codes and statutes o f the T ’ang governm ent from practicing som e skills o f the sham anic trade am ong the populace. A statute from the Tao-seng ko (Statutes for Taoist

39 Chiu tsa p ’i-yii ching, trans. K ’ang Seng-hui (d. 280), T. no. 206, 4:519b-c.40 For the B uddha w alking w ith “ lion strides” {shih-Uu pu), see The Transformation

T ext on M u-lien Saving His Mother, T H P W C , p. 738; V ictor M air, tran s ., Tun-huang Popular Narratives, p. 113.

■" Vinaya Texts, P art III: The Kullavagga, I V -X ll, trans., T . W. R hys-D avids and H erm ann O ldcnberg , Sacred Books o f the East, Vol. 20 (O xford : C larendon Press, 1885), p. 81. Cf. Isaline B. H orner, trans.. The Booh o f the Discipline ( Vinaya-Pitaka), 6 vols. (London: Luzac and C o ., 1949-66), 5:142.

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and Buddhist Monks) o f 650-655, for instance, makes it a m inor crim e for m onks to claim falsely that they have achieved ccrtain levels o f sagehood, w hich w ould, in the popular view, qualify them as possessors o f sham anic pow ers.42 As noted in the previous section, the Chinese governm ent often attem pted to lim it the influence o f shamans. An im perial edict o f 635, for example, prohibits those w ho “ falsely claim to be doctors or sham ans or w ho seek profit in the Ways o f the left.”43 Chinese codes also prohibit m onks from establishing their ow n sanctuaries outside o f officially sponsored tem ples.44

Presum ably, then, so long as it occurred w ithin the system sanctioned by the state and adm inistered by the Sangha, sham anic activity was tolerated, if not encouraged, by imperial and m onastic authorities. In these cases the interests o f the imperial governm ent reinforced those o f the Chinese Sangha. Both sought to restrict the exercise o f sham anic pow ers to the right channels and the appropriate contexts.

M u - l ie n a s S h a m a n

T he preceding sketch o f the Chinese and the B uddhist figurations o f the sham an should further our appreciation o f M u-lien’s sham anic attributes in the m ythology o f the ghost festival, w hich may now be cx-

42 T h e sta tu te , quo ted in the Japanese legal com m entary Ryd shiige, refers to “ those people w h o co m m itted the crim e o f falsely claim ing to have gained the W ay o f the Sage and w hose trials have already been com pleted” ; Ryd no shiige, 2 vols., ed. K orem une N a o m o to (Tokyo: K okusho kankokai, 1912-13), 1:230. T h e Japanese code for m onks and nuns, the Soni ryd, p robab ly dating from 717 to 724, specifically m entions sham ans (wu, Ja .: miko): “ M onks and nuns w h o foretell good and bad fo rtune by d iv ination and [geom antic o r physiognom ic] patterns and w ho practice the lesser paths, the sham anic arts, and the healing o f sickness, shall all be returned to lay life. T hose w ho fo llow the B uddhist Law in perform ing incantations to aid the sick are no t included in this restrictio n .” T ranslation from Rilsuryo, ed. Inoue M atsusada, N ihon shiso taikei. Vol. 3 (Tokyo: Iw anam i shoten , 1976), p. 216. It rem ains unclear precisely w hat the corresponding passage said in the Chinese Tao-seng ko\ see Futaba K cnko, Kodai bukkyo shiso shi kenkyu: nihon kodai ni okeru rilsuryo bukkyo oyobi han-ritsuryo bukkyo no kenkyu (K yoto: N agata bunshodo , 1962), pp. 196-98.

4> T h e edict is cited in Fo-tsu li-tai t ’ung-tsai, N ien -ch 'ang (d. 1341), T. no. 2036, 49:569b-c.

44 T h e term “ sanctuary” (lao-ch'ang. Skt.: bodhimandala) has a w ide range o f m eanings in C hina: the place w here the B uddha achieved en ligh tenm ent (the B odhi tree in B odh- gaya); the m ethod o f practice for achieving enlightenm ent; the place w here one m akes offerings to B uddhas; the placc w here one studies the W ay; tem ples o r m onasteries; a B uddhist altar. See T F T T , p. 2368a-b. A kizuki claims that this p roh ib ition was part o f the 650-655 C hinese code; see A ki/uk i K an'ei, "Ddsd kd no fukkyu ni tsu ite .” Tohoku gakuitt daigaku ronshit: rekishi-gaku, chiri-gnku N o . 4 (1952). Futaba, Kodai bukkyo shiso shi kenkyii, pp. 98-99, claim s that it is present only in the Japanese code.

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am ined in greater detail. As an actor perform ing in front o f a heterogeneous audience, m uch like the Buddha speaking w ith one voice to m any kinds o f listeners, M u-lien plays one character, the sham an. In his m ythic dim ensions, M u-lien com bines in one convincing character the tw o traditions o f sham anism discussed above. The success o f his perform ance in m edieval C hina, however, lies in his ability to suggest som e nuanccs o f the role that appeal to a general Chinese audience— spirit journeys, battles w ith ghosts and dem ons— and to express som e nuances o f the role that appeal to those w ho follow a m onastic w ay o f life, such as m astery o f m editative techniques and the know ledge o f previous existences. In playing the wu, M u-lien portrays a single (or universal) type at the same tim e that he appeals to the particular concerns o f different social classes.

Mu-lien’s Journey

M u-licn’s jou rney to o ther w orlds in scarch o f his m other is described variously in the different versions o f the yii-lan-p’en story. In The Yii- lan-p’en Siitra and The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness, sim ply by exercising his divine eye M u-lien is able to see his m other reborn as a hungry ghost.45 The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra further specifies the m editative context o f his ocular powers:

T hen M u-lien used the divine pow er o f his spiritual penetrations to enter the samddhi-c oncentration o f the eighteen k ings.46 He visualized w here his m other m ight have been reborn; he expended his spiritual pow ers to their lim it bu t still did not know w here she w as.47

These accounts portray M u-lien’s jou rney as prim arily visual and as a jou rney that occurs in the course o f m editation. This style o f shamanic experience appeals to an audience o f m editators, to those w ho shy away from the sham an’s physical flight, rather than to a crow d

45 The Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, T. 16:779a—b; The Sutra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness, T. 16:780a.

46 “ Sam arf/ii-concentration o f the eighteen k in g s" (shih-pa wang san-mei ting) is p ro b lem atic. A sja w o rsk i poin ts ou t, the eighteen kings are probab ly the k ings o f the eighteen hells m en tioned later in the text; Jan Jaw orsk i, “ L 'A valam bana Sutra de la te rre pu re ," Monumenta Serica 1 (1935-36): 101, n. 3 0 .1 have no t found references to the eighteen kings o r to their samadhi in o th er texts; p resum ably it is a m editative sta te o f concen tration in w hich one visualizes the eighteen courts o f hell. I have reproduced the redundant "sa- m<?<//i/-concentration” in m y translation.

47 The Pure Land Yii-lan-p'en Sutra, II. 13—14; cf. Jaw orsk i, "L 'A valam bana S iitra ," p. 94.

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gathered to hear spirits from another w orld speak th rough a m edium . T he m ore m editative and m etaphoric versions, how ever, are no t for that reason any less exciting than those describing physical transport. Even the com m entaries— a genre which usually expresses difference only th rough paraphrase, rearrangem ent, and classical allusion— preserve an elem ent o f rapture. H ui-ching writes:

M u-lien transcended divisions and lodged in concentration. He sent his spirit roam ing through the seven paths o f enlightenm en t,48 go t rid o f the three outflow s,49 and harvested as a fruit the six penetrations. He thoroughly manifested m ature creations [by virtue o f his power], . . .

W ith his divine eye M u-lien then spied up and dow n the three w orlds50 and looked th rough the six paths [o f rebirth]. He exhausted his spiritual pow er in search o f his m other. . . .

N ex t M u-licn used his pow er o f penetration to illum inate the three realms from top to bottom , to light up everything in all directions. So all-em bracing was his search that he was able to see dearly [his m o ther’s] hun [-spirit] suffering unspeakable distress in this path [o f hungry ghosts].51

M u-lien flics through space unhindered. A lluding to “ concentration ,” H ui-ching is carcful to hint that shamanic flight takes place in a m editative context. H aving glossed M u-lien as shaman and m editator, H ui- ching then describes the journey . In this case it is a jou rney as seen th rough the eyes o f the traveler: we see the same sights as does M u-lien w ith his divine eye, and we gain a sense o f how far his vision reaches. M u-lien’s eyesight extends on a vertical scale from the highest heavens to the low est hells, and his illum ination fills the horizon in all directions. The nobility o f sight is apparent in both the Chinese (chao) and English, “ illum ination,” suggesting both a direct, unm ediated vision and a brightness that dispels darkness and wipes out ignorance.52

“ T h e seven “ paths o f en ligh tenm en t” (chiieh-tao) arc probably the seven “ constituen ts o f en lig h ten m en t” (chiieh-chih, S k t.: bodhyaiiga). For an enum eration o f them in scholastic sources, see M B D J, pp. 1889a-90b.

m T h e th ree “ ou tflow s” or “ rem ainders” (Ion, Skt.: dsrava) arc desire, existence, and ignorance. T hey signify attachm ent to the realm o f fo rm . See M B D J, pp. 1700c-1701a.

5,1 T h e three w orlds arc the w orlds o f desire, form , and no -fo rm . In searching th ro u g h these th ree w orlds M u-lien has searched the entire realm o f b irth -and-dcath .

51 T ranslation from Hui-ching Commentary, T. 85:541 b -c.“ Buddhas often em it rays o f light before preaching, and bodhisattvas often use light

to lead beings to salvation. See also H ans Jonas, “ T he N obility o f Sight: A S tudy in the P henom enology o f the Senses," The Philosophy o f the Hotly: Rejections o f Cartesian Dualism, ed. S tuart F. Spicker (C hicago: Q uadrang le Books, 1970).

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The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother em ploys a different style to convey the dram a and cosmic significance o f M u-licn’s journey . In this m ore popular rendition o f the M u-lien m yth, M u-lien travels no t m erely visually but physically to the w orld m ountains, to the heavens and hells and naga lairs o f other worlds. It should be em phasized that there is not any contradiction between these tw o styles o f cosm ic travel, nor are the interests o f different audiences necessarily exclusive. Furtherm ore, The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother includes both styles o f travel, the visionary as well as the physical.33

T he transform ation text relates how M u-lien uses his divine eye to look for w here his parents may have been reborn. Unsuccessful, he em barks on a physical scarch o f the cosm os, hoping to encounter bodily those w ho have thus far eluded his sight. He engages his sham anic pow ers o f flight by hurling his begging bow l aloft and leaping after it:

M u-lien em erged from concentrationA nd sw iftly exercised his spiritual penetrations;His com ing as quick as a thunderclap.His going like a gust o f wind.

G aining freedom w ith his spiritual penetrations,He hurled his begging bow l and leapt into space;A fter ju s t an instant He reached B rahm a’s palace.54

This text portrays M u-lien em erging from a state o f m editation to begin a quest that will last for the duration o f the perform ance. T he quest carries M u-lien to B rahm a’s heaven, to the Buddha in Rajagrha, th rough the various courts o f hell, and eventually to the low est ofhells, w here his m other suffers punishm ent for her sins. To travel to all o f these levels o f the cosmos, M u-lien exercises the pow ers o f the medium , w hich allow him to penetrate the karm ic and physical barriers separating one plane from another. In this version o f M u-lien’s quest, he activates the pow ers by tossing his bow l into the air and leaping into

53 T h e V inaya sto ry (cited in C hap te r Four) o f M u-lien’s visit to his m o th er in M arici’s heaven also includes bo th m editative and physical jou rn ey s; Ken-pen-shuo i-ch’ieh-yn-pu p ’i-nai-yeh yao-shih (Miilasarvastivdiavinayavastu), trans. I-ching (635-713), T. no. 1448, 24:16a-b.

54 T H P W C , p. 717; cf. M air, trans., Tun-huang Popular Narratives, pp. 90-91. For sim ilar accounts, see T H P W C , pp. 729, 737, 739; M air, trans., Tun-huang Popular Narratives, pp. 104, 112, 114.

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space. This action begins the m edium ’s jou rney . W hen he travels in this m ode, he com pletes his trip— he successfully penetrates another level— alm ost instantaneously.

Such a hom ely item as an alms bow l is hardly incidental to the sham an’s journey . The B uddha’s tw elve-ringed staff is particularly po ten t in helping its possessor break th rough obstructions and defeat hostile forccs. In The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother M u- lien borrow s the B uddha’s staff. In so doing he takes hold o f the B uddha’s aw esom e pow er, the pow er o f the B uddhist holy man to venture into o ther realms and to bring deliverance to others:

H aving received the B uddha’s m ighty pow er, M u-lien flung his body dow nw ards, traveling swiftly as a w inged arrow . In an instant, he arrived at the Avici Hell.

Later, recounting his adventure to the Buddha, M u-lien says:

Receiving the B uddha’s spiritual power, borrow ing extra m ight,I was able to visit m y dear m other in Avici.53

Later in the tale, M u-lien recites an incantation and rattles the B uddha’s staff to decim ate row after row o f m alevolent ogres.56 In avadana literature M u-lien borrow s both the B uddha’s tw elve-ringed staff and his seven-jeweled bowl as a way o f gaining the spiritual pow ers necessary for visiting hell, while in o ther accounts o f M u-licn’s travels it is the B uddha’s cassock w hich gives him a boost in pow er.57

T he B uddha’s tw elve-ringed staff m ight well have cosm ological significance, since it represents a series o f planes connected by a vertical

55 I 'H F W C , p. 730; cf. M air, trans., Tun-huang Popular Narratives, p. 104; T H P W C , p. 737; cf. M air, trans., Tun-huang Popular Narratives, p. 112.

56 T H P W C , p. 730; M air, trans., Tun-huang Popular Narratives, p. 105. T his episode is discussed below.

For the sta ff and bow l, see the avadana fragm ent, Mu-lien yuan-ch’i, P. 2193, rep ro duced in T H P W C , p. 704. In Ken-pen-shuo i-ch'ieh-yu-pup’i-nai-yeh yao-shih, T . no. 1448, 24:16a-b , M u-lien b o rrow s the B uddha 's cassock and the tw o o f them to g e th er ascend to M arlci’s heaven. In The Transformation T ex t on the Subduing o f Demons, the B u d d h a’s cassock gives Sariputra the p o w er needed to subdue dem ons; sec Chiang-mo pien-wen, reproduced in T H P W C , p. 381. In The Journey to the West (Hsi-yu chi) from M ing tim es, the B uddha gives the T rip itaka m onk H siian-tsang his cassock, staff, and three tigh ten ing fillets. T hese item s preven t the bearer from backsliding on the path to en ligh tenm ent, w ard o ff poison and harm , and convert hostile dem ons to the B uddhist Path. T h e B uddha en trusts the item s to K uan-yin and asks her to bestow them on T rip itaka in C hap te r E ight; the item s are involved in num erous incidents after that. Sec A n thony C . Yii, tra ils ., The Journey to the West, 4 vols. (C hicago: U niversity o f C hicago Press, 1977-83), l:18(V-97 and passim .

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axis. The staff m ight also be related to the sw ords and clubs often used in China during exorcism s perform ed by sham ans.58 T he m onk’s robe signifies the authority o f the Buddha and guarantees the continuity o f his tradition, the robe transm itted to the sixth patriarch o f C h ’an being the m ost notable exam ple.59 In contrast to the m ore abstract accounts o f M u-lien’s jou rney , all o f these sym bols— bow l, staff, and robe— drive hom e the concrete side o f the sham an’s tour.

In addition to the m editative and visionary journeys portrayed in canonical and com m cntarial sources, in the popular talcs discussed above M u-lien em barks on a physical ccstasis. Freed from the usual constraints o f space and tim e, M u-lien reaches o ther w orlds in a single stride or w ith the wave o f an arm .60 T he corporeal details acccntuatc the physical side o f sham anic travel. T he sham an’s pow ers arc stressed in these accounts, his “ m igh t” and “ supernatural pow er” being given concrete reference in such sym bols as the robe, staff, and bow l. T o gether w ith the m onkish portrayal o f M u-lien as m editator, these m ore popular representations o f shamanic journeys cast additional, not necessarily fractious, light on the placc o f M u-lien in medieval Chinese religion.

M u-lien’s Powers h

In his travels M u-licn exercises o ther pow ers usually associated w ith the sham an. Like the sym bolism o f his cosmic journeys, the language and style used to portray these pow ers appeal to several different audiences.

M u-licn is equipped not only w ith a “ divine eye” and a “ divine ear,” but also a “ divine nose” by which he senses the odors and fragrances o f o ther beings. An avadana talc, for instance, relates how M u-lien sat in m editation and, while in a contem plative state, saw a hungry ghost. M u-lien sim ultaneously excrciscd his pow ers o f vision (hungry ghosts arc usually invisible or they reside in one o f the hells) and also his supernorm al pow ers o f smell. The tale describes how M u-lien

58 For a description o f the sham an 's w eapons see de G root, The Religious System o f China, 6:991-99.

59 See Philip B. Y am polsky, The Platform Sutra o f the S ixth Patriarch (N ew Y ork: C o lum bia U niversity Press, 1967), p. 133.

60 O th e r stories show M u-licn em bark ing on jo u rn ey s by w aving his arm ; see the Agama sto ry cited in C hap te r Four. T. 2:703c, 704b, 706c, 707a; and The Mahavastu, trans. J . J . Jones, 3 vols.. Sacred Books o f the B uddhists, Vols. 17-19 (London: Luzac and C o ., 1949-56), 1:46, 47.

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sat w ith his legs crossed underneath a tree. Entering samadhi, he saw a hungry ghost. Its physical body was so smelly that it was im possible to get near it.51

M u-lien’s sharpened pow ers o f perception, often exercised from a m editative state, allow him access to the sights, sounds, and smells o f o ther w orlds.

As noted in C hapter Four, num erous avadana tales record M u-licn’s know ledge o f the previous lives o f hungry ghosts. This pow er, one o f the “ six spiritual penetrations” in the schcmc o f canonical B uddhism , is especially stressed in the avadana literature, since stories in that genre draw a m oral based on the unseen w orkings o f karm a. By contrast, know ledge o f past incarnations is no t stressed in any o f the y ii-lan-p’en m yths; in these, it is the Buddha or C h ’in g -t’i herself w ho relates her uncharitable deeds in previous lives.

O ne last facet o f sham anism m entioned in m any accounts is M u- lien’s m artial prowess, his ability to vanquish all com ers by directly physical means or by intim idating them w ith his m ight. The w ord “ wei” (which I have translated as “ m igh t” or “ m igh ty” ), is often used o f M u-lien (and som etim es o f the Buddha and Sangha), indicating his ability “ to inspire respectful fear.”62 This aspect o f M u-lien’s pow er is especially stressed in the early B uddhist collections (e.g ., the A gam as), the apocryphal Pure Laud Yii-lan-p'en Sutra, and the M u-lien transform ation text.

M u-licn’s prowess as a w arrior may well be a function o f his m astery o f the universal principles o f change. In the Pure Land text, after his m other is reborn as a hum an being and reunited w ith her son, M u-lien is so beside him self w ith jo y that he issues fire and w ater from his body. H e manifests in public the “ eighteen transform ations,” w hich o ther arhats are technically capable o f producing but rarely d o .63 M u-lien is so thoroughly im bued w ith pow ers that are not by nature part o f the system o f B uddhist discipline that his energies seem to leak out alm ost against his will.

T he Agama story in w hich M u-lien vanquishes N anda and U pananda makes frequent reference to M u-lien’s “ m ighty p ow er” (wei-li)

61 Chuan-chi pa-yiiaii ching (Avadanaiataka), trans. C hih C h ’ien (ca. 220-252), T . no. 2<K>, 4:223c.

1,2 F. S. C ouv rcu r, s .j . , Diclionnaire classiquede la langue chinoise (1890; reprin t ed ., T ’ai- cluing: K uang-ch 'i ch ’u-pan-shc, 1966), p. 206a.

M Sec The Pure Land Yii-lan-p't'ii Sutra, II. 32-33. O n the “ eighteen transfo rm ations” (shih-pa pirn), sc eT F T T , p. 199c.

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and “ m ighty spirituality” (wei-shett).M After changing into a fourteen- headed naga and then into a tiny m arauder, M u-lien returns to his normal hum an form . T he tw o naga kings, themselves well accom plished in the arts o f transform ation, are especially amazed that a m ere hum an being could so soundly defeat them . The nagas exclaim:

This is M u-lien the sratnana, not a naga king. H ow odd! H ow strange! H e possesses great m ighty pow er w hich enables him to do battle w ith the likes o f us.65

N o r is M u-lien sim ply a filial son in The Transformation Text on Mu- lien Saving His Mother. H ere too he fights battles w ith opposing armies and manifests the aw e-inspiring pow er o f the sham an in very tangible ways. Taking hold o f the B uddha’s staff, M u-lien wields the pow er o f the Buddha:

M u-lien recited the B uddha’s nam e like sands o f the Ganges,[And said) “ T he hells are m y original hom e” ;He w iped his tears in m id-air and shook the m etal-ringed staff,And ghosts and spirits were m ow ed dow n on the spot like stalks

o f hem p.66

C onclusions

M u-lien’s exam ple illustrates a trend in Chinese religion that has until recently received little scholarly attention. As B uddhism and Taoism developed as institutional religions in the first several centuries a.d ., they were perforce compelled to build upon a preexisting base. The “ sham anistic substrate,” as one scholar has called it, was an essential com ponent o f that indigenous background.67 W hat better w ay to popularize enlightenm ent or im m ortality than by show ing that the spirit m edium resident in every village was, underneath it all, w ork ing for B uddhist o r Taoist ends? Similarly, propagators o f institutionalized religions in China w ere eager to show that the saints hallow ed by their ow n traditions used the same m ethods as the local shaman.

The influence o f sham anism on Taoism has no t escaped the notice o f som e scholars. Discussing “ the religion o f the people,” K ristofer Schipper writes:

M Tseng-i a-han eking, T . no. 125, 2:703c, 704a, 706c.“ Ib id ., 2:704a.“ T H P W C , p. 730; m ostly fo llow ing M air, trans., Tun-huang Popular Narratives, p.

105.*7 Piet van der Loon, "Les O rig ines ritucllcs dn theatre chiitois,” JA 265:1-2 (1977):

168.

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It is indeed reluctantly, for lack o f anything better, that I use the term “ sham anism ” im properly to take account o f a socio-cultural fact broad-ranging, rich, poetical, and refined. If w e w ere to lim it ourselves to the references furnished by classical literature, we w ould ignore practically all popular cults. But Chinese sham anism has survived into our time, no doubt, as the poor relation o f religion, bu t w ith enough vitality that we can recognizc it oncc m ore. It is the substrate o f the entire system o f practices and beliefs o f Taoism ; it is its rival and, in m odern China, its inseparable com plem ent. In all epochs, Taoism defined itself first o f all in relation to it.68 *

Taoist adepts have always dem onstrated a strong interest in the magical pow ers o f the sham an, m odeling their actions on those o f Lao-tzu, w ho, beginning in the Han dynasty, was believed to have changed bodily form num erous tim es.69

Regrettably, the history o f B uddhism has rarely been read as a process o f accom m odation to the indigenous tradition o f sham anism . N evertheless, the influence o f sham anism on B uddhism — from the bo ttom up, as it were— is undeniable. The same kind o f sham anic influence evident in ghost festival m ythology m ay also be seen in the selection o f B uddhist texts for translation into Chinese: m editation texts dealing w ith supernorm al pow ers were a first priority in the translation o f Sanskrit w orks.70 In the view o f T ’ang Y ung-t’ung, Chinese interest in B uddhist m editation practiccs in the early period centered on supernatural powers:

68 Schipper, Le Corps taoiste. p. 18.69 K o H ung , w riter on alchem y, practitioner o f the arts o f long life, and b iographer o f

the m id -fo u rth century , notes several techniques for “ penetrating the spiritual [realm ]” (or “ getting in touch w ith sp irits ,” t ’ung-shen) in his Pao-p’u tzu . T hese techniques include one-po in tedness o f m ind and the ingestion o f elixirs contain ing gold; Pao-p'u tzu (ttei- p ’ien, ch. 18), Ko H u n g (ca. 277-357), H sin-pien chu-tzu chi-ch’eng. Vol. 4 (Taipei: Shih-chieh shu-chii, 1978), pp. 93, 94. T h ro u g h his com prehension o f the W ay o f change, Lao-tzu travels th ro u g h o u t the cosm os in accord w ith its greater patterns. Acco rd ing to the Lao-tzu pien-hua ching (Classic o f the Metamorphoses o f Lao-tzu), Lao-tzu can “ m ake h im se lf brilliant o r som ber, som etim es present, som etim es gone, he can becom e large o r sm all, coil up o r stretch h im self o u t, raise o r low er him self, ex tend vertically o r horizon tally , go forw ards o r backw ards” ; translated in Anna K. Seidel, Le Divinisation de Lao tseu dans le Taoi'sme des Han, Publications de l’Ecole Frangaise d ’E x trem e-O rien t, Vol. 68 (Paris: Ecole Franchise d ’E x trcm e-O rien t, 1969), p. 63. See also R obinct, “ M etam o rp h o sis ," pp. 39—48.

711 See T 'a n g Y ung-t’ung, Han wei Hang-chin nan-pei-ch'ao fo-chiao shih (reprin t ed.; Taipei: T in g -w en shu-chii, 1976), pp. 95-98; and M urakam i, "Koso den no sh in 'i ni (su ite ," pp. 4, 16 n. 3.

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A ccording to the B uddhist D harm a, there arc tw o results o f m editation and concentration. T he first consists o f attaining release and entering nirvana. T he second is obtaining spiritual penetrations. M ost o f the m editators o f the Han and Wei em phasized the spiritual penetrations.71

Further, m any B uddhist figures popular in medieval times were well know n for their practicc o f sham anic arts, including prophesy, healing, and spirit jo u rneys.72

Influence in the o ther direction— the B uddhist contribution to the developm ent o f ecstatic religion in China— is no less im portant. W hile sham ans may well be “ holders o f specific gifts o f the body and sp irit,”73 in the B uddhist tradition their charisma is not essentially antithetical to institutional control. Specifically, one acquires the “ spiritual penetrations” by follow ing a formalized technique o f m editation. The sham an’s career is carcfully regulated: he undergoes a special course o f training sym bolized by levels o f dhyana. Progress along the path is judged by norm s recorded in the narrative, scholastic, and technical literature o f B uddhism . This formalized technology o f m editation is recognized not only by a religious elite, but also by the unlettered, w ho see M u-lien exercising his pow ers from a m editating position and w ho hear o f his dependence on the superior m ight o f the Buddha.

We need not assume a d ichotom y betw een the tw o different kinds o f representation given M u-lien in the m ythology o f the ghost festival. Som e nuances o f M u-licn’s role appeal to m em bers o f the B uddhist establishm ent, governm ent officials, and other literati, w hile som e o f his attributes appeal to nonspecialists— those w ho belong neither to a privileged social class nor to a distinctive religious group. It may well be his versatility, his ability to com binc different interests in a single repertoire, that accounts for M u-lien’s appeal at all levels o f Chinese society.

At one end o f the continuum M u-lien plays to an audicnce o f com m oners. His m iracle-w orking pow ers attest to his divinity, w hile his physical labors m ark him as hum an. His frolics provoke the Buddha to chastise his mischievous pursuit o f the magical arts. As a sham an w ho makes contact w ith the spirit o f his deceased m other, he fulfills an am bition com m on to all classcs in traditional China, w here the relation

71 T ’ang, Fo-chiao shih, p. 144.72 F o -t’u -teng (ca. 310) and Wan H ui (ca. 705) arc notable B uddhist exem plars o f this

skill. See A rth u r F. W righ t, “ F o -t’u-tcng: A B iography .” HJAS 11:3-4 (D ecem ber 1948):340, 350, 354. W an H ui is reported to have traveled over ten thousand li in one day; sec Sung kao-seng chuan, T san-n ing (919-1001), T. no. 2061, 50:H23c-24c.

73 M ax Weber, From M ax Weber: Essays in Sociology, trans. and eds. H. H. ( ic rth and C . W righ t M ills (N ew York: O x fo rd U niversity Press, 1946), p. 245.

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betw een the living and the “ dead” is o f param ount concern. T he m ythology o f the ghost festival serves to express these popular interests and to reiterate the unruly aspects o f sham anism in Chinese religion.

At the o ther end o f the continuum , M u-licn’s perform ance is oriented tow ard the upholders o f state and Sangha authority . T he Chinese governm ent always attem pted to control, only rarely to prohibit, the exercisc o f sham anism . M edium s and their m asters perform ed in state- sponsored tem ples under imperial patronage. And for those w ho view ed their Buddhism as a distinguishing m ark in Chinese society, M u-lien’s pow er was rooted in his experience o f m editation and was exerciscd for the benefit o f all sentient beings. The m onastic establishm ent considered M u-lien and his type to be exem plars o f B uddhist practice. In expressing the values em braced by both the Sangha and the state, the m yth o f M u-lien gave voice to the ideals o f institutionalized religion in China.

M u-lien securcd a central place in Chinese religion because he com bined in one person form s o f sham anism acceptable to different classes o f society. His journeys w ere sim ultaneously physical and ethereal, his pow ers both martial and figurative. M u-licn linked tw o poles o f Chinese society, ju s t as he served as the m edium betw een tw o different worlds.

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S I X

The Cosmology of the Ghost Festival

M u - l ie n was not sim ply a w orld traveler and invoker o f spirits. He was also a teachcr, and the subject he taught was the layout o f the w orlds he visited. Fa-hsien (ca. 399-416) explains:

Each o f the arhats am ong the disciples o f the Buddha was best at one activity. Sariputra, for instance, was best at w isdom , taking delight in preaching the subtle, w ondrous D harm a. M u-lien was best at sham anic travel [literally, “ spiritual feet” ]. He often rode the spiritual penetrations along the six paths o f rebirth , view ing the good and evil retribution suffered by sentient beings and return ing to explain it to hum ans.1

W hile M u-lien may have been unique in possessing the pow er to travel to o ther realms o f the cosm os, he never tried to keep his adventures secret. As Fa-hsien suggests, M u-lien publicized his forays w idely, using his ow n experience o f rebirth and karm ic retribution as the basis for his teachings.

This chapter explores the “ w orldview ” or “ cosm ology” that M u- lien taught. Such term s are used advisedly, since the w orldview that M u-licn teaches is no t spelled out in a separate philosophical treatise, nor is it form ulated in a clean doctrinal package. Rather, it is expressed in the different genres o f yii-lan-p’en literature, and it is assum ed in the perform ance o f ghost festival rituals. A lthough it never takes the form o f explicit tenets o f belief, the cosmological system presents a sophisticated explanation o f evil and a consistent fram ew ork o f ethics.

This chapter takes m ost o f its details from The Transformation Text on Mu-iien Saving His Mother, since that text describes M u-lien’s travels in the greatest detail. After recounting the cosm ology o f the transform ation text I shall then trace its history, looking both backw ard and forw ard in time. Viewed strictly in historical term s, the cosm ology re- fleeted in the transform ation text com bines elem ents draw n from both

1 Tsa-tsang citing, Fa-hsicn (ca. 399—416), T. no. 745, 17:557b.

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indigenous Chinese traditions and Indian B uddhist sources. But in China these tw o traditions rem ained separate only briefly; they appear fully synthesized in the w orldview o f The Transformation Text on Mu- lien Saving His Mother, a synthesis that had probably been achieved a few ccnturies before the first celebration o f the ghost festival. In chronological term s a schizophrcnic reading o f medieval Chinese cosm ology, seeing it as the grafting o f B uddhist branches onto an inhospitable Chinese trunk, is sim ply w rong, at least after the fourth century. 1 hope to avoid any artificial bifurcation o f the w orldview o f Chinese folk religion, a sphere in which the distinction betw een canonical B uddhism and indigenous traditions— or between Great T radition and Little T radition— had little relevance.2 ‘

Since this chapter is concerned prim arily w ith the underw orld , a b rie f discussion o f Chinese term s for the underw orld may be in order. Early texts refer to the “ yellow springs” (huang-ch’iian) as a source o f life located underground. By the third century B.C. the term denoted the underground residence o f the deceased: “ those w ho are killed go to the yellow springs; they die but do not perish.”3 By the beginning o f the com m on era, m any texts refer to M ount T ’ai (T ’ai-shan, in present-day Shantung) as the abode o f the dead. K now n also as the “ Eastern Peak” (tung-yiieh), M ount T ’ai was viewed as the source o f light and life. It was the place w here the spirits o f the dead gathered and the

2 M y a ttem p t to give an historical account o f the cosm ology o f the ghost festival m ust be regarded as m erely tentative. T h e p rim ary sources for such a study are quite scattered: transfo rm ation texts, funerary inscriptions and prayers, biographies, and collections o f folklore. W hile B uddhologists have done m uch w ork oil the cosm ological system s in canonical and scholastic sources, their accounts apply m ore to the theoretical m onk o f the G reat T rad ition than to the vast m ajority o f C hinese people. See Iw an io to Y utaka, Buk- kyd setstiwa kenkyii. Vol. 4, Jigoku meguri no bungaku (Tokyo: K aim ei shoten , 1979), pp. 200-224; W illibald Kirfel, D ie Kosmographie der Inder nach den Quellcn dargestellt (Bonn: K urt Schroeder, 1920), pp. 178-207; R andy Kloetzli, Buddhist Cosmology: From Single World System to Pure Land: Science and Theology in the Images o f Motion and Light (Delhi: M otilal Banarsidas, 1983); Louis de La Vallee Poussin, “ C osm o g o n y and C osm ology (B uddh ist),” Encyclopaedia o f Religion and Ethics, 13 vols., ed. Jam es H astings (E dinburgh: T . and T. C lark , 1912), 4:129—38; Alicia M atsunaga, The Buddhist Philosophy o f Assimilation: The Historical Development o f the Honji-Suijaku Theory (R utland: T u ttle and C o ., 1969), pp. 40-59; D aigan and Alicia M atsunaga, The Buddhist Concept o f Hell (N ew York: Philosophical L ibrary, 1972); and Sadakata Akira, Shumisen togokuraku: bukkyo no uchukan (Tokyo: K odansha, 1973). T h e only book-length s tudy o f popular Chinese cosm ology is Sawada M izuho’s Jigoku hen, w hich outlines afterlife concepts in m edieval and m odern tim es. I shall d raw frequently on this pioneering w ork ; Jigoku hen: chiigoku no meikai setsu (K yoto: H ozokan, 1968); see also M ichihata R yoshu, Chugoku bukkyo shiso shi no kenkyii (K yoto: H eiryakuji shoten , 1979), pp. 78-188.

’ M D K J 47926.572, quo ting the Kuan-tzu.

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site w here the em peror perform ed the feng and shan sacrifices o f Chinese state religion. C hang H ua (232-300) writes:

M ount T ’ai is also called H eaven’s grandson, meaning that he is the grandson o f [August] Heaven, E m peror [on High]. He is in charge o f sum m oning people’s hun and p ’o. He is in the Hast, the orig inator and com pleter o f all things; hence he know s the length o f people’s lives.4

By the third or fourth century a . d . the M agistrate o f M ount T ’ai occupied an im portan t position in the bureaucracy that adm inistered the laws o f karm a: he assigned deceased spirits to their next realm o f reb irth .5

In yii-lan-p’en literature the m ost com m on term referring to the underw orld is "ti-yu ," w hich m ay be translated m ore literally as “ earthly (or subterranean) prison.” Tao-shih (d. 683) explains the tw o com ponents o f the term , noting that “ subterranean” refers to w hat lies under the continent o fjam budv lpa , connoting the low est o f all realms o f rebirth , while “ prison” implies restraint or lack o f freedom , suggesting that existence there is devoid o f jo y and happiness.6 “ T i-y u ” is often used as a translation o f the Sanskrit term for hell, naraka, m eaning “ devoid o f happiness.” In this study I translate “ ti-y ii” as “ hell” or “ hells.”7

T h e C o s m o l o g y o f The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother

In theory M u-lien’s pow ers enable him to teach the layout o f the entire realm o f the six paths o f rebirth as they are defined in B uddhist sources: rebirth as a god in the heavens, as a hum an on earth, as an asura, as an animal, as a hungry ghost, o r as a hell dweller. (Som etim es the asuras arc not included and only five paths are specified.) Kum arajlva writes:

4 Po-wu chih, C hang H ua (232-300), in Chih-hai. Pai-pu ts ’ung-shu chi-ch’eng . N o . 54 (Taipei: I-w en yin-shu-kuan , 1967), ch. 6, p. 4r. Cf. E douard C havannes, Le T ’ai Chan: essaie de monographic d ’tin culle chinois, A nnalcs du M usee G uim et, Vol. 21 (Paris: E rnest L croux, 1910), p. 406.

’ For studies o f M o u n t T ’ai, see C havannes, ibid.; O n o Shihci, “ Taisan kara ho to e ,” Bunka 27:2 (1963):80—111; and Sakai Tadao, "T aisan sh inko no k enkyu ,” Shicho 7:2 (1937):70-118.

6 Fa-yiian chu-lin, T. no. 2122, 53:322b.7 For the m ost part I shall follow Chinese usage in no t d istinguishing betw een the p u r

gatorial realm s (e .g ., the ten courts o f the underw orld) th rough w hich all spirits m ust pass on their w ay to rebirth and the hells proper, the to rtu o u s prisons fu rther underg ro u n d in w hich only those w ho have com m itted evil acts are reborn .

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W hat the divine eye sees: sentient beings and all things in the six terrestial and subterrestial paths. W hether near or far, gross or subtle, there is no form that the divine eye cannot illum inate.8

Y ii-lan-p’en literature, how ever, focuses only on the low er reaches o f the cosm os, especially on the paths o f hungry ghost and hell dw eller into w hich M u-lien’s m other has been reborn. The canonical sutras sum m arily describe C h ’in g -t’i’s condition as a hungry ghost: she is hungry, she is so thin that her skin hangs o ff her bones, and the food offering sent by M u-lien bursts into flames as soon as it touches her lips.9 The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra varies the story only slightly: w hen other hungry ghosts see the bow l o f food M u-lien has sent to his m other, they beg C h ’in g -t’i to share it w ith them , but her greed remains so strong that she sits on top o f the bow l to prevent them from getting even one grain o f rice .10

In yii-lan-p’en literature— in fact in medieval Chinese literature broadly speaking— it is The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother from the Dark Regions that provides the m ost detailed and edifying descriptions o f the underw orld. The transform ation text (pien- wen) spares no detail in relating M u-lien’s descent th rough the horrible cham bers o f hell, and it follows M u-lien and his m other as they m ove upw ard in the scheme o f rebirth, finally reaching the heavens. I sum m arize M u-lien’s and C h ’in g -t’i’s travels below ."

T he story in the transform ation text begins w ith a quick account o f how C h ’in g -t’i’s selfish actions in a previous life led to her rebirth in Avici Hell. By this narrative device M u-lien’s m other is placcd in the m ost horrid and the m ost distant hell, the one in which any filial son

* Ta chih-tu lun, K um arajiva (350-409), T. no. 1509, 25:98a; E tienne Lam otte, trans., Le Trait( de la grand verlu de sagesse de Ndgarjuna (MahdprajiidpdramitdSasira), 5 vols. (Lou- vain -la-N euve: Institu t O rientaliste , 1949-80), p. 330. See also Yiian-chao Commentary, Z . 1, 35:2, p . l l5 ra . O n the “ six paths o f reb irth " (liu-ch'ii o r liu-tao), see O B D J, pp. 1837c-38a. For im portan t studies o f their placc in art and literature, see Paul M us, La Lumiere sur les six voies: tableau de la transmigration bouddhique (Paris: T ravaux ct M em oires de I’ln stitu t d ’E thnologic , 1939); and W illiam R. LaFleur, The Karma o f Words: Buddhism and the Literary Arts in M ediwai Japan (Berkeley: U niversity o f California Press, 1983), pp. 26-59. Like early Indian B uddhist texts, Chinese sources from m onastic and folk m ilieux refer som etim es to five paths and som etim es to six.

'' The Sutra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness, T. no. 686, 16:780a; The Yii-lan-p’en Sutra, T. no. 685, 16:779b.

The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, in Jan Jaw orsk i, “ L 'A valam bana Sutra de la terre pu re ," Monumenla Serica I (1935-36): II. 97-KX).

11 Ta Mu-chien-lien ining-chien chiu-mu pien-wen, T H P W C , pp. 714-55; V ictor Mair, trans., Tun-huang Popular Narratives (C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press, 1983), pp. 87-121.

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w ould least expect his parents to be reborn. The audience is kept in suspense for over one-half o f the talc as M u-lien searches first the heavens and then the hells for his dear m other.

M u-lien first ascends to B rahm a’s palacc, a heaven loeated above the Heaven o f T hirty -T hree and above M aitrcya’s Tusita Heaven, though still w ithin the w orld o f form . H ere M u-lien finds his father. Beings in this heaven arc still subject to the laws o f birth and death, but they enjo y m any pleasures and few pains. Satisfied that his deceased father now leads a happy life, M u-lien pushes on in search o f his m other.

T he transform ation text next show s M u-lien passing through the gates o f the yellow springs and descending to the underw orld , to “ the dark roads” (ming-lu) o fjam budvipa. W ith neither a sibyl nor Beatrice as guide, M u-lien first encounters a group o f hungry ghosts w ho are unable to return to the hum an w orld because o f a bureaucratic error. T hey know nothing about his m other, so M u-lien leaves them and goes to the great K ing Yama (Ycn-lo wang), from w hom he hopes to gain news o f his m o ther’s w hereabouts.

M u-lien expects Yama to have passed sentence on his m other, since all people w ho perform som e good and som e bad actions during their lifetime are taken to King Yama for judg m en t after death. The king o f the underw orld is honored to have such a holy man as M u-lien in his court, and he soon has all o f his officers and assistants w ork ing on the case o f M u-lien’s m other. T he first figure in Yama’s court to provide som e inform ation is T i-tsang (Skt.: Ksitigarbha) Bodhisattva. He apprises M u-lien o f the likelihood that his m other is in hell due to the num ber o f sins that she com m itted in her lifetim e.12

King Yama next sum m ons three other officers, the Karm a Official, the Exam iner o f Fate, and the O fficer o f Records, w ho arc all adm inistrative assistants in charge o f the records o f sinners sent to the hells for punishm ents. The Karm a Official reports:

T hree years have already passed since Lady C h ’in g -t’i died. The casebooks on the adjudication o f her sins arc all contained in a volum e o f the M agistrate o f M ount T ’ai, the Recording Officc o f Affairs o f H eaven’s offices.13

K ing Yama then hands M u-lien over to yet another group o f functionaries, the T w o Pages o f G ood and Evil [Rebirth]. These boys usually act as m essengers betw een the officc o f the M agistrate o f M ount T ’ai

12 T i- tsa n g ’s role in the p lo t structu re appears redundant, sincc the B uddha had already to ld M u-lien that his m o ther had been reborn in Avici Hell.

13 T H P W C , p. 721; M air, trans., Tun-huang Popular Narratives, p. 95.

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and the underw orld ruled by King Yama. King Yama instructs them to escort M u-licn to another court o f hell, the one ruled by the General o f the Five Paths (W u-tao chiang-chiin).

En route to the General’s court, M u-lien crosses the great river w hich runs through the underw orld , the N ai-ho (which, as V ictor M air suggests, m ight best be translated as “ The W athellwedo R iver” to convey the Chinese pun ).14 O n the banks o f the river stand groups o f people w ho have recently died. Repenting the evil they com m itted while alive, they lam ent their fate and bem oan the uselessness o f their descendants’ m ortuary offerings. Some ghosts have rem oved their clothes and are beginning to cross the river, and picture texts dating from the early tenth century portray recently deceased people being forced by ox-hcadcd gaolers to cross the river during the second week after death .15

H aving crossed the W athellwedo River, M u-lien arrives at the last barrier before entering the hells, the gate ruled by the General (also called the Spirit or Ghost) o f the Five Paths. All beings sentenced to the hells m ust pass through this gate, and the general, as O fficer o f N am es, asks his assistants about C h ’ing -t’i. They report that C h ’in g -t’i passed th rough their court three years before, having been sum m oned by a w arrant from Avici Hell.

A t this point in the narrative M u-licn has not yet entered the realm o f hell proper. The subterranean prisons for the punishm ent o f evil deeds still lie ahead. The infernal regions discussed thus far— the court o f King Yama and his aides, the W athellwedo River, the court o f the General o f the Five Paths— constitute a transitional space. All o f the souls w hom M u-licn encounters in these regions are going som ew here, they are en route from death to their next assigned rebirth in one o f the hells. H om esick, dragged away from their loved ones by the m inions o f death, they are yet unsure o f their final destination. T he adm inistration o f the underw orld has not finished adjudicating their eases so they sim ply wait, as fearful o f punishm ent as they arc sure o f its inevitability.

M air, trails.. Tun-huang Popular Narratives, p. 235. n. to 1. 309; cf. Iriya Y oshitaka, "D ai M okkenren m eikan k yubo h en b u n ,” Bukkyo bungaku shii, cd. Iriya Y oshitaka (Tokyo; H eibonsha, 1975), pp. 7 -8 , n. 28.

15 S eeT okush i Y iishoand O g aw a K an’ichi, “Juo shoshichi kyo santoken 110 kozo ,” Seiiki hunka kenkyii, 6 vols., cd. Seiiki bunka kenkyukai (Tokyo: H ozokan, 1958-63), 5:264- 91; also reproduced in O gaw a, Bukkyo Imnka shi kenkyii (K yoto: N agata bunshodo , 1973), pp. 80-154. T hese picture texts describe the to rm en ts undergone by the deceased in the ten courts o f hell and prescribe B uddhistic sacrifices during the seven-day periods fo llow ing death. I d isai*s these texts and their significance in greater detail below.

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The bureaucratic m achinery supposed to m ove people th rough the courts o f hell is far from swift. T he paper w ork involved in processing the dead is, as it were, m ountainous. M u-lien’s inquiry conccrning his m other’s w hereabouts gives rise to a search o f the records kept at M ount T ’ai, in King Yama’s court, in the court o f the General o f the Five Paths, and in the hells. The narrative portrays a bureaucratic system m ade even m ore unw ieldy by its extensiveness. The transform ation text describes a hierarchy reaching from the heavens dow n into the hells, including even gods w ho have no direct bearing on the plot. T i- tsang Bodhisattva, for instance, tells M u-lien som ething that he had already heard from the Buddha, that his m other has been reborn in one o f the hells. It appears that the narrators o f the M u-licn transform ation text arc as concerned w ith m apping ou t a convincing and familiar map o f the underw orld as they are w ith following the course o f a unilinear Heilsgeschichte.

The Trans formation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother continues w ith M u-licn’s passage into the hells. The talc describes M u-lien’s general im pression o f the hells:

M u-lien’s tears fell, his thoughts w andered aimlessly,The karm ic retribution o f sentient beings is like being tossed in the

wind;His dear m other had sunk into a realm o f suffering,H er hurt and p ’o had by that tim e long since dissipated.

Iron disks continuously plunged into her body from out o f the air; Fierce fires, at all times, were burning beneath her feet;Every place on her chest and belly had been stripped to shreds,Every inch o f her bones and flesh had charred to a pulp.

B ronzc-colored crows pecked at her heart ten thousand times over, M olten iron poured on top o f her head for a thousand turns;You m ight well ask w hether the forest o f sw ords up ahead w ere the

m ost painful,B ut how could it com parc w ith the cleaving mill w hich chops m en’s

waists in tw o?16

W ith som e trepidation, M u-lien advances to the first hell to inquire about C h ’in g -t’i. The w arden o f the first hell replies that his cham bcr contains only male inmates, and that M u-licn should continue his search in the hells further dow n the line.

16 T H P W C , p. 725; m ostly fo llow ing M air, trails., Tuii-huang Popular Narratives, p. 99.

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N ext M u-lien enters the Knife Hill and Sw ord Forest Hell. People w ho destroy or steal property belonging to the Sangha arc reborn in this hell, w here they are forced to climb up a hill covered w ith knives and to w alk through a forest densely packcd w ith sw ords, getting horribly sliced up in the process. C h ’ing -t’i is no t in this hell o r in the next one that M u-lien visits, the C opper Pillar and Iron Bed Hell. In the first o f m any tortures, residents o f this hell are laid on iron beds and have nails driven through their bodies, while others have their hands bound together so that they em bracc hot copper pillars that burn aw ay their chests.

T he w arden o f the next hell inform s M u-licn that his m other resides in Avici Hell, and a dem onlike yaksa prince advises M u-lien to quit his search, citing the inexorable torm ents o f Avici. D aunted by the yaksa’s description o f Avici’s tortures, yet unw illing to give up his quest to save his m other, M u-licn returns to the Buddha for help. T he Buddha provides m oral support and material aid in the form o f his m etal-ringed staff.

A rm ed w ith the B uddha’s staff, M u-lien darts back dow n to the entrance to Avici, the deepest o f the hells. W hen the ogre guards o f Avici stand in his way, the Eiuddha’s disciple topples them all w ith a shake o f his staff. The text relates M u-licn’s entry into Avici:

M u-licn walked forw ard and came to a hell. W hen he was som ething over a hundred paces away from it, he was sucked in by the fiery gases and nearly tum bled over. It was Avici Hell w ith lofty walls o f iron w hich w ere so im m ense that they reached to the clouds. Swords and lances bristled in ranks, knives and spears clustered in rows. Sw ord trees reached upw ard for a thousand fathom s w ith a clattering flourish as their needle-sharp points brushed together. Knife m ountains soared ten thousand rods in a chaotic jum ble o f interconnecting cliffs and crags. Fiercc fires throbbed, seeming to leap about the entire sky w ith a thunderous roar. Sw ord wheels w hirled, seeming to brush the earth w ith the dust o f starry brightness. Iron snakes belched fire, their scales bristling on all sides. C opper dogs breathed sm oke, barking im petuously in every direction. Metal thorns descended chaotically from midair, picrcing the chests o f the men. Awls and augers flew by every which way, gouging the backs o f the w om en. Iron rakes flailed at their eyes, causing red blood to flow to the west. C opper pitchforks jabbed at their loins until white fat oozed to the cast. T hereupon, they were made to crawl up the knife m ountains and enter the furnacc o f coals. Their skulls were smashed to bits, their

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bones and flesh decom posed; tendons and skin snapped, liver and gall broke. G round flesh spurted and splattered beyond the four gates; congealed blood drenched and drooked the pathw ays w hich run through the black clods o f hell. With wailing voices, they called ou t to heaven— m oan, groan. T he roar o f thunder shakes the earth— rum ble, bum ble. U p above are clouds and sm oke w hich tum ble, jum ble; dow n below are iron spears w hich jangle- tangle. Goblins w ith arrow s for feathers chattered-scattcrcd; birds w ith copper beaks w ildly-w idely callcd. There w ere m ore than several ten thousands o f gaolers and all were ox-headed and horse- faced.17

M u-lien advances into this pit o f interm inable to rm ent by breaking dow n the gates. Im pressed by his pow er, jailers politely escort him to the w arden o f Avici. M u-lien inform s the w arden that he has com e in search o f his m other, and the w arden him self expedites M u-licn’s request by going personally to each o f the seven com partm ents o f Avici to ask if C h ’ing -t’i is there. Finally, in the seventh and last com partm ent, w here she is nailed to a steel bed w ith forty-nine long spikes, C h ’ing -t’i meekly answers the w arden’s call.

M other and son are finally reunited in a bittersw eet embrace. C h ’in g -t’i tearfully confesses her evil actions in her previous life and lam ents the inevitable recom pense o f all acts, good or bad. Blinded by devotion and pity, M u-lien offers to suffer the punishm ents o f Avici in his m o ther’s place so that she m ight be released. The w arden o f Avici rejects the offer, explaining that com passion and familial sentim ent cannot displace the law o f karm a; all decisions come from the Im partial K ing, and each person m ust suffer retribution for his o r her ow n acts.

M u-lien is so distraught at the sight o f his m other being led back to her com partm ent in Avici that he sobs and pum m els h im self into unconsciousness. W hen he awakes he flies o ff to the Buddha to explain his m o th er’s terrible plight: since he alone is pow erless, perhaps the W orld-H onored O ne m ight intercede to liberate her. Bcsccching the Buddha to provide illum ination, M u-lien cham pions the im portance o f familial affection, likening the Buddha to the “ com passionate father and m other o f all sentient beings.” 18 The Buddha responds by offering a short hom ily on the inescapable effects o f karma; then lie h im self em barks for Avici to save M u-lien’s m other. A ccom panied by gods, spirits, kings, and guardians, the Buddha utterly transform s the hells,

17 T H P W C , p. 731; fo llow ing M air’s reconstruction and translation o f this difficult and often co rrup t passage; Tun-huang Po/inlnr Narratives, pp. I OS-6.

'» T H P W C , p. 737.

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changing knife hills into lapis lazuli and liberating all o f the sinners being to rtu red there.

While everyone else in the hells gains rebirth in the heavens, M u- lien’s m other is reborn as a hungry ghost. H er sins w ere so nefarious, it seems, that she can m ove upw ard in the paths o f rebirth only one step at a time. The transform ation text next show s M u-licn’s frustrated attem pts to bring relief to his m other: the food he sends her turns to fire, as does the Ganges River when he leads her there for a drink.

C h ’in g -t’i becomes a black dog in Rajagrha in her next rebirth , w hich M u-licn secures by providing yii-lan-p’en offerings in the cerem ony specially instituted by the Buddha. In contrast to the canonical sources, in w hich the establishm ent o f the ghost festival constitutes the climax o f the story, the transform ation text includes the festival alm ost as an afterthought, as one m ore device included hurriedly in the denouem ent after the Buddha has already rescued C h ’in g -t’i from Avici Hell.

In fact tw o m ore ritual acts arc needed in the pien-wen before M u- lien’s m other takes her place in the heavens. C h ’in g -t’i, in the body o f a black dog, chants and makes repentance in front o f a stupa in Rajagrha. T he m erit from this act allows her to slough the dogskin and em erge as a hum an being again. Thus, M u-lien’s m other is finally released from the torm ents o f rebirth in the three low er paths o f hell dweller, hungry ghost, and animal.

C h ’in g -t’i and M u-lien then perform a second act o f devotion by circum am b u la tin g the B uddha th ree tim es. T h e B uddha exam ines C h ’in g -t’i’s karm ic situation and determ ines her recom pense to be com plete. At this, gods, goddesses, and nagas w elcom e her to a happy rebirth in the Heaven o f Thirty-T hree.

M y retelling o f the story in this chapter has dwelled at length 0 1 1 M u- lien’s odyssey from one m agistrate to the next in the various courts o f hell; slightly less spacc was devoted to M u-lien’s travel in the various hells and very little space at all to his m other’s rebirth in the Heaven o f T hirty-T hree. T he varying degrees o f elaboration in m y recounting are m odeled after the pien-wen narrative, which focuses alm ost exclusively on the infernal bureaucracy and the lowest paths o f rebirth.

T he transform ation text devotes m ost o f its narrative to the purgatorial courts o f the underw orld and to the sufferings o f those beings reborn in the hells, w hich suggests that the map o f the territory that M u- licn covcrs in his quest— the picturc o f the underw orld around w hich the narrative is constructed— is at least as im portant as the m otivation and goals o f that quest. T he cosm ographic aspect o f M u-licn’s jou rney in the pien-wen cannot be overstressed, especially in light o f the recog

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nition, m ade only in the past few years, o f the visual or scenic half o f this genre o f storytelling. The ccntcr o f activity o f the cosmic map draw n in the story is the underw orld: the subterranean court o f King Yama, the sinners being forced to cross the W athellwedo River, the critical passage guarded by the General o f the Five Paths, the instrum ents o f to rtu re used in all the hells, and the especially gruesom e tortures o f Avici. Far from teaching the evanescence o f life and the inevitability o f rebirth in one o f the six paths, the popular entertainm ent im presses upon its audience the torm ents and tortures o f an underw orld that seems horrifyingly perm anent.

All paths o f rebirth show n in the transform ation text arc governed by the laws o f karm ic retribution and adm inistered by a bureaucracy staffed by bodhisattvas, gods, kings, generals, m agistrates, scribes, messengers, wardens, dem ons, and ghosts. While som e com ponents o f the system arc draw n from indigenous Chinese traditions and others from the m yths and rituals o f Indian and Central Asian B uddhism , w hat m ust be stressed above all is that the law and its adm instrators are part o f one indissoluble fram ew ork. In popular religion the “ yellow springs,” a term for the underw orld used in China since at least the third ccntury B .C . , denotes the same realm as the “ dark paths o f ja m - budvlpa,” a term o f Buddhist provenance. Similarly, T i-tsang B odhisattva, a relative new com er to the M iddle K ingdom , adm inisters precisely the same laws as does his superior, the autochthonous god o f M ount T ’ai. B oth are part o f the same bureaucracy.

Even the B uddha’s com passion and unequalled pow er do no t negate the rule o f karm ic law. The yii-lan-p’en m yth ccrtainly presents an am biguous message conccrning karm ic retribution, but the am biguity in no way pits an essentially Buddhist law o f karm a against an unchanging Chinese preference for the special treatm ent o f family m em bers. In the pien-wen, Sakyam uni him self descends to Avici Hell to liberate its prisoners from the karm ic fate to w hich they have consigned themselves. T he officers o f hell also make special exceptions for the preem inent disciple o f the Buddha, M u-lien, w ho shares som e o f the B uddha’s pow er and com passion; the bureaucrats investigate C h ’in g -t’i’s case w ith unusual dispatch, treating her son as an honored guest.

But these examples o f the bending o f the causal law arc never d ea r- cut. In fact, as exceptions they tend to confirm the overarching law according to w hich cach individual suffers recom pense for his o r her ow n deeds. Like all sentient beings, C h ’in g -t’i m ust pass th rough the gate guarded by the General o f the Five Paths and she m ust suffer in Avici according to her actions in her previous life. Since her sins w ere m ore serious than m ost people’s, she can m ove upw ard in the system o f re

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birth only one stage at a time, while the o ther inm ates o f Avici Hell are reborn directly in the heavens. Even the B uddha’s pow er and com passion are no t strong enough to cancel C h ’in g -t’i’s karm ic burden. In the last episode o f the transform ation text, the W orld-H onored O ne can only survey her karm ic record to certify that she herself has paid o ff all her karm ic debts. Thus, even the Buddha plays a functional and subordinate role in the adm inistration o f the laws o f karm a.

G h o s t F e s t iv a l C o s m o l o g y i n C o n t e x t

In som e rcspccts the cosm ology o f The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother diverges little from the w orldview o f medieval Chinese religion. Its hells are run according to the sam e bureaucratic logic evident in China for over tw o thousand years, and its portrayal o f K ing Yama merely adds a new nam e to the popular vision o f the underw orld . B ut in o ther respects the cosm ology o f the transform ation text articulates concepts and images unprecedented in Chinese religion. Its hells prefigure the system that later became the basic w orldview o f Chinese popular religion, and its references to T i-tsang Bodhisattva reflect new developm ents in folk belief.

T urn ing from a synchronic to a diachronic analysis, this section placcs the cosm ology o f the ghost festival in the context o f Chinese religion. W hile m y account does not a priori exclude a consideration o f the w orldview o f “elite” Chinese religion— such a concept being at best propaedeutic— it does take m ost o f its data from sources on w hich B uddhist m onks and other literati have usually cast a doubtful eye.

The Enumeration o f Hells

The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother m entions several distinct courts and passages in the underw orld, including King Yam a’s court, the M agistrate o f M ount T ’ai, the W athellwedo River, and the gate o f the General o f the Five Paths. It also pictures four separate hells th rough w hich M u-licn travels: a hell in w hich only men reside, the Knife Hill and Sw ord Forest Hell, the C opper Pillar and Iron Bed Hell, and Avici Hell w ith at least seven com partm ents. C onsidered separately these elem ents o f the eighth-century transform ation text offer few innovations in Chinese religion. Considered together as a system , how ever, they represent an im portant stage in the developm ent o f Chinese cosm ology.

T he enum eration o f hells in the transform ation text differs from both earlier and later cosm ology. Specifically, it does not contain any

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o f the standard num bers o f hells com m on in sixth-century China: system s o f five, eight, eighteen, th irty , or sixty-four hells. Its purgatorial courts remain unnum bered and som etim es indistinct, and it contains four com partm ents o f hell proper, also unnum bered. B ut it also differs from the system that started to becom e popular in the tenth century. This later system contains ten separate purgatorial courts and remains a distinctive feature o f Chinese culture even in m odern times.

T he encyclopedia com piled by Pao-ch’ang in the early sixth century, Ching-lii i-hsiang (Different Aspects o f the Sutras and the Vinaya), provides a convenient sum m ary o f the hell system s current in China prior to the date o f The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother. Pao- ch’ang’s encyclopedia quotes from the Wen ti-yii ching (Siitra o f Questions on Hell), which probably dates from the late second ccntury. The Siitra o f Questions on Hell contains a list o f sixty-four hells,19 while another source quoted by Pao-ch’ang, the Ching tu sati-mei ching (Sutra on the Samddhi o f Purity and Deliverance), contains a list o f th irty hells.20 Pao-ch’ang also cites fifth-century sources w ith lists o f eighteen hells and o f eight hells.21 And sourccs from the Taoist canon contain system s o f nine and o f tw enty-four hells.22

19 Ching-lii i-hsiang, T. no. 2121, 53:267a-68b. T h e Wen ti-yii citing, in one cliiian, is also called the Wen ti-yii shih ching. It does no t survive as a separate w o rk . E x trac tM rom it are cited in Ching-lii i-hsiaug and in o ther T ’ang B uddhist encyclopcdias. All catalogues attribu te its au thorsh ip to K ’ang Chii in the year 187; see Ta-l'ang nci-tien tu, Tao-hsiian (596-667), T . no . 2149, 55:224c; Ta-chou k ’an-ting chung-ching mtt-lu, M in g -ch ’iian (ca. 695), T. no. 2153, 55:415a; K'ai-yuan shih-chiao mu-lu, C h ih-sheng (ca. 669-740), T. no. 2154, 55:483a and 641c. See also T okiw a D aijo , Go-kan yori so-sei ni itaru yakkyo soroku (1938; reprin t ed ., T okyo: K okusho kankokai, 1973), p. 531.

20 Ching-lii i-hsiang, T. 53:259a-b. C atalogues list four different translations o f the Ching tu san-mei ching, rang ing from one chuan to four chuan: 1) T ranslation by C hih-yen (ca. 394—427), and Pao-yun (376-449), Ta-t'ang nei-tien hi, T . 55:258a; 2) Translation by G unabhadra (394-468), ibid., 55:258c; 3) T ranslation by T ’an-yao (ca. 462), ib id ., T. 55:268c; 4) T ranslation by the second son o f E m pero r Wu o f th e C h ’i D ynasty , the Prince o fC h in g -lin g , H siao Tzu-liang (ca. 490), Chung-ching mu-lu, Fa-ching (594), T . no. 2146, 55:127a. T h e first chuan o f a tex t by this title is contained in Z . 1, 87:4; it corresponds to S. no. 4546, and M akita T airyo has collated bo th o f them in his G ikyo kenkyii (K yoto: K yo to daigaku jin b u n kagaku kenkyujo , 1976), pp. 254-61. O th e r m anuscrip ts o f this tex t include S. no. 5960, S. no. 2301, and several m anuscrip ts in the P eking collection; sec M akita , G ikyo kenkyu, pp. 247-54; and T okiw a D aijo , Yakkyo soroku, pp. 268, 31 7 - 18.

21 T h e Kuan-jo san-mei hai ching, by B uddhabadra (359-429), T. no. 643, lists eighteen hells, each contain ing eighteen m inor hells; Ching-lii i-hsiaug, T. 53:263b-67c. T he Ch'ang a-han ching (Dirghagama), translated by Buddhayasas (ca. 408-12) and C h u Fo- nien (ca. 365), lists e ight hells, each containing sixteen m inor hells; Ching-lii i-hsiang, T." 53:260b-62a.

22 See Saw ada, Jigoku hen, pp. 18-20.

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As is well know n, the system o f eight hells was the “ o rth o d o x ” B uddhist cosm ology contained in the scholastic treatises o f the Sarvas- tivada school and in all o f the M ahayana philosophical traditions that developed out o f this tradition o f dharm a-analysis.23 In China this standard cosm ology is contained in such sources as the Maha- prajnapdramitdsastra (Treatise on the Great Perfection o f Wisdom), translated by Kum arajiva in the early fifth century; the Dirghdgama, translated by Buddhayasas in the early fifth century; the Ckeng-fa nien-ch’u ching (Sutra on the Fixation o f Thought o f the True Law), attributed to G autam a Prajiiaruci in the m id-sixth ccntury; and A bhidharm a treatises like the Mahavibhasa and the Abhidharmakosa. All o f these sources enum erate the hells, beginning w ith the one closest to the surface o f the continent o fjam budvlpa , on w hich hum ans live, and ending w ith A vici Hell, w hich is furthest from the surface o f the earth. The eight hells are: (1) T he Hell o f Resuscitation, w here people constantly die and arc resuscitated for m ore to rture, (2) The Black Rope 1 Icll, (3) The C row ded Hell, (4) The Screaming Hell, (5) T he Great Screaming Hell, (6) T he I Icll o f Fiery Heat, (7) T he Hell o f Great Heat, and (8) Avici IIcll, or the Hell o f N o-In terval.24 Y ii-lan-p’en literature (and later Chinese religion generally) reflects very little o f this canonical system o f hells. Avici Hell is kept as the lowest and m ost gruesom e o f hells (this is w here C h ’in g -t’i is reborn because o f her sins), and the sense o f progressing deeper under the earth is also m aintained in The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother. But aside from these characteristics and the intensification o f som e o f the tortures described in the canonical sources, y ii-lan-p’en literature preserves little o f the canonical system.

Looking forw ard in time, it is no tew orthy that the hells described in the transform ation text share m any features w ith the underw orld o f later popular Chinese religion. The dark regions through w hich M u- licn travels, like those o f later folk religion, arc adm inistered no t ju st by King Yama, but also by bureaucrats w ho have resided in China for

’ ’ For b rie f surveys o f the standard B uddhist cosm ology, sec Kloetzli. Buddhist Cosmology, M ichihata, Chugoku bukkyo shiso shi no kenkyu, pp. 200-224; Saw ada, Jigoku hen, pp. 9 -14; M atsunaga, The Buddhisl Concept o f Hell, pp. 21-73; and Louis dc La Vallee Poussin, “ C o sm o g o n y and C o sm ology (B uddhist)," 4:129-38.

Ta cliih-lu Iiiii, T . 25:175b; C h ’ang a-han ching, T. 1:121 b—27a; Chcng-fa uien-ch’u ching (Saddharmasinrtyupaslhdnasulra), trans. G autam a Prajnaruci, T. no. 721, 17:27a ff.; A -p ’i- la-mo chii-she lun (Abhidharmakosa), V asubandhu, trans. H siian-tsang (602-664), T. no. 1558, 29:58b; and A-p'i-ta-mo ta-p'i-p’o-sha lun (Mahavibhiisa), trans. H siian-tsang, T . no. 1545, 27:H65a-66c. See also The Mahiivastu, trans. J .J . Jones, 3 vols.. Sacred Books o f the Buddhists, Vols. 17-19 (London: Luz.ic and C o .. 1949-56), 1:6-21, w here M u-lien visits the e ight hells.

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m any centuries, like the M agistrate o f M ount T ’ai. The bureaucratic apparatus— casebooks, karm a m irrors, logbooks, and other stenographic paraphernalia— is also m ore developed in the underw orlds o f the pien-wen and o f later religion than in the hells o f canonical Buddhism discussed above. And, while the yii-lan-p’en system o f hells is no t divided systematically into ten courts as in the later scheme, som e o f the officials o f hell w hom M u-licn encounters in the pien-wen play im portan t adm inistrative roles in the later system.

The ten courts o f hell are the subject o f Yen-lo-wang shou-chi ssu-chung yii-hsiu sheng-ch’if-chai] wang-sheng ching-t’u ching (The Sutra on the Prophecy o f King Yama to the Four Orders concerning the Seven [Rituals] to Be Practiced Preparatory to Rebirth in the Pure Land).23, This sutra was excluded from the official canon o f Chinese Buddhism , but is know n to us through som e tw o dozen T un-huang m anuscripts, m ost o f w hich date from the early tenth ccntury. The action o f the sutra is set in the Indian city o f Kusinagara, w here both Indian and Chinese gods have gathered to hear the Buddha deliver one o f his last serm ons. After delivering a prophecy to King Yama, the Buddha prescribes offerings to the ten kings o f hell. The Buddha preaches that after one’s death, if one’s descendants make offerings to the ten kings, then the deceased will cscapc punishm ent for previous sins and be reborn in the'heavens. Seyen o f these sacrifices are to be conductcd during the first forty-nine days after death, the offerings destined for the first seven kings o f purgatory; offerings should also be sent to the eighth king one hundred days after death, to the ninth king one year after death, and to the tenth king three years after death. King Yama prom ises the Buddha that he will dispatch envoys riding black horses from the dark regions to go to the hom es o f the deceased to sec w hether or not their descendants make offerings.

The Sutra on the Prophecy o f King Yama continues w ith a b rie f descrip

25 T h e Four O rd ers are m onks, nuns, m ale, and female lay devotees. T h e tex t is P. no. 2003, reproduced in T okushi and O gaw a, “Jud shoshichi kyo santoken no kozd ,” 5 :255- 96. I have consulted five o ther m anuscripts o f this text: one from the N akam ura Shodo H akubutsukan , also reproduced in T okushi and O gaw a, ib id ., copy dated 936; S. no. 3961, in T H P T 32:569-76; T. no. 3143 (from the K oyasan collection), T . 92:645-62 (Z uzo , Vol. 7); S. no. 4530, in T H P T 36:474-75, copy dated 909; and S. no. 5544, in T H P T 43:361-63, copy dated 911 (?). T h e earliest o f these texts are no t illustrated and are in prose; they are p robably earlier in date than the m ajority o f m anuscrip ts, w hich have bo th (spoken) prose and (sung) poetry portions and contain illustrations. For im portan t studies, see also N iida N o b o ru , “ T onko hakkcn jiio kyo token ni m ictaru kciho sh iryo ," Toyo gakuho 25:3 (M ay 1938):63—78; and M atsum oto Eiichi, Tonko-ga no kenkyii, 2 vols. (Tokyo: T o h o bunka gakuin, 1937), 1:402-16, 2: Plates 115-18.

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tion in prose and verse and a picture o f each o f the ten courts o f hell. The ten kings and the corresponding periods o f sacrificc are:

1. T he Far-Reaching King o f C h ’in: first 7 days after death2. T he King o f the First River: 8-14 days after death3. T he Imperial King o f Sung: 15-21 days after death4. T he King o f the Five Offices: 22-28 days after death5. K ing Yama: 29-35 days after death6. T he King o f T ransform ations: 36-42 days after death7. T he King o f M ount T ’ai: 43-49 days after death8. T he Impartial K ing:26 100 days after death9. T he King o f the Capital: one year after death

10. T he King o f the Cycle o f the Five Paths: three years after death

T he ten courts o f hell have been a universal feature o f Chinese folk religion since the Sung dynasty, w ith The Siitra on the Prophecy o f King Yama representing the earliest elaboration o f the system .27

The Sutra on the Prophecy o f King Yama presents a fascinating synthesis— one very similar to that o f the M u-lien transform ation text— o f Indian and Chinese deities. A m ong those w ho have conic to India in the last days o f the Buddha to hear him preach are the M agistrate o f M ount T ’ai and such m em bers o f the medieval Chinese underw orld as the O fficer o f Fate, the Officer o f Records, and the Great Spirit o f the Five Ways. T hey have com e to hear the B uddha’s prophecy concerning their superior, King Yama, and to receive orders on how to carry out their duties. In the context o f Chinese religion, their inclusion in the audience at Kusinagara is perfectly natural; having awakened to the laws that govern birth-and-death, the Buddha is their chief, the one to w hom they com e to receive orders. The C hincse-stylc bureaucrats are

26 Reading p'ing-teng for p ’ing-cheng, in keeping w ith the later title o f this king; see Yii-li ch’ao-chuan ching-shih, a ttribu ted to T an C h ’ih-tsun (Peking: W en-yuan-chai, 1872).

27 T h e ten courts w ere m ade the subject o f a particular genre o f m orality book in later im perial C hina, the “Jade R egister” (yii-li), signifying the account books kept by the bureaucrat-gods o f heaven and hell in w hich each person 's good and bad actions arc recorded. Scholars date the first exam ples o f this genre o f hell litera ture to the m id-tw elfth and the late th irteen th centuries. See Saw ada, Jigoku lien, pp. 32—34; and Y oshioka Y oshitoyo , “ C hu g o k u m inkan no jig o k u jiio sh inko ni tsu itc ,” in Bukkyo bunka ronshii, Vol. 1, ed. K aw asaki daishi kyogaku kenkyujo (Tokyo: Kawasaki daishi hcikanji, 1975), p. 269. For an English translation o f one o f these books, see G . W. C larke. “ T he Y ii-li, o r Precious R eco rds," Journal o f the lioyal Asiatic Society o f Great Britain and Ireland 28:2 (I893):233—4(H). See also Y oshioka Y oshitoyo, Dokyo to bukkyo, Vol. 2 (Tokyo: T oshim a shobo , 1970), pp. 167-227; Sakai Tadao, (Chugoku zenslio no kenkyu (Tokyo: K obundo, I960), pp. 359-69; and W olfram Ebcrliard, Guilt and Sin in Traditional (China (Berkeley: U niversity o f C alifornia Press, 1967), pp. 24-59.

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functionaries in the universal system governing the rebirth o f all beings in the five (or six) paths o f existence. The Siitra on the Prophecy o f King Yama harks back to the beginnings o f the system , w ith the gods o f the underw orld traveling to the B uddha to receive instructions. The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother portrays the gods carrying out their duties, w ith M u-licn and the Buddha descending tem porarily to m odify their operations. “ C hinese” figures have a natural place in India, ju s t as “ Indian” figures have a com fortable position in C hina. In both o f these popular texts, the figures o f the underw orld have lost their nationalistic character. Gods o f both Indian and Chinese origin participate in a unitary system in w hich exclusivizing questions o f cultural origins have no meaningful place.

It should be noted, how ever, that the hells in the y ii-lan-p’en text arc not as system atized as are the hells o f the Yama text and o f later Chinese religion. T he transform ation text suggests but docs not explicitly state that the courts o f King Yama and the General o f the Five Paths arc m erely transitional areas, places th rough which the deceased m ust pass before being assigned a course o f rebirth. The interm ediary nature o f the ten courts is m ade explicit in The Siitra on the Prophecy o f King Yama, w hich deals only w ith the purgatorial aspect o f the underw orld and not w ith its low er paths o f rebirth, the hells. Relationships betw etn-the infernal courts arc also m ore clearly specified in the Yama sutra, w here the spirit o f the deceased passes through all ten courts in succcssion, beginning the day after death and ending w hen rebirth is achieved (forty- nine days or three years later). In these respects the representation o f the underw orld in the transform ation text m arks the beginning o f a process o f system atization that achieved fruition in later Chinese religion.

T he transform ation text further prefigures the developm ent o f the system o f ten courts o f hell in that five o f the courts th rough which M u-licn passes arc sim ilar or identical to the purgatorial courts o f later tradition. Early in his journey M u-lien encounters people being forccd to cross the W athellwedo River. T he later Yama text places this river in the second court o f hell, presided over by the King o f the First R iver.28 In both system s the spirit o f the deceased is portrayed as crossing a dangerous river early in the journey through purgatory. Like m ost m edieval Chinese literature on hell the yii-lan-p’en text also refers to tw o officials w ho each have their ow n court in the later system , King Yama (in the fifth court) and the M agistrate o f M ount T ’ai (in the seventh).

28 In later trad ition the nam e o f the river is changed from clt’it (“ first") to C h ’u1’ (place nam e), hence “ T h e K ing o f the C h ’u R iver"; see the texts cited in Y oshioka, “ Clu'igokti m inkan no jig o k u ju o shinko ni tsu ite ,” supra.

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T he transform ation text m entions, though obliquely, one o f the kings w ho appears in the later system , the Im partial King. The w arden o f Avici Hell sim ply refers to him in passing, while in later tradition he is show n presiding over the eighth court o f the underw orld . Finally, The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother anticipates the later system in its portrayal o f the last purgatorial court, located at the entrance to hell proper. In the transform ation text the court consists o f a gate ruled by the General o f the Five Paths through w hich all those ready for rebirth (in the five paths) m ust pass. In later texts the gate becomes the tenth court o f purgatory, ruled by “ The King o f the Cyclc o f the Five Paths” (or “T he King W ho Turns the Wheel [o f Rebirth] in the Five Paths,” W u-tao chuan-lun wang), m arking the threshold between purgatorial existence and rebirth.

Other Features o f the Underworld

T he figure o f King Yama loom s large in The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother, and in this respect the text reflects a w ell- established Chinese tradition. In China King Yama plays at least one o f the m ajor roles that he had earlier played in India: as ruler o f the underw orld , he keeps records o f people’s actions in their previous lives.29 Yama probably came to play this role in China as early as the second ccntury a . d . The Siitra ofQuestions on Hell contains a passage describing Yam a’s dom ain. In this text Yama rules over an interm ediary zone, the area w here people reside en route from death to rebirth. While there, people have a uniquely interm ediary psychophysical constitution. They are com posed o f the “ aggregates” or “ heaps” (Skt.: skhandas, C h.: yiin or yin), as arc living people, but in the lim inal state the residents o f the underw orld arc com posed o f correspondingly liminal aggregates. As the sutra describes it:

To the north , south, east, and w est o f King Yama’s city are arrayed all o f the hells. A lthough there is light from the sun and m oon, it is not bright; the prisons are so black that light does not illum inate them . After hum an life has ended the spirit is reborn w ith interm ediary aggregates.30 O ne w ith interm ediary aggre-

•’ For an overv iew o f Y am a’s roles in India, C hina, and Japan, see Alicia M atsunaga, The limldhiit Philosophy o f Assimilation, pp. 34-48.

*’ In o th er contexts “ in term ediary aggregates” (ehimg-yiti) m igh t better be rendered as "p u rg a to ry " o r "p u rg a to ria l," equivalent to ch'iu-yu, i-ch'eng, and chung-yu (Skt.: antara- hluwa); sec Chii-ching yao-chi, T. no. 2123, 54:114c— 15a, quo ting the Hsin p ’o-sha lun; M D K J, 73.36, 73.44; and M H DJ, pp. 3648a-50a. Since the next sentence places chung-yin betw een ssu-yin and sheng-yin, I have rendered the term as "agg regates” o r skandhas.

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gates has already given up the aggregates o f death bu t has no t yet attained the aggregates o f rebirth. Sinners take on a body com posed o f interm ediary aggregates and enter the city o f N araka, w hich is w here all those w ho have not yet received punishm ent gather together. B low n about by the w inds o f fortune according to the severity o f their karm a, they receive bodies either large or small. B low n by ill-odored winds, people w ho have com m itted evil receive coarse, ugly forms. B lown by fragrant w inds, people w ho have perform ed good receive fine, ethereal bodies.31

From his central court in the city o f Naraka, Yama rules over his prisoners, the recently deceased w ho await judgm ent. In The Sutra o f Questions concerning Hell this process o fju d g m cn t is carried ou t im personally and pneum atically, while in o ther texts the adjudication o f past actions appears to be Yam a’s personal adm inistrative responsibility. An early sixth-ccntury text, for example, notes that King Yama “ determ ines one’s basic life span in the august records and inspects the city registers in H eaven’s offices.”32

T he transform ation text also makes occasional rcfcrcncc to T i-tsang B odhisattva,33 w ho resides in or near Yama’s court, and w ho tells M u- lien that his m other has probably been reborn in the deepest o f the hells. In fact T i-tsang probably came to assume his placc in tRe~dark regions ju s t p rior to the date o f The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother (ca. eighth century). T i-tsang was well know n am ong som e segm ents o f Chinese society as early as the sixth century, in part th rough the efforts o f I lsin-hsing (540-594) and his Teaching o f Three Stages (san-chieh chiao).-M Rituals involving divination and repentance w ere connected w ith T i-tsang, as w ere such scriptures as the Ta fang- kuang shih-lun ching (The Great Extended Siitra 0 1 1 the Ten Wheels), dating

w hich arc the psychophysical com ponents o f the person that perdnre from one m om en t and one lifetim e to the next.

Wen ti-yii ching, K ’ang C hii (ca. 187), cited in Ching-lii i-hsiang, T . no. 2121, 53:259b; and in Fa-yiian chu-lin, T . no. 2122, 53:377b.

32 “ H si t'a i-shan w en ” (“ A W arning to M oun t T ’ai” ) is contained in the Fhmg-ming chi, Scng-yu (445-518), T. no. 2102, 52:92a, w here it is a ttribu ted to C h u T ao-shuang . M o d ern scholars have suggested, how ever, th a t C hu T ao-shuang is a pseudonym and tha t Seng-yu h im self au tho red the piece; see Guinyo shu kenkyu, 2 vols., ed. K yo to daigaku j in b u n kagaku kenkyujo chusci shiso shi kenkyuhan (K yoto: K yoto daigaku jin b u n kagaku kenkyujo , 1973-75), 2:748, n. 1.

33 For recent studies on T i-tsang , see Sakurai T oku ta ro , c d .,J iz d shinko, M inshii shu - k y o shi sosho. Vol. 10 (Tokyo: Y uzankaku shuppan, 1983); H ayam i T asuku, shinko (Tokyo: H anaw a shobo , 1975); and M anabc Kosai, J izo hosalsu no kenkyu (K yoto: San- m itsudo , 1960).

u See Y abuki Kciki. Sangaikyd no kenkyu (Tokyo: Iw anam i shoten , 1927), pp. 63H-58.

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from the fifth ccntury, and the Chan-ch’a shan-o yeh-pao ching (Siitra on Divining Good and Evil Karmic Retribution) from the late sixth century .35

While these sources attest to T i-tsang’s popularity , it is only beginning in the seventh century that T i-tsang’s position in hell is sketched ou t in any detail. T he Ta-sheng ta-chi ti-tsang shih-ltm ching (Siitra o f the Great Collection o f the Greater Vehicle on Ti-tsang’s Ten Wheels), translated by Hsiian-tsang (602-664), and especially the Ti-tsang p ’u-sa pen- yiian ching (Siitra on the Former Vows o f Ti-tsang Bodhisattva), by Siksananda (652-710), tell the story o f T i-tsang’s com passionate actions in previous lives.36 In several o f his previous lives T i-tsang vow ed to end the suffering o f any sentient being in need, and in one incarnation as a w om an she descended to hell, M u-lien style, to save her m other. These and other sources from T ’ang times portray T i-tsang residing in the underw orld; they stress his com passionate efforts to free people from the torm ents o f hell, often in contrast to King Yam a’s stern and im partial adm inistration.37

A nother sourcc, the Huan-hun chi (Record o f a Returned Spirit), relates the adventures o f a m onk from K ’ai-yiian ssu nam ed T ao-m ing w ho, in the year 778, was m istakenly sum m oned to hell by K ing Yam a’s assistants. A nother person nam ed T ao-m ing was the intended subject o f the infernal w arrant, and T ao-m ing from K ’ai-yiian ssu is eventually able to rectify the m istake and return to life. While still in hell, though, he encounters T i-tsang Bodhisattva, w ho com plains that people have been draw ing inaccurate pictures o f him . T i-tsang asks the m onk to m ake know n his true appcarancc on earth and prom ises that anyone w ho chants his nam e will have their sins w iped aw ay and that anyone w ho gazes upon his picture will gain m erit. U pon his return to life, T ao-m ing relics on his encounter w ith T i-tsang to publicize the correct representation o f the hell-dw elling bodhisattva.38

T i-tsang has little or no bearing on the ghost festival in medieval tim es. I lis function in the transform ation text appears redundant, since M u-licn already suspects that his m other has been consigned to hell. T i-tsang ’s inclusion in The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother'may well be an epiphenom enon o f folk interest in T i-tsang as a com passionate savior dwelling in the underw orld. Further details con-

" TaJaiig-kuang shih-hm ching, T. no. 410; Chan-ch'a shan-o yeh-pao ching, a ttribu ted to P 't i- ti- tc n g (ca. S‘J()—fi18), T. no. 839. See also M akita T airyo , G ikyo kenkyu (K yoto: K yoto daigaku jinlnin kagaku kenkyfijo, 1976), pp. 108-17.

“■ T. nos. 4 1 1 and 412, respectively." See Saw ada. /((.'otiii hen, pp. 113-15." I liiiin-hiiii chi, S. no. 3092, in T H P T 25:667-68; prin ted text reproduced in Tim-

lulling i-shn isting-inii so-yiil (Peking: C om m ercial Press, l% 2 ), p. 172.

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cerning T i-tsang are no t m entioned in the transform ation text perhaps because they w ere already know n to its audience and could sim ply be assum ed by storytellers.39

The transform ation text depicts an underw orld that is hopelessly bureaucratic. T he strength o f the bureaucratic model in C hina’s politico- religious system , evident from the earliest periods o f Chinese history, hardly bears repeating here.40 T he present discussion attem pts merely to highlight a few instances o f the bureaucratic logic underlying medieval Chinese cosm ology and to suggest that the transform ation text shares the same logic. This continuity serves as both an index and an explanation o f the strong appeal that The Transformation Text on Mu- lien Saving His Mother had in m edieval China.

The narrators o f the transform ation text drew a hierarchical picture o f the o ther w orld. In describing the geography o f the underw orld they made clear the relative ranks o f King Yama and the T w o Pages o f G ood and Evil, and they show ed lackeys and pen pushers follow ing the dictates o f the w ardens o f the various hells. Some medieval accounts address the issue explicitly, explaining the hierarchy o f the o ther w orld by com paring it to the hierarchy o f this w orld. T hus T ’ang Lin (ca. 600-659) relates the talc o f M u je n -c h ’ien, w ho was educated about the infernal bureaucracy by one o f its m em bers, a functionary named C h ’eng C hing, w ho had been sent to the w orld o f the living on official business.41 T he ghostly adm inistrator explains to his friend, M u Jen- ch’ien:

The E m peror o f Heaven has com plete control over the six paths; this is w hat is m eant by [calling his adm inistration] “ H eaven’s o ffices.” K ing Yama is like you hum ans’ Son o f Heaven. The M agistrate o f M ount T ’ai is like the President o f the D epartm ent o f State Affairs. T he spirits w ho record fdestinies] in the five paths arc like the various functionaries in the D epartm ent o f State Affairs.42

w Sawada also notes that after Sung tim es the celebration o f T i-tsan g 's b irthday (on 7/30) in no rth C hina was part o f the ghost festival, w hile in south C hina the tw o w ere kept scparate;_/i?ofew hen, p. 123.

* See, for exam ple, D avid N . K eightley, “ T he Religious C o m m itm en t: Shang T h eo logy and the Genesis o f C hinese Political C u ltu re ,” H R 17:3—4 (Fcbruary-M ay1978):211-25.

41 C h ’eng C h ing m ay be an o rthograph ic pun for ch'eng-ying, “ m aking (or casting) a shadow ,” an appropriate nam e for a specter w ho has retu rned to the w orld o f the living.

42 Ming-pao chi, T . no. 2082, 51:793b. See also the b iography o f M u a ttribu ted to C h 'en H ung in T ’ang-tai ts’ung-shu (Taipei: H sin-hsing shu-chii, 1968), pp. 537a-39a.

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T he bureaucracy o f the o ther w orld operates on a contractual basis. T i-tsang Bodhisattva, for instance, made vow s in the past to save from the torm ents o f hell any sentient being w ho w ould invoke his name. Likewise, the ten kings o f hell contractcd to obviate the purgatorial period for anyone w ho provides them w ith offerings. Dealings w ith the underw orld are “ rational”— in the Weberian sense o f a clear and direct relation betw een means and ends— in that the purpose o f such offerings is clearly specified: ancestors will be saved from the torm ents o f hell if their descendants make offerings. C orrect perform ance o f the spccificd rituals (giving gifts to gods and monks) brings the prom ised result o f deliverance from hell, ju s t as incorrcct perform ance results in punishm ent. The gods carry ou t their duties in accord w ith the rules and exem plary cases described in m yth.

T he duties o f Chinese bureaucrat-gods are routinized often by reference to the calendar; they desccnd (or asccnd) to the w orld o f the living on specified days to perform their appointed duties. Beginning in the fifth century, for instance, each o f the “Three Prim ordials” (san- yiian) descended on a particular day (the fifth or fifteenth day o f the first, seventh, and tenth m onths) to judge people’s actions. O n these days people perform ed repentance rituals and gave offerings to the

'gods, w ho returned to their offices at the end o f the day .4J The descent o f the “ M iddle Prim ordial” (chung-yiian) fell on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth , so that early in its history the festival held on this day was associated w ith the routine visit o f the gods. The founding o f the ghost festival on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth and the set o f seven w eek-long offerings to the ten kings o f hell as described in The Siitra on the Prophecy o f King Yama provide other examples o f the bureaucrat’s schedule.

The task o f recordkeeping is made easier by a system o f quantification. In the background o f the hierarchy described in The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother lies the concept that each person is born w ith an alotted life span (pen-ming), w hich is largely determ ined by actions in one’s previous life, and which will be lengthened or shortened according to one’s actions in this life.44 I'he duties o f those w ho adm inister justicc in the o ther w orld consist o f recording debits and credits against each person’s karm ic account. The Siitra on the Samddhi o f Purity and Deliverance describes the system:

43 See Y oshioka Y oshitoyo, D dkyd lo liukkyd, Vol. 2 (Tokyo: T oshim a shobo, 1970), pp. 274-77; and C hap te r T w o , above.

44 Sec C h ing -lang H ou, Monthlies d'ofjrande el In notion de tresorie dans In religion chinoise (I’aris: C ollege de France, Institu t des H autes Etudes C hinoiscs, 1975), pp. 97-126.

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In hearing investigations and reporting sinful and m eritorious acts, the spirits take no noticc o f status. Every m onth they make six reports, every year they m ake four investigations. O n the days w hen the four investigations are made, they use the eight k ings.45 O n these days the heavenly kings investigate their cases by com paring all o f the people under the jurisdiction o f their heaven. Those w ith m eritorious actions have their life span increased, those w ith sinful actions have it reduced. In regulating the length o f life they do no t miss even by a hair’s breadth.

People are blind and deluded, and in the end they do no t know [their fate]. If you do not perform good actions now , you will be rem anded to hell.46

T he gods w hom M u-licn encounters in the dark realms are part o f the same system . T hey m aintain the logbooks and court rccords in which each person’s actions are tallied, adjusting their life spans and using the calculus o f karm a to decide their m ode o f rebirth.


O th er chapters o f this study exam ine the m ythological, shamanic, and ritual aspects o f the ghost festival. In this chaptcr I have focused on its cosm ology, its conception o f how the w orld is put together and how the various levels o f being are ordered. I have tried to indicate the com plexity as well as the the com prehensibility o f the w orldview espoused and assum ed in y ii-lan-p’en literature, especially in its m ost developed and m ost popular m edieval version, The Transformation Text on Mu- lien Saving His Mother. I have also tried to convcy the philosophical sophistication o f this w orldview which, by virtue o f its karm ic laws and bureaucratic form o f organization, was capable o f absorbing and o rdering— w ithou t contradiction— a num ber o f different gods. In this analysis the cosm ology o f medieval Chinese religion em erges no t as a tenuous com bination o f Chinese bureaucrats and Indian gods, but as a consistent and integrated system.

I have also placed the cosm ology o f the ghost festival in its historical context. T he hells th rough w hich M u-lien travels arc not the hells o f scholastic B uddhism , w hich were know n in China before the cm er-

45 T h e “ e ight k ings” arc p robably the gods w ho receive offerings at the e ight seasonal ju n c tu re s o f the year, see T F T T , p. 126b.

46 Ching lu san-mei ching, cited in Ching-lii i-hsiang, T. 53:259b. See M akita, G ikyo kenkyu, p. 260, for the corresponding passage in o th er versions o f the Ching lit san-mei ching.

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gence o f the ghost festival. Rather, the underw orld th rough w hich M u-licn travels is closer to the hell system ofla tc r (post-T ’ang) Chinese religion. M u-licn’s tour foreshadows the later portrayal o f separate courts o f hell, each adm inistered by a king, and it includes five o f the ten courts contained in the later system . Y ii-lan-p’en m ythology draw s on a long tradition in portraying King Yama as the ruler o f the underw orld , responsible for processing those w ho have recently died, while M u-lien’s encounter w ith T i-tsang Bodhisattva probably reflects a m ore recent (sixth-eighth century) m o tif in Chinese religion.

At various points I have alluded to the presum ed audience o f The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother, a ttem pting to show how the cosm ology expressed in the text appeals no t to an audicncc com posed o f the elite or the professionally religious, but to those w hose religious actions were an undifferentiated part o f family and com m unal life. O ne w ay to give this discussion a sharper focus is to address the question o f audicncc: to w hom did the cosm ology o f The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother appeal?

Y ii-lan-p’en literature does not focus on the upper reaches o f the cosmos. While som e texts do m ention A m itabha’s Pure Land and the Heaven o f T hirty-T hree or refer m ore generally to rebirth in heaven as a happy cxpcricncc, they all dwell almost exclusively on the hells. This underw oridly orientation appealed neither to m onks nor to those com m oners w ho defined their salvation in distinctively B uddhist term s.

Chinese m onks were especially interested in a cosm ology in w hich m editation b rought access to the higher planes o f existence, the various heavens denoting the realms seen or experienced in concentration. C osm ology was grounded in m editative culture; as one ascendcd th rough the four levels o f dhydna, one ascended through the various levels o f heaven.47 The hells were likewise dcm ythologizcd, their terrors view ed as products o f false discrim ination or as useful and instructive products o f the im agination.48 A m ong all the cave paintings in the m editation cham bers at Tun-huang— room s intended for use by m editating m onks— there is not a single picture o f hell.49 U ltim ately both heaven and hell were to be seen as im perm anent, devoid o f ow n-being, and m arked by suffering. A t best the hells were a peripheral feature in the m onastic life, be it scholastic o r meditative.

47 See C h ap te r Five for exam ples and Sadakata, Shuinisen lo gokuraku, pp. 66-67, for a convenien t diagram .

4" D aigan and Alicia M .itsunaga, The Buddhist (Concept o f Hell, esp. pp. 47-73, adopt this perspective in explaining the hells.

Sec K anaoka Shoko, "T o n k o b o n jig o k u bunken kanki aw ascte bakkokutsu no sei- k.iku o ro n /ll ," Ktmitiitiwa diiigtiku hukkyox'tikuhn ronshii N o. 13 (O ctober l982):5 l-52 .

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N o r did the cosm ology o f the transform ation text have m uch to offer those lay Buddhists w ho sought salvation in prim arily M aitrcyan or A m idist term s. M edieval yii-lan-p’en sources, in fact, do not m ention M aitreya’s Tusita Heaven, either as a place o f rebirth or as a dom ain visited by M u-licn. Y ii-lan-p’en literature thus shares few interests w ith the M aitreyan cults popular in China through the sixth cen tury .50 T he w orldview reflected in the transform ation text sim ilarly had few points o f contact w ith the developm ent o f Pure Land B uddhism .51 A m itabha’s Pure Land is located outside o f the system o f heavens and hells th rough w hich M u-lien travels. And although The Pure Laud Yii- lan-p'en Siitra does speak o f “ Pure Land conduct” (ching-t’u chih hsing), it places C h ’in g -t’i’s rebirth in the hum an realm, not in the Pure Land.52 Y ii-lan-p’en literature focuses neither on M aitrcya’s nor A m itabha’s realms; it tends not to focus on the heavens at all. Furtherm ore, in the rituals o f the ghost festival, offerings and invocations w ere m ade to a num ber o f different Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and gods, while M aitreyan and A m idist rituals tended to concentrate on their respective deities.

With its stress on the torm ents o f hell, the cosm ology o f the transform ation text appealed to the m ajority o f unlettered Chinese in m edieval times, to those people w hose prim ary religious concern was their ancestors’ current status and their ow n future prospects in the o ther w orld. This conclusion is corroborated by other evidence concerning the audience for artistic representations o f hell in medieval times.

A brief exam ination o f sourccs describing paintings and painters from the m iddle T ’ang suggests that pictorial representations o f hell had their greatest effect upon the com m on person in the marketplace. C hang Y en-ytian’s (ca. 847-874) Li-tai ming-hua chi (Record o f Famous Painters through the Ages) describes the paintings rem aining in the Buddhist tem ples o f C h ’ang-an and Lo-yang that were no t destroyed in the H ui-ch’ang (841-846) suppression o f Buddhism . The account lists seven “ transform ation pictures” (pien-hsiang) o f hell:

50 For a review o f m edieval C hinese sources on M aitreya. sec K anaoka Shoko, “ T onko bunken yori m itaru M iroku shinko no ichi sokum en ,” Toho shukyo N o . 53 (M ay1979):22—48; and M atsum oto B unzaburo , Miroku jodo ron (Tokyo: H eigo shuppansha, 1911).

51 O f the m ultitude o f sources on Pure Land B uddhism in C hina, sec especially O g a- saw ara Senshu, Chiigoku jodo kydka no kenkyii (K yoto: H eiryakuji shoten , 1951); T suka- m o to Z enryu , To chuki nojodokyo (1933; reprin t ed ., K yoto: H ozokan , 1955); and Julian F. Pas, “ S han-tao’s C om m entary on the Amitdyur-Buddhdnusmrti-Sutra” (Ph .D . disserta tion , M cM astcr U niversity , 1973).

52 The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, 11. 5 -6 . 27. 72.

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A t T z’u-en ssu . . . to the southeast o f the pagoda on the outside o f the center gate, a transform ation [picture] o f hell painted by C hang Hsiao-shih; already peeled off.

A t Pao-sha ssu . . . in the w estern corridor, a transform ation o f hell painted by C h ’en C hing-yen.

A t the M onastery o f the Three Stages [at C hing-yii s s u ] . . . on the eastern wall, a transform ation o f hell painted by C hang H siao- shih.

At C hing-kung ssu . . . to the cast o f the ccnter gate, a [picture] o f hell including captions painted by Wu [Tao-hsiian],

At H ua-tu ssu . . . a transform ation o f hell painted by Lu Leng- ch’ieh; only a little bit o f tw o figures remains.

A t Ching-fa ssu . . . behind the hall, a transform ation o f hell painted by C hang Hsiao-shih.

(The above temples in C h ’ang-an.)At the M onastery o f the Three Stages at Fu-hsien ssu . . . a

transform ation o f hell by Wu; it contains a sickly naga that is m ost sublime.

(The above temples in Lo-yang.)53

Tales concerning tw o o f the painters o f hell pictures, C hang Hsiao-shih and Wu Tao-hsiian (both active in the eighth century), provide som e insights into the popular lore surrounding visions and pictures o f hell. An early tw elfth-century source describes Chang Hsiao-shih:

He was an excellent painter. H aving once died and returned to life, he was especially skilled in painting pictures o f hell. These w ere all [scenes of] w hat he had seen on his journey in the dark w orld and could not be com pared to pictures draw n from im agination. Wu Tao-hsiian saw his paintings and em ulated them in his transform ation pictures o f hell.54

Like m any o f the literary accounts o f tours o f hell, artistic renderings o f the o ther w orld w ere frequently believed to be the result o f personal experience.55

v' Li-tai nting-hua chi, C hang Y en-yiian, H ua-shih ts 'u n g -sh u , Vol. 1 (Taipei: W en- sh ih-che ch 'u -pan -she , 1974), pp. 43-54. See also Kanaoka Shdko, "T o n k o b o n jig o k u hunken kan k i," pp. 50-51.

M Hsiiati-lto Ima-p'u, anonym ous (preface dated 1120) H ua-shih ts ’ung-shu , Vol. 1 (Taipei: W cn-shih-chc ch 'u -pan-she, 1974), p. 384.

** C hinese ghost stories often use such devices as a death and subsequent resuscitation, a sham an 's jo u rn ey , o r a dream to in troduce their subject m atter. T h e sam e conventions apply to artistic representations o f the underw orld . See M aeno N aoaki, “ M cikai y u k o ," Chiigokn liutigiilnt ltd 14 (April l% l):3H -57 ; 15 (O ctober 19f> 1):33—48; and D onald E.

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C hang H siao-shih based his pictures o f hell on his ow n travels there, and the pictures w ere so convincing that others im itated his style. These im itations were, in turn , quite convincing. Later sources indicate that Wu Tao-hsiian’s renderings o f hell had a noticeable cffcct on the residents o f C h ’ang-an. Folklore collccted in the tenth century reports the general reaction to W u’s picture o f hell painted at C h ing-kung ssu in 736, noting that, “ Everyone in the capital saw it and they all feared punishm ent and cultivated goodness; butchcrs and w ine sellers in the tw o m arkets did not do any business.”56 W hatever the actual effect upon trade in m eat and liquor in C h ’ang-an for the year 736, this tale docs suggest that those w ho viewed pictures o f hell draw n on tem ple walls in C h ’ang-an w ere neither court officials, nor highly placed literati, nor m onks, but rather the com m on folk, people w ho norm ally purchased m eat and liquor in the city’s markets. It is also clear that representations o f hell, like the terrifying descriptions o f the underw orld in oral talcs, w ere designed not so m uch to com m and philosophical assent as to change the way people acted.

W ith its em phasis on the trials and tortures o f hell and the cum bersom e bureaucracy responsible for carrying them out, the cosm ology o f The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother was directed prim arily tow ard neither the higher classes o f Chinese socicty nor those w ho practiced the m ore sectarian form s o f Buddhism . In the practice o f m editation m onks pursued heavenly realms different from those in w hich com m oners sought rebirth, and in defining the canon o f Chinese B uddhism m onks and literati cxcludcd the m ore popular descriptions o f hell, dubbing them “ counterfeit” o r “ apocryphal” (weib) and “ deluded” (i-huo).57 Those w ho sought rebirth in M aitrcya’s Tusita Heaven or in A m itabha’s Pure Land turned to pictures and texts w ith a focus m ore narrow than that o f yii-lan-p’en literature.

T he cosm ology o f the ghost festival as it is reflected in The Transfor-

G jertson . “ T h e Early C hinese Buddhist M iracle Tale: A P relim inary S u rvey ," JA O S 101:3 (ju ly -S ep tem ber 1981):287-301.

56 T ’ai-p'ing kuang-chi, Li Fang (925—996) (Peking: Jen -m in w cn-hsiieh ch 'u -pan-shc, 1959), ch. 212, p. 829. T h e sam e account is contained in I :o-tsu t ’ung-chi, C h ih -p ’an (ca. 1260), T. no. 2035, 49:375a. For a b rief b iography and a list o f n inety-th ree pain tings by W u Tao-hsiian that w ere extan t in the Sung im perial repository , see Hsiian-ho hua-p’u, pp. 387-90.

57 See the entries for the Yen-lo wang tung-t'ai-shan ching (Siitra on King Yama anil the Eastern M ount T ’ai) in Chung-ching mu-lu , T. no. 2146, 55 :138c; T a-t’ang nei-tien lu, T. no. 2149, 55:335c; Ta-chou k ’an-ting chung-ching mu-lu, T . no. 2153, 55:473b; K'ai-yiian shih- chiao lu, T. no. 2154, 55:676b; and the entries for the Yen-lo wang sltuo i ti-yii ching (Sutra Spoken by King Yama on Avoiding Hell) in Ta-chou k ’an-ting chung-ching mu-lu, T. 55:473b; and K'ai-yiian shih-chiao lu, T. 55:676b.

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matioti Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother grew ou t o f a social milieu different from the circles com posed exclusively o f m onks, literati, o r lay people o f a sectarian bent. W ithout alienating any o f these specialized audienccs, the cosm ology o f the ghost festival appealed m ost strongly to the vast m ajority o f unlettered Chinese, those w ho made offerings to Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and the functionaries o f hell as an integral part o f family life and as a regular part o f m ortuary ritual.

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S E V E N

Buddhism and the Family

F r o m t h e v e r y b e g i n n i n g the m yth o f M u-licn saving his m other from hell betrays an am bivalent attitude tow ard traditional Chinese family life. The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra opens w ith a ritual act gone awry:

[M u-licn] saw his departed m other reborn am ong the hungry ghosts: she never saw food or drink, and her skin hung o ff her bones. M u-licn took pity, filled his bow l w ith rice, and sent it to his m other as an offering. W hen his m other received the bow l o f rice, she used her left hand to guard the bow l and her right hand to gather up the rice, but before the food entered her m outh it changed into flaming coals, so that in the end she could no t eat. M u-lien cricd ou t in g rief and w ept tears. He rushed back to tell the Buddha and laid ou t everything as it had happened.1

N orm ally M u-lien’s offering w ould have been one o f the m ost unexceptional o f ritual acts that any Chinese person could have perform ed for the sake o f his o r her ancestors. The presentation o f food (and paper m oney, paper elothes, and other necessities o f daily life) constituted the backbone o f Chinese family religion, which was prem ised upon the m utual dependence o f descendants and ancestors. In the context o f Chinese religion, such offerings to senior generations w ere so m uch a part o f everyday life that they w ere rarely questioned or m ade an explicit topic o f debate.

B ut this is precisely w hat the m yth in the sutra docs: it disputes the efficacy o f traditional Chinese m ortuary ritual, it questions the very basis o f Chinese family religion and funerary ritual by beginning w ith an episode show ing the failure o f ancestral food offerings. For all its questioning o f the traditional m ethods, how ever, the m yth does not reject them entirely. Rather the m yth rem ains am biguous (as does the ritual): it couplcs an acceptance o f the earlier form s o f m ortuary ritual w ith the adm onition that m ore— som ething new— is needed.

The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra insists that the Sangha be added to the circle o f reciprocity between descendants and ancestors. The Buddha instructs M u-licn and all o ther devoted sons to make offerings to the assembly

1 The Yii-lan-p'en Siirrti, T. 110. 685, H>:779b.

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B U D D H I S M A N D T H E F A M I L Y

o f m onks as they em erge from their sum m er retreat. R ather than sending gifts directly to their ancestors, people should henceforth use the Sangha as a m edium : benefits will pass th rough m onks to the inhabitants o f the o ther world. In fact m onks possess the distinctive ability to m ultiply the blessings that reach the ancestors in hell. H aving renounced the bonds o f kinship, Buddhist ascctics generate a store o f pow er m ade even greater over the course o f the sum m er m editation retreat. For the price o f a small offering during the ghost festival families m ay tap that pow er, directing its benefits to their less fortunate m em bers.

I'he spread o f the ghost festival in medieval China signals the m ovem ent o f the B uddhist m onkhood into the very heart o f family religion. M onks w ere not sim ply accessories to the continued health o f the kinship group; their role was nothing less than essential for the w ell-being o f the family. O ne way in w hich Buddhism was dom esticated in China— particularly clear in the ghost festival— was through the inclusion o f m onks as an essential party in the cycle o f exchange linking ancestors and descendants.

This chapter explores the conditions and im plications o f this cpochal realignm ent o f Chinese society. The recognition o f this historical fact runs countcr to the traditional w isdom , according to w hich m onks w ere always strangers to the Chinese family. to view m onks as outsiders is to be blinded by the prejudice o f m ost historiography, w hich was w ritten by a class o f people w ho view ed the B uddhist institution as a leech upon the body politic. Q uestioning the traditional view, how ever, does not necessitate accepting its opposite. Wc need no t sim ply accept the bias o f the Sangha, w hich viewed m onastic life as superior to o ther form s o f cxistcncc. Rather, wc m ust construc Chinese society as a changing and com plex w hole which, in the T ’ang dynasty, b rough t together lay people and m onks as participants in the central ancestral cult.

T h e B o n d s o f K i n s h i p

The ghost festival highlights the w ay in w hich Buddhism during the medieval period came successfully to make an issue o f the traditional form s o f Chinese religion. Prior to the influx o f B uddhist practices and concepts, the Chinese family as a socioreligious institution could be defined as a self-contained continuum o f descent. H ugh Baker writes:

Descent is a unity, a rope w hich began som ew here back in the rem ote past, and which stretches on to the infinite future. The rope

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at any one tim e may be thicker or thinner according to the num bero f strands (families) or fibres (male individuals) w hich exist, butso long as one fibre remains the rope is there. The fibres at any onepoint are no t ju s t fibres, they arc representatives o f the rope as awhole. T hat is, the individual alive is the personification o f all hisforebears and o f all his descendants yet unborn. I Ic exists by virtueo f his ancestors, and his descendants exist only th rough him .

2

In the first few ccnturies a . d . , B uddhism was consigned to a position in Chinese society outside the continuum o f descent that constituted the family. By the fourth or fifth century, however, B uddhism as a social institution had been w oven— albeit am biguously, as a differently colored strand— into the rope o f descent. W orld renouncers w ere made a critical part o f family religion, and the offerings made during the ghost festival affirm ed the existence o f the B uddhist Sangha as an econom ic institution. But I w ould argue that none o f these affirm ations o f new social form s entailed a negation o f the old ones: the ancestors were still cared for, the family was still enriched, the goals o f filial devotion w ere still secured. A variety o f sources attest to the fact that B uddhism as an organized religion could no t survive in medieval China w ithout adjusting itself to the structures o f diffused religion.

Both the m ythology and the rituals o f the ghost festival affirm the m utual dependence o f ancestors and descendants. In The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother, M u-lien jo ins the priesthood and begins the perilous quest for his m other only after he has com pleted the three-year m ourning period for his deceased parents prescribed by ancient Chinese tradition. Before he sets out on the m onastic path, M u-lien fulfills the traditional obligations:

From the tim e his parents passed away, T urnip C om pleted the three-year m ourning period o f ritual sorrow : Listening to m usic did not m ake him happy— his appearance

became emaciatcd;Eating fine foods gave him no pleasure— he wasted aw ay to skin

and bones.3

2 H u g h D .R . Baker, Chinese Family and Kinship (N ew Y ork: C olum bia U niversity Press, 1979), pp. 26-27.

3 T ranslation from The Transformation T ex t on Mu-lien Saving His Mother, in T H P W C , p. 714; m ostly fo llow ing the translation by V ictor M air, trans., Tun-lniaug Popular N arratives (C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press, 1983), p. 88. T h e passage here alludes to C onfucius’s descrip tion o f p roper m ourn ing behavior: “ T he gentlem an in m ourn ing finds no pleasure in fine food, no happiness in m usic, and no com forts in his ow n ho m e";

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D eath does not sever the link between family m em bers, it sim ply changes the w ay in w hich older and younger generations fulfill their obligations to one another.

Living descendants are also able to carry ou t their duties by m aking annual offerings to their ancestors. In The Yii-lan-p’en Sutra, the Buddha assures M u-lien that as a result o f m aking offerings during the ghost festival one’s current parents, one’s forebears strctching back seven generations, and one’s six kinds o f relatives will all “ obtain release from the evil paths o f rebirth; at that m om ent they will be liberated and clothed and fed naturally .”4 C lothing and food may strike the reader as tangential to salvation, but in fact such conccrns are an im portan t part o f Chinese family religion. Those w ho pass through purgatory on their way to rebirth and those reborn in hell arc w ithou t exception hungry and very often naked, and offerings to the ancestors in traditional China always included food and som e form o f m oney. The specific m ention o f ancestors’ clothing in The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra may indicate that the practice o f sending them paper elothes, quite com m on in the Sung dynasty, had already begun in the fourth or fifth century .5 In any event the descendant’s ritual act was dearly though t to have a

Lun-yii yin-te, H arvard-Y enching Institute Sinological Index Series, Supple/nent N o . 16 (reprin t ed ., Taipei: C hinese M aterials and Research Aids Service C enter, 11966), p. 36: cf. D . C . Lau, trans., The Analects (Lun yii) (H arm ondsw orth : Penguin Books, 1979), p. 147.

4 The Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, T. 16:779b. T he w ord ing in The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness, T. no. 686, 16:780a, is the sam e cxccpt it speaks o f the five kinds o f relatives. E lsew here The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra notes that one’s ciders, bo th those living and those reborn in the w oeful states, will experience one hundred years o f happiness, long life, and one h undred years w ith o u t sickness, all as a result o f their descendants p roperly carry ing ou t y ii-lan -p ’en offerings; The Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, T. 16:779b, c. A ncestors stretch ing back seven generations “ will be reborn in the heavens; born freely th ro u g h transfo rm ation , they w ill en ter in to the light o f heavenly flowers and receive unlim ited jo y ” ; The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, T. 16:779b. In The Pure Land Yii-lan-p'en Siitra. ancestors are believed to transcend entirely the process o f reb irth : “ seven generations o f parents will pass beyond the sufferings o f se ven ty -tw o kalpas o f b irth -and-dcath” ; The Pure Land Yii-lan-p ’en Siitra, in Jan Jaw orsk i, “ L 'A valam bana Sutra de la terre pu re ,” Xlonumenta Serica 1 (1935— 36), II. 38-39, 53-54, 60-61, 69-70. A nd according to T su n g -m i (780-841), “ T he living will enjoy long life in the hum an realm , never experiencing sickness o r pain. T h e spirits o f th e d e a d will be dispatched to the heavens, forever cut o f f from the dark paths” ; Tsung- mi (Auninentary, T. no. 1792, 39:512a.

' By the seventh cen tury paper m oney was a regular com ponent o f ancestral sacrifices. See C h ing -lang H ou, Monnaies d ’offrande et la notion de trhorie dans la religion chinoise (Paris: C o llege de France, Institut des H alites Etudes C hinoises, 1975), pp. 5-6 . T ao-shih (d. 6H3) in d u d cs a section on the clo th ing w orn in heaven in I'a-yiian chu-lin, T. no. 2122, 53:286,i-b . It is hard to tell w hether o r not T ao -sh ih ’s interest in o therw orld ly fashion .mil the reference in The Yil-hni-p'cii Siitra are truly representative o f m edieval tim es.

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salutary effect on the day-to-day lives o f the ancestors in the other w orld.

Instructions in the canonical sources list the item s given for use by m onks: “ G ather food o f the one hundred flavors and five kinds o f fruit, basins for w ashing and rinsing, perfum e, oil lamps, and m attresses and bedding; take the sweetest, prettiest things in the w orld and place them in the bow l and offer it to the Sangha, those o f great virtue o f the ten d irections.”6 O th er sources im ply that in actual practice people som etim es dispensed w ith m onks as interm ediaries and gave item s directly to their ancestors. In his sixth-century record o f seasonal observances, T sung Lin observes that many people gave gifts that far exceeded the offerings stipulated in The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, “ pushing their skillful artistry to the point o f [offering] cut w ood, carved bam boo, fine candles, and pretty cuttings [o f paper] patterned after flowers and leaves.”7 N um erous accounts from the Sung dynasty describe “ meat delicacies,” offerings clearly not intended for m onks, and a num ber o f paper items that w ere transm itted to the ancestors by fire: paper m oney, paper clothes, and draw ings o f M u-lien.8

Descendants were enjoined to m ake offerings to aid their ancestors as a way o f “ repaying the kindness” (pao-en) that parents show to children by bringing them into the w orld and nurturing and supporting them through childhood. The influence o f reciprocity and filiality on all form s o f Chinese culture is, o f course, a vast and im portan t topic. The discussion here focuscs on how this idea was elaborated in literature related to the ghost festival.9

6 The Yii-lan-p'en Sutra, T . 16:779b; fo llow ing T su n g -m i’s reading o f the item s, Tsung- mi Commentary, T . 39:510c-1 la.

7 Ching-ch'usui-shih chi, T sung Lin (ca. 498-561), in M oriya M itsuo . Chugoku kosaijiki no kenkyu (Tokyo: T eikoku shoin, 1963), p. 361.

* “ M eat delicacies” are noted in l-chien chili. H ung Mai (1123-1202), 4 vols. (Peking: C h u n g -h u a shu-chii, 1981), 1:360. Sec C hap te r T hree for references to o th er Sung accounts. Sawada M izuho argues that the nature o f the offerings and the fact that they w ere placed in a com bustib le bow l m ade o f bam boo (not a ceram ic bow l as m ay have been the case in earlier tim es) show that in the Sung dynasty , ghost festival offerings w ere intended for the ancestors; Sawada M izuho, Jigoku hen: chugoku no meikai setsu (K yoto: H o zokan, 1968), p. 133.

* Scholars such as I.ien-sheng Yang have stressed the im portance in C hinese society o f the no tion o f reciprocity involved in aiding o n e’s ancestors; see L icn-sheng Y ang, “ T he C oncep t o f ‘P ao ’ as a Basis for Social Relations in C h in a ," Chinese Thought and Institutions, ed. Jo h n K. Fairbank (Chicago: U niversity o f C hicago Press, 1957), pp. 291-301. For the classic s tudy o f filiality in C hinese B uddhism , sec M ichihata R yoshu, liukkyd to jukyo rinri (K yoto: H eiryakuji shoten , 1968). See also K enneth K .S. C h ’cn, "Filial Piety in C hinese B u d d h ism ,” HJAS 28 (1968): 81-97; and idem . The (Chinese Transform<ition o f Buddhism (Princeton: Princeton U niversity Press, 1973), pp. 14—64.

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'I'he earliest canonical sources, The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra and The Sutra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness, both begin w ith a description o f M u-licn entering into m editation to save his parents and “ to repay the kindness [they had show n] in nursing and feeding h im .” 10 In both sutras, as the title o f the second one makes clear, the act o f proyiding bow ls filled w ith offerings during the ghost festival is view ed as a means o f repaying one’s parents by insuring their w ell-being. In his com m entary to The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, T sung-m i com m ents extensively on the short phrase, “ repaying kindness.” He contrasts the m ethod o f repaym ent in the “ outer [non-Buddhist] teachings,” which stress the passing dow n o f physical form through the patriliny, w ith Buddhist m odes o f reciprocation, w hich arc m ore conccrncd w ith the transm igrating counsciousness and w ith repaying the m other, since the m other bears the larger share o f duties in b irth and nurturing . T sung- mi also m entions three w ell-know n paragons o f filiality, M cng T sung, T ung An, and T ung Yung, ju s t as H ui-ching in his earlier com m entary had com pared M u-lien to the disciple o f Confucius best know n for filiality, T seng-tzu .11 T sung-m i quotes extensively from non-B uddhist sourccs (such as the Shih-ching [The Book o f Songs/) as well as B uddhist ones to explain the notion o f repaying kindness. Forem ost am ong the B uddhist sources he m entions is the Fu-mu en-chung ching (Siitra on tne Importance o f Kindness Bestowed by Parents). In this text the Buddha expounds the hardships endured by parents, describing in detail the ten lunar m onths o f pregnancy. The only way to repay one’s parents, says the Buddha, is by m aking yu-lan-p’en offerings, giving to the Three Jew els, and copying the su tra .12 In this view, younger generations can

10 The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, T. 16:779a; The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness, T. 16:780a.

11 For the com parison o f M u-lien w ith T seng-tzu , see Hui-ching Commentary, T . no. 2781, 85:541b. M eng T sung (th ird century) and T ung Y ung (second century) w ere tw o o f the tw en ty -fo u r paragons o f filiality. O n T ung Yung, see Hsiao-tzu chtian, Liu H siang (80-9 B.C.), in Huang-shih i-shu k ’ao, T s ’ung-shu ching-hua. Vol. 35 (Taipei: I-w cn y in - shu-kuan , 1971), pp. 1v-2v; “ H siao-tzu T ung Y ung ,” S. no. 2204, in T H P T 17:246b- 47b; A rth u r W alcy, trans., “ T h e Ballad o f T ung Y ung ,” in Ballads and Stories from Tun- huang: A n Anthology (London: Allen and U nw in , 1960); the m aterials collected in Tung Yung, C h ’en Hsiang ho-chi, ed. T u Y ing -t'ao , M in-chien w en-hsiieh tzu-liao ts 'u n g -sh u , N o . 5 (Shanghai: Shang-hai ch’u -pan kung-ssu , 1955), pp. 5-161; and K anaoka Shoko, Tonko no bungaku (Tokyo: D aizo shuppansha, 1971), pp. 237-48. E lsew here (T. 39:506b- c) T su n g -m i m entions ano ther o f the tw en ty -fo u r paragons, W ang H siang (second century).

12 T h is su tra was quite popular in the late T ’ang, w hen a n u m b er o f different texts w ith sim ilar titles circulated. T hese texts include: l-'u-mu en nan-pao ching. An Shih-kao (ca. 148-170), T. no. 684; l-'u-mu en-chung ching, S. nos. 2084, 1907, prin ted in T. no. 2887. See also l !u-mii en-chung ching chiang-ching wen, P. no. 2418, prin ted in T H P W C , pp. 672-

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repay their elders by sending them aid during the ghost festival. T he celebration o f the seventh m oon affirms the m utual obligations that link the generations.

From other quarters, how ever. B uddhism cast doubt upon— but did no t fully underm ine— the familial structure o f Chinese society. A strict reading o f the doctrine o f karm a throw s into question the efficacy o f traditional ancestral offerings. In his Commentary on the Yii-lan-p’en Sutra T sung-m i describes the w ay in w hich inhabitants o f hell are responsible for their ow n pitiable state, w ith little hope for deliverance th rough the aid o f their descendants. He writes:

The recom pense o f the fruit follows o f necessity; it is com parable to shadow s and echoes following from objects and sounds. Even w ith parents and close relatives one cannot stand in for the o ther [and suffer the o ther’s karm ic retribution]. Therefore all w ise people m ust themselves be diligent. Even if they have good karm ic affinities [from previous lives], they should not m ake idle m istakes.

O ne m orning, when you leave this w orld, w ho will pay you reverence? If you depend upon your sons and grandsons, then o f seven parts you will receive only one. It is w orse still if you have no filial sons— you will be contrite, but w ithout any posthum ous [support].13

T sung-m i uses the strict interpretation o f karm a for rhetorical and persuasive ends. He m entions the possibility o f m erit transfer (offerings from one’s descendants), but disparages the results, w hich, in popular belief, w ere though t to be only one-scvcnth o f the full o ffering .14 T sung-m i hints that the harsh rule o f karm a overrides the paltry com

94; and M akita T airyo , Gikyo kenkyu (K yoto: K yoto daigaku jin b u n kagaku kenkyujo , 1976), pp. 50-55. O n ly T. no. 2887 m entions y ii-lan-p’en offerings, T. 85:1403c. For studies o f th is genre, see Arai Keiyo, “ O n shiso kara m ita Urabon kyo to Fubo oncho kyo no kankei,” in O n, ed. N akam ura H ajim e, B ukkyo shiso. Vol. 4 (K yoto: H eiryakuji shoten , 1979), pp. 149-72; A kizuki K an’ei, “ D okyo to b ukkyo no Fubo oncho kyo ," Shukyo kenkyii 39:4 (M arch 1966):23-44; T okushi Y usho, “Fubo oncho kyo no ibun ni tsu ite ,” Shiikyo kenkyu N .S . 5:4 (July 1932): 116—23; and P ’an C h ’ung-kuei, “ T s’ung tun -h u an g i-shu k ’an fo-chiao t ’i-ch’ang hsiao-tao ,” Hua-kang wen-k'o hsiieh-pao 12 (M arch1980): 197-267.

13 Tsung-mi Commentary, T . 39:509a—b.Y ii-jung quotes from the Sui-yiian wang-sheng ching-, Yii-jung Commentary, Z . 1, 94:4,

p. 403va. In the Sui-yiian wang-sheng shih-fang ching-t'u ching, w hich constitu tes C hap te r11 o f the Kuan-ting ching (Consecration Siitra) a ttribu ted to Srim itra (ca. 307-355), T . no. 1331, the B uddha speaks o f a m an w ho neither believes in the T h ree jew e ls n o r upholds the precepts. A fter he dies, w hen his relatives undertake to cultivate m erit on his behalf, “ then o u t o f seven parts he will receive only o n e" ; Kuan-ting ching. T . 21:530a, also 531b.

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fort obtainable, even in the best o f circumstances, th rough the ancestral cult.

In The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother the g loom y in terpretation o f karm a is propounded by the functionaries o f hell. These arbiters o f karm ic justice speak a universal language, insisting that laws w ere not m ade to be broken and that no one can bend the rules to evade the results o f his o r her actions. In this context, the w hole adm inistration o f heaven and hell represents an elaboration in bureaucratic m etaphor o f the laws o f karm a. The gods and their underlings m erely carry out the “ decisions” that all people unw itting ly m ake for them selves through their ow n deeds. W hen M u-lien first descends to hell, K ing Yama lectures him:

M ount T ’ai’s verdicts are, in the end, difficult to alter,For all w ere sanctioned by heaven’s bureaucrats and earth’s pen

pushers.The karm ic retribution for sinners follows from causes and

conditions;W ho is there w ho could rush in to save them?

And later, after M u-lien offers to take his m other’s place in Avici Hell, the w arden replies:

If your m other has sinned, she will receive punishm ent,And if you, oh teacher, have sinned, you will bear punishm ent.[The records o f sins w ritten on] gold tablets and jade tokens

cannot be w iped o ff or washed away,In the end, there is no one w ho can readily alter th em .15

T h e P o w e r o f M o n k s

T he m ythology o f the ghost festival not only casts doubt upon the utility o f traditional ancestral offerings, it also indicates a m ore effective m echanism for securing the welfare o f the family. T he developm ent o f the ghost festival signals the addition o f the Sangha as an interm ediary party to the system o f obligation linking descendants and ancestors. The canonical sources give very explicit instructions concerning the circuit o f exchange. T he Buddha instructs M u-lien “ to make offerings to the assem bly o f m onks, those o f great virtue o f the ten d irections,” and “ to place food and drink o f the one hundred flavors in the yii-lan

IJ T ranslations from T H l’W C , p. 720; m ostly follow ing M air, trans., Tun-huang Popular Narratives, p. 94; and from T H l’W C , p. 735; m ostly fo llow ing M air, trans., Tun- huang Popular Narratives, p. 110.

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bow l and give it to m onks o f the ten directions w ho have released them selves.” 16 The B uddha’s instructions to the Sangha arc also quite detailed:

Then the B uddha decrced that the assembled m onks o f the ten directions should first chant a prayer on behalf o f the family o f the sponsor for seven generations o f ancestors, that they should practice m editation and concentrate their thoughts, and that they should then rcccive the food. In receiving the bowls, they should first place them in front o f the B uddha’s stupa; w hen the assembled m onks have finished chanting prayers, they may then individually partake o f the food .17

M onks also play a m ediating role in the ritual described in a later source, the Lan-p’en hsien-kung i (Liturgy for the Offering ofLan Bowls). In this liturgy, containing prayers used in the eleventh century, lay people pay rcspccts to the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the D harm a, and the Sangha. Included under the category o f “ Sangha” are three types o f m on k s (b o d h isa ttv as , pratyekabuddhas, and srdvakas) and M u -lien . Prayers m ade to each o f these four subgroups o f the Sangha end w ith the phrase:

A nd now as they [e.g., bodhisattvas] descend to this sacred place,

We pray that they will release all o f our living and dead [relatives) from suffering.18

M onks augm ent the flow o f benefits to the ancestors by virtue o f their spccial pow ers. It is well know n that m onks in China have always been associated w ith m eritorious karm a. But it is not enough sim ply to point out that m onks and nuns were habitually though t to have a beneficial influence on the w orkings o f karm a. O u r explanation should also seek the causes and conditions o f that spccial pow er. M y contention is that the Sangha’s unique contribution depends upon the curious dialectic o f asccticism: prcciscly bccausc they have renounced the family, m onks are able to enrich the family. H aving dedicated themselves to an ascetic w ay o f life that claims to deny the principle o f procreation, m onks sim ultaneously contribute a regenerative force to that very

16 The Yii-lan-p'en Sutra, T. 16:779b, c.17 The Yii-lan-p’en Sutra, T . 16:779c. The Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness, T.

16:780a, om its the chanting o f prayers and the prelim inary offering to the Buddha. T he B uddha also instructs donors to m ake prayers for their paren ts’ happiness and their ancesto rs’ reb irth in heaven; The Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, T. 16:779c.

18 L an-p’en hsien-kung i, Z . 2B, 3:2, p. 90ra.

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w orld they appear to transcend. I w ould argue that in the medieval Chinese ghost festival there is a clear echo o f the relationship betw een asceticism and eroticism as it is articulated in Indian m ythology:

Tapas (asceticism) and kama (desire) are not diam etrically opposed like black and w hite, o r heat and cold, w here the com plete presence o f one autom atically implies the absence o f the other. T hey arc in fact tw o form s o f heat, tapas being the potentially destructive or creative fire that the ascetic generates w ith in himself, kama the heat o f desire.19

In medieval China this opposition is spelled out m ost often in social term s as the difference betw een a m onastic way o f life and a life lived w ithin the family. Renunciation and procreation arc not diam etrically opposed, bu t are jo ined together as part o f the same cycle. The pow er o f m onks— their ability to enrich substantially the welfare o f the fam ily— depends upon their social placem ent outside o f the family. It is this pow er that is referred to, in a variety o f sourccs, w ith the standard locution, “ the m ighty spiritual pow er o f the assembly o f m onks” (chung- seng wei-sheii chih li).

T he pow er o f B uddhist m onks reachcs its annual peak precisely on the fifteenth day o f the seventh lunar m onth, w hich is the last day o f the n incty-day sum m er retreat. This critical junc tu re marks the end o f the retreat (an-chii, Skt.: uarsa), during which m onks undertake m ore strenuous religious practice and reduce their contacts w ith lay socicty. As noted in C hapter T w o, the Chinese Sangha followed Indian precedents in setting aside three m onths ou t o f the year for the intensive practicc o f m editation and for study. M onks in China also adopted the Indian ccrcm ony perform ed at the end o f the retreat, in w hich m onks “ released thcm slves” (tzu -tzu , S k t.:pravarana) by inviting other m onks to give voice to any com plaints o r infractions o f discipline that may have occurred during the long hot period o f isolation. I'hemes ot renewal and regeneration arc evident in this culm inating ritual, w hich was no t open to lay people. M onks “ released them selves” in several senses: they loosened the rules o f discipline, they unleashed the ascetic energies built up during retreat, they subm itted to criticism from other m onks, and th rough their repentance they let loose the positive forces o f purification and renewal.

In China the regenerative aspects o f the m onastic retreat are especially clear. T h ro u g h o u t Asia, the end ing o f the su m m er re trea t

W endy D onigcr O T Iiilierty , Asceticism itnti liroiicisin in the Mythology of Siva (London: O x fo rd U niversity I’ress, 1973), p. .15.

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m arked the beginning o f the m onastic year. In China, the “ B uddhist N ew Year” (fa-la) falls precisely six m onths after the secular N ew Year, celebrated on the fifteenth day o f the first lunar m onth . As T san-ning (919-1001) says o f the B uddhist N ew Year:

H aving left the secular w orld , bhiksus do not use the sccular year in m aking calculations. Thus, [the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth] is counted as the sum m er N ew Year.20

While the secular and B uddhist N ew Year celebrations are perfectly opposed in tim ing, they are identical in structure: m onks close them selves o ff from the rest o f the w orld during the period leading up to the sum m er N ew Year, ju s t as families close their doors to all visitors in the days before the w inter N ew Year. When the new year arrives, they both open their doors in celebrations o f renewal. For m onks, 7/15 is “ the day on w hich the B uddhist year is full and com plete.”21 Following the exam ple o f the early disciple, Upali (w ho, according to som e legends, recited the entire Vinayapitaka at the Council o f Rajagrha), Chinese m onks lit incense and m ade offerings to the rules for m onastic discipline. T hen they literally punctuated the passing o f the m onastic year by placing a “ d o t” (tien) in the scrolls containing the V inaya.22

The ascctic pow er given vent in the ghost festival derives not only from the social position o f m onks and from the course o f the m onastic schedule, but also from the m odulations o f the natural w orld. T he renewal and release o f energy by m onks is also synchronized w ith the rhy thm s o f nature. Chinese sourccs preserve an interesting explanation for the m onks’ retreat. T sung Lin writes:

O n the fifteenth day o f the fourth m onth , m onks and nuns hang up [their clothes] and suspend [their bowls] and go to the m editation area. This is called “ beginning the sum m er” and “ beginning the strictures.”

Since sum m er is the season o f g row th and nurturing , they fear

2,1 Ta-sung seng-shih liieh, T san-n ing (919-1001), T. no. 2126, 54:251a. Sec also Shih- shih yao-lan, T ao -ch ’aug (ca. 1019), T. no. 2127, 54:298c-99a.

21 See Meng-liaug In. Wu T zu -m u (ca. 1275), in Tung-ching meng-lma hi, wai ssu-chwtg (Shanghai: K ti-tien w en-hsuch ch’u-pan-she, 1957), p. 160.

22 O n U pali as com piler o f the Vinaya, sec Kao-seng chuan, H ui-chiao (497-554), T. no. 2059, 50:403a; and E tienne Lam otte, Hisioire du houddhisme indien, des origines a I'ere Saha, Publications de l’ln stitu t O rientaliste de Louvain, N o . 14 (1958; reprin t ed ., Louvain-la- N euvc: Institu t O rientaliste , 1976), pp. 188-93. O n the practice o f m ark ing the Vinaya w ith a do t each year, see W ayne Pachow , “ A S tudy o f the D otted R ecord ." JA O S 85:3 (Septem ber 1965), reprin ted in Chinese Buddhism: Aspeds o f Interaction and Reinterprelation (Lanham : U niversity Press o f Am crica, 1980), pp. 69-86; and l.ung-hsing fo-chiao pieu- nien t ’ung-lun, T su-hsiu (ca. 1164), Z . 21). 3:3, pp. 242va—43ra.

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that w alking about outside [the m onastery] will harm plant and animal life, so they hold a retreat for ninety days.23

A ccording to T sung Lin, m onks undertake a period o f special austerity and increased isolation to avoid interfering w ith the g row th o f plant and animal life. This theory explicitly connccts the m onastic and agricultural cyclcs. Sum m er is the tim e w hen both plants and m onks develop their potency and store up their energy. T he beginning o f autum n— also the B uddhist N ew Year— is the tim e w hen these energies are released and harvested by society at large.

Given the convergence o f agricultural fertility and m onastic regeneration, it should not be surprising to find hum an fecundity also associated w ith the ghost festival. T he association, contained in a late T ’ang w ork, concerns not ju s t any hum an birth, but rather the birth o f the Buddha. A ccording to Han O (T ’ang dynasty), Sakyam uni was incarnated in his m other’s w om b on the fifteenth day o f the seventh m onth in the year 686 B.C., to be born nine m onths later.24 While the synchro- nicity o f the B uddha’s conception w ith the appearance o f the seventh m oon was probably not com m on know ledge in m edieval C hina, the date undoubtedly m arked a num ber o f culturally significant conjunctions. T he com ing o f harvest, sending provisions to the ancestors, and giving offerings to m onks at the end o f the sum m er retreat form ed part o f the yearly cycle o f events on w hich m ost people’s lives were based.

Paralleling the ripening o f plant life, m onks build up their virtue in isolation from lay society. They conclude the period o f intensified effort by bestow ing their pow er upon lay society. In exchange for material gifts from descendants, they channel their “ m ighty spiritual p ow er” to benefit the ancestors. H ui-ching writes:

The principle o f the perform ance o f releasing oneself25 penetrates in all ten directions. In harm ony and unity the Sangha is com pleted26 w ithout m ixing the secular and the sacred. Its spirituality [shen] is like the bounding ocean, unfathom able as caves and marshes. Its m ight [wei\ is like the flaming earth, producing un

23 Ching-ch’u sui-shih chi, in M oriya, Chugoku ko saijiki no kenkyu, pp. 349-50; see also M oriya, trans., Keiso saijiki, T o y o bunko . Vol. 324 (Tokyo: H cibonsha, 1978), p. 139. T h e sam e them e is no ted in V inaya sources in Chinese; see Ssu-fen lii, trans. Buddhayasas (ca. 408-412), T. no. 1428, 22:830b-c.

See Sui-hua chi-li, Han O (T ’ang), in Sui-shih hsi-su tzu-liao hui-pien (Taipei: I-w en y in -shu-kuan , 1970), 3:88.

25 T zn -tzu chieh-mo, Skt.: pravarana-karma.*' T su n g -m i and o thers understood "S angha” (literally “ assem bly") to m ean “ har

m ony and u n ity ," 'I'sung-nri Commentary, T. 39:510a.

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lim ited m erit. This is how it is able to get rid o f greed, thievery, and the experience o f suffering and [to cause ancestors] to be reborn in the heavens in freedom according to their wishes, im m ediately attaining liberation.27

M onks m ultiply the blessings given to ancestors by virtue o f their isolation from the secular w orld. T hey enter the cycle o f family religion no t sim ply as a third party on equal footing w ith ancestors and descendants, but as w orld renouncers; and they enter the circuit o f exchange ju s t at the tim e o f year w hen their virtue, born o f homclessncss, is at a peak. T he pow er that they bring to the w orld o f the fam ily is so great precisely because they norm ally stand outside o f it.


The earliest critics o f Buddhism in China focused their attack on the Sangha.28 By renouncing the claims o f kinship and reproduction, m onks appeared to deny the m ost im portant socioreligious institution in Chinese society, the family. Since they were exem pt from the taxes and labor services exacted from other adults and since the Sangha possessed large quantities o f land and precious metals, m onks were also viewed w ith suspicion by state authorities. N evertheless, despite these antagonism s, the B uddhist m onkhood did not exist merely as an uneasy appendage to indigenous social, econom ic, political, and religious institutions. T he Sangha interacted w ith indigenous social institutions during the medieval period, and both w ere transform ed in the process. T he ghost festival offers a particularly clear illustration o f how B uddhist m onks, having entered China as com plete outsiders, soon took their place at the center o f Chinese religious life.

To understand the position o f the Sangha vis-a-vis the family, it has been necessary to take a view o f Chinese socicty m ore inclusive than the picture draw n in traditional sources. W hat is required is a view o f Chinese society as a com plex w hole, in w hich different groups are linked by a system o f exchange, broadly conccived. In the classic discussion o f such a system , M arcel M auss writes:

17 Hui-ching Commentary, T. 85:542a-b.28 For fcarly criticism s o f B uddhist m onasticism , sec the Li-huo lun, a ttr ibu ted to M ou

Y ung (ca-. th ird century), in Hitng-ming chi, Scng-yu (445-518), T. no. 2102. See also Paul Pelliot, "M eo u -tseu , ou les doutes levees,” T P 19 (1920), pp. 255-433; the essays collected in Ssu-shih-erh cltang ching yii mou-tzu li-huo lun, cd. C hang M an -t'ao , Hsicn-t.ii fo- chiao hsiieh-shu ts’u n g -k 'an . Vol. 11 (Taipei: Ta-sheng w en-hua ch ’u-pan-she, 1978), pp. 97-395; and Erik Z urcher, The Buddhist Conquest o f China: The Spread and Adaptation o f Buddhism in Early Medieval China, revised cd. (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1972), 1:254-85.

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It is groups, and not individuals, which carry on exchange, make contracts, and are bound by obligations. Further, w hat they exchange is no t exclusively goods and w ealth, real and personal property , and things o f econom ic value. They exchange rather courtesies, entertainm ents, rituals, m ilitary assistance, w om en, children, dances, and feasts; and fairs in w hich the m arket is but one elem ent and the circulation o f wealth bu t one part o f a w ide and enduring contract.29

I have tried to show how the ghost festival perform s ju s t such a function in Chinese society: as a system o f exchange, it links those w ho stand w ithin the family to those w ho stand outside it. Neither group stands outside o f society. As Jam es A. Boon remarks:

m onasticism achieves w hat D urkhcim called “ organic solidarity” w ith an increm ental level o f differentiation: reciprocity betw een tw o specialist sectors o r categories, one producing m erit and release, the o ther producing succcssors and subsistence. N either lay no r m onk alone can reproduce the socioreligious to ta lity .30

Rituals o f the ghost festival articulate a “ to tal” socioreligious system , “ to tal” in the sense that it serves ends com m only called “ religious” as well as ends com m only called “ social.” By virtue o f their detached charity filial sons cam m erit, and the act o f offering goods to m onks brings the ancestors a better rebirth or release from the round o f birth-and-dcath altogether. In addition to these “ sacred” ends, the cycle o f exchange also serves goals com m only called “ secular.” M onks receive food, clothing, and m oney, which allow them to survive in econom ic term s, while fertility and glory— m ore descendants and greater ancestors— accruc to the kinship group.

T he ghost festival no t only links the family and the Sangha considered as social groups, it also mediates the principles upon w hich these form s o f life arc based. As seen in the cycle o f exchange, kinship and m onasticism are com plem entary, no t opposed, principles. Those w ho have renounced the family are not antagonistic tow ard householders; they have left one social group and jo ined another. The festival requires that both groups cooperate in reestablishing harm ony and creating a greater good.

29 M arcel M auss, The Gift: Forms and Functions o f Exchange in Archaic Societies, trans. Ian C unnison (N ew York: W. W. N o rto n and C o ., 1967), p. 3.

■’“ Jam es A. Boon, “ Inccst Rccapturcd: Som e C ontraries o f K arm a in Balinese S ym - b o lo g y ," in Karma: A n Anthropological Inquiry, eds. C harles F. Keyes and E. V alentine Daniel (Berkeley: U niversity o f C alifornia Press, 1983), p. 218.

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The case o f the ghost festival tends to confirm the analysis o f Jacques Gcrnet, w ho has show n that in medieval China, “econom y” and “ religion” do not form tw o separate spheres. Good acts pay o ff debts, offerings o f m oney get rid o f sin.31 M aterial offerings given during the festival have religious value because they are part o f a cyclc o f exchange at once econom ic and religious.

All gifts arc convertible into one form o f m erit or another, be it material o r soteriological. M erit is the unitary concept underlying the different form s o f value, and m erit m aking is the m echanism through w hich gifts are transform ed. In Chinese usage, “ m erit” (fit or, m ore technically, kung-te) implies both spiritual and material blessings. “ M erit” describes the future happiness or liberation to be attained as a result o f a m eritorious action, and it also refers to the concrete blessings— long life and wealth— that flow from good acts.32

T he notion o f a cycle o f exchange is not sim ply a product o f our ow n conceptual system . It is also articulated at length in indigenous term s. Early Indian texts describe a “ field o f m erit” (Skt.: punyaksetra) corresponding to the circuit o f gifts: one makes offerings and obtains m erit ju s t as one plants seeds and gathers the harvest. While the concept is m entioned in texts originating in India, it is developed at greater length in Chinese B uddhism .33

T sung-m i explains the idea in his com m entary on The Yii-lan-p’en Siitra. He writes:

[The Yii-lan-p'en Siifra] reveals superior fields [of m erit]. It is likew orldly people w ho w ant to obtain a granary so abundantlystocked w ith the five grains34 that they arc never in w ant. They

31 Jacques G ernct, Les Aspects economiques du bouddhisme dans la societc chinoise du Ve au X e siecle (Saigon: Ecolc Franqaisc d ’E x trem e-O rien t, 1956), esp. pp. 287-90, 297—98.

32 A ccording to Jean Filliozat, the Sanskrit term for m erit, punya, also has a b road sem antic dom ain w hich includes both the tangible benefits o f a go o d act as well as the “ happiness” that accom panies the perform ance o f the act; “ Sur Le D om ainc scm antique de punya ," Indianisme et Bouddhisme: melanges offens a Mgr. Etienne Lamotte, Publications de l'ln s titu t O rien taliste de Louvain, N o . 23 (Louvain: Insitut O rientaliste , 1980), pp. 101-16.

31 For an overview , see T okiw a D aijo , Shinn bukkyo no kenkyu. Vol. 2 (Tokyo: Shun- ju sha , 1941), pp. 471-98. In its doctrinal form the concept o f a “ field o f m erit" (C h.: fii- t ’ien) served as an explanation o f and justification for acts o f charity , w hile in practice it cam e to be identified w ith such institu tions o f social welfare as hospitals, fam ine-relicf efforts, hostels, and the building o f roads and bridges. See M ichihata R yoshu, lodai bukkyo shi no kenkyu (K yoto: H ozokan, 1957), pp. 381—440; and idem , (Chugoku bukkyo lo shakaifitkushi jigyo (K yoto: H ozokan, 1967).

34 A ccording to Y uan-chao the five grains are: hem p, tw o kinds o f m illet, w heat or

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m ust gather the seeds from grain, use an ox and plow to till the fields, and plant the seeds. If they do not plant them , they will run out. It is the same w ith the D harm a. The heart o f com passion, the heart o f respect, and the heart o f filiality35 are the seeds. Food, clothing, and valuables are the ox and plow. T he destitute and the sick, the Three Jewels, and parents arc the field.

There are disciples o f the Buddha w ho w ant to obtain a store- consciousness36 w ith all kinds o f m erit so splendid that it is never exhausted. T hey m ust pull together the hearts o f com passion, respect, and filiality; take food, clothing, valuables, and their ow n lives; and donate them respectfully for the support and aid o f the destitute and the sick, the T hreejew els, and parents. This is called “ planting m erit.” If they do not plant m erit, they will be poor; lacking m erit and w isdom , they will enter the dangerous path o f b irth -and-death .37

N ow seeds are fresh or dried, and fields arc fertile or barren, ju s t as hearts o f com passion, rcspcct, and filiality are earnest or slack; destitution is m ild or severe; sickness is m inor or serious; Buddhas are true or transform ational; transform ation [-B uddhas| dw ell in the w orld o r enter nirvana', the D harm a is smaller or greater; the teaching is provisional or ultim ate; m onks uphold [the precepts] o r break them ; parents are those w ho gave birth o r those stretching back seven generations. As can readily be seen, cach o f these corresponds to fertile o r barren fields.

barley, and beans, Yiian-chao Commentary, Z . 1, 35:2, p. 108va. A ccording to Y ii-jung they are: m illet, rice, beans, hem p, and barley, Yii-jung Commentary, Z . 1, 94:4, p. 191 rb.

35 I have in terpreted T su n g -m i’s usage along M cncian lines, translating pei-hsin, ching- hsiit, e tc ., as “ heart o f com passion ,” “ heart o f respect," etc. T he term s m igh t ju s t as easily be in terpreted along B uddhist lines as “ th o u g h t [Sk t.: cittaj o f com passion ,” “ th o u g h t o f respect,” etc.

* H ere T su n g -m i d raw s on the broader im plications o f the concept o f alaya-uijnana (C h .: tsang-shih). In Y ogacara th o u g h t the dlaya-vijiidna, in w hich the seeds o f all th o u g h t and action are stored , “ constitu tes the cohesion o f each au tonom ous series o f instants cond itioned by the developm ent o f one and the sam e causality, thus prov id ing us w ith the illusion o f the individual, the p erson” ; Paul D em ieville, “ A raya,” in Hobogirin: dictionnaire encycloptdique du bouddhisme d’apres les sources chinoises et japonaises, ed. Paul D em ieville and Jacques M ay (Tokyo: M aison Franco-Japonaise, 1927-), 1:35. By storing seeds in a granary fu tu re survival is assured; by storing seeds in the store-consciousncss con tinued existence in the realm o f birth -and-death is assured; and by sto ring seeds o f m erit liberation is assured.

17 In the text there follow s a sentence w hich I believe to be an early in terpo la tion by a copyist since it begins w ith " wci'" and because the com m entary by Y iian-chao has som e variations. The sentence reads: "T h e field in w hich m erit is planted is called a 'field o f m erit’ju s t as the field in w hich grains are planted is called a ’field o f g ra in .’ ”

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T he yii-lan assem bly com bines all three kinds o f fertile fields, w hich is w hy we call it “ superior.” M aking offerings to those pure ones o f great virtue w ho release themselves [in repentance] on the day on w hich Buddhas rejoice show s the superiority o f the field o f respect. Repaying the kindness o f parents show s the superiority o f the field o f kindness.38 O n e’s parents being in difficult straits [i.e., the hells] show s the superiority o f the field o f com passion. [The Buddha] preached this sutra in order to reveal these superior fields.39

The m etaphor o f “ planting m erit” organically links all o f the participants in the cycle o f exchange. In referring to com passion, respect, and filiality, T sung-m i alludes to the gift g iver’s intention: charity should be directed tow ard others and not m otivated by though t o f rew ard. The production o f m erit, like any small-scalc agricultural enterprise, is a cooperative venture requiring the participation o f all m em bers. For the harvest to be successful, donors m ust be well intentioncd, m onks and parents m ust be receptive, and the goods m ust be efficacious. If any o f these elem ents is deficient, the crop will no t grow.

T sung-m i also refers to a variety o f recipients o r “ fields” in w hich to plant merit: m onks, living parents, and ancestors. While ghost festival offerings arc given to all three parties, each party stands in a different relation to the donor. D onors show rcspcct to those nonkin w ho rank above them in status, m onks. D onors act out o f filiality to repay the kindness show n by their parents. And donors display com passion tow ard those in less fortunate circumstanccs than themselves, the deceased w ho live in hell as hungry ghosts.

In the m etaphor o f the field o f m erit, m erit grow s naturally from the seeds planted in the field. C lothing and cash produce m erit, not th rough a transform ation o f their unchanging nature, bu t through the m aturation o f qualities inherent in them from the very start. M erit is actualized m oney (w ithout m erit in the storehouse o f consciousness, one is poor), ju s t as m oney is potential m erit w aiting to be invested in a salvific venture.

In China B uddhist m onks rarely stood com pletely outside o f society, but only outside o f one particular social group, the family. In the ghost festival we see the m onk standing fully w ithin society, his renunciation serving key social and religious ends. B uddhist m onasticism has often been view ed as an asocial institution. Traditional Chinese critics o f Buddhism have viewed it as standing outside the square o f the so-

38 T h e field o f kindness is equivalent to the field o f filiality.39 T ranslation from Tsung-mi Commentary, T. 39:5()6a.

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daily constructed w orlds o f family and state, while m any m odern scholars have adopted the m ethods and attitudes o f W eber in dubbing it “ o therw orld ly .” In their view, the m onk is seen in the abstract, “ an idealized and isolated figure.” Considered in context, how ever, renunciation docs not mean a lapse into a social vacuum . Instead, it m arks “ a change-over from one condition o f life to another.”40 The m onk does no t leave society, bu t only one segm ent o f it, and even then he rem ains linked to the family th rough the cycle o f exchange. In the ritual circuit o f the festival, the m onk plays an indispensable role in furthering subsistence and salvation; he actively assumes a place at the very center o f C hinese family religion.

40 S ukum ar D u tt, Buddhist Monks and Monasteries o f India: Their History and Their Contribution to Indian Culture (London: G eorge Allen and U n w in , 1962), p. 45.

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E I G H T

Concluding Perspectives

A S o c i o l o g i c a l P e r s p e c t i v e

W h i l e t h e r e can be little doub t that the ghost festival pervaded the entire social landscape o f medieval C hina, the question o f how to portray that landscape— as Buddhist, Taoist, or ju st plain “ folk”— rem ains to be answered. C om m on people w ere indeed draw n to the entertainm ents and offerings held at the tem ples o f organized religion in China, and there existed both B uddhist and Taoist legends concerning the origin o f the festival. T he Taoist nam e for the celebration, “ chung-yiian” (M iddle Prim ordial), drew upon a traditional notion o f trinitarian rule and mass repentance, linking the seventh-m onth festival to a universe conceived in distinctively Taoist term s. Similarly, the Buddhist nam e o f “ y ii-lan-p’en” never escaped suspicion o f its Indian origins, and the m yth o f M u-licn rescuing his m other from the torm ents o f hell made it clear that salvation for the ancestors was cffcctcd only through the intervention o f the Buddha and the Sangha.

But the ghost festival could hardly have becom e so w idely practiced if it w ere associated prim arily w ith either o f C hina’s tw o institutional religions. A fter the T ’ang dynasty both the Buddhist and the Taoist names for the festival lagged in popularity. In Sung literature and M ing gazetteers nam es for the festival tend to emphasize its sotcriological intention (“ T he G host Festival,” “ Releasing I Iungry G hosts w ith B urning M ou ths,” “ The Universal Passage o f H ungry Ghosts O u t o f H ell,” “ G athering O rphaned Souls” ) or to specify the kind o f food given as offerings (“ Sending G rains,” “ The M elon Festival”) .1 The nam e used m ost com m only in official sourccs, “T he Fifteenth Day o f the Seventh M o n th ” (ch’i-yiieh shih-wu-jih), also stripped the event o f its B uddhist and Taoist associations, indicating merely the calendrical significance o f the day. T he ghost festival precisely bisected the secular year, which was inaugurated by the N ew Year celebration on the fifteenth day o f the first lunar m onth . Rituals o f renewal had been held at the half-year m ark in China for several centuries before the developm ent o f either B uddhism or Taoism . The melding o f social divisions in a festive gatli-

’ See the discussion in C hap te r O ne, above.

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C O N C L U D I N G P E R S P E C T I V E S

ering, the regeneration o f plant and animal life, and the key fructifying role o f ancestors w ere all hallm arks o f earlier celebrations. If the institutional versions o f the ghost festival arc so clear to us in T ’ang sources, that is largely bccausc the Buddhist and Taoist form s gained their strength from the celebrations that were carricd on underneath and outside o f organized religion.

Such considerations im ply that while it flourished in a m ultitude o f social settings in the m edieval era, the ghost festival was prim arily an expression no t o f Buddhism or o f Taoism but o f that o ther category— religion in its diffused form as it was practiccd by the largest class o f people, the “ folk.” T y ing the ghost festival to the anchor o f “ popular religion,” however, is not a straightforw ard exercise in sociological analysis. For “ popular religion” and “ folk religion” are m ost often used as leftover categories: w hatever is no t part o f B uddhism or Taoism or state religion m ust fall into this convenient bin. As one scholar has noted, “ W hether it is presented, bluntly, as ‘popular superstition’ or categorized as ‘low er form s o f belief,’ it is assumed that ‘popular religion’ exhibits m odes o f thinking and w orshiping that are best intelligible in term s o f a failure to be som ething else.”2

T he view that “ popular religion” represents som ething m arginal is no t unique to m odern scholars; it is a bias shared by m ost w ritten sources on Chinese religion, w hich were com piled by the self-conscious bearers o f institutional religion in its Buddhist, Taoist, and im perial form s. But as long as Chinese religion is viewed from the top dow nw ard , the m ost persistent form s o f ritual activity will be relegated to the unchanging and lacklustcr heap o f “ popular religion.”3

2 Peter B row n , The Cull o f the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity, T he H askell Lectures on H isto ry o f Religions, N ew Series, N o . 2 (Chicago: U niversity o f C hicago Press, 1981), p. 19.

3 T he suggestion that w e dispense w ith the d icho tom y betw een folk and elite no longer represents an innovation . Sim ilar calls have been m ade from a num ber o f qu arters, from scholars argu ing for a pyram idical conception o f institu tional religion in C h ina , for the b reakdow n o f any sim ple division betw een “ e lite” and “ popular,” and for the analysis o f “ h e te ro d o x y ” and “ o rth o d o x y ” o r “ local re lig ion" and “ national relig io n .” See E rik Z iircher, “ B uddhist Influence on Early Taoism : A Survey o f Scriptural E vidence," T P 66:1—3 (1980):84—147; D avid Johnson , “ C om m unication , C lass, and C onsciousness in Late Im perial C h in a .” in Popular Culture in Late Imperial China, eds. D av id Joh n so n , A ndrew N athan , and Evelyn Rawski (Berkeley: U niversity o f C a lifo rnia Press, 1985), esp. pp. 67-68; and Raoul B irnbaum , "T h o u g h ts on T 'a n g B uddhist M ounta in T rad itions and T he ir C o n te x t,” T'ang Studies 2 (W inter 1984):5-23. It appears that w e have now com e full circle, for the distinction betw een the “ G reat T rad itio n ” o f the literate few and the “ Little T rad itio n ” o f the illiterate m any was originally m ade w ith the in ten tion o f show ing h o w they w ere interrelated rather than d icho to inous; see M cK im M arrio tt, "L ittle C om m unities in an Indigenous C iv ilization ,” in Village India:

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This study has instead attem pted to explore the m any m eanings that the ghost festival assum ed for different groups— on their ow n ground, rather than as poor reflections o f the Great Traditions— w ithin Chinese society.

T here rem ain significant lim its to the conclusions to be draw n from a close-grained analysis o f the place o f the ghost festival in m edieval Chinese society. In the third th rough ninth ccnturies Chinese society, as best as can be determ ined, was stratified not sim ply along class lines, but also by variations in literacy and in affiliation w ith institutional religion. A mere determ ination o f class still leaves im portan t questions unsettled. Granted that peasants constituted the m ajority o f those p ro viding offerings to m onks in temples, the question rem ains w hether ritual served to alienate or rather to fulfill the needs o f that class. Did the ghost festival tend to conceal the true nature o f class society, m asking the econom ic control that large landholders (the great families and the B uddhist church) exercised over all segm ents o f society? O r did M u-licn’s tou r o f hell and the paym ent o f spirit m oney to the bureaucrats o f the dark regions tcach people instead to understand and even to m anipulate the political apparatus that governed their lives? O ne suspects that both alternatives may have been true, but given the state o f the field, the issue is less likely to be decided on the basis o f evidence (since relatively little is available) than by political o rientation.4

Social divisions in China were further com plicated by differences in language: class culture could not be determ ined straightforw ardly on the basis o f w hich languages one spoke and w hich literatures one read. Patrick Hanan writes:

T he Classical, vernacular, and oral languages are media and cannot be directly equated w ith class-differentiated cultures in society. O ne can conceive o f a “ h igh” oral literature perform ed at court w hich could not be associated w ith a “ low ,” or popular, culture. B ut in general, the Classical and oral literatures do reflect som ew hat different emphases w ithin Chinese culture. If the potential publics for the three literatures are thought o f as conccntric circles, the circle o f the Classical literature will be surrounded by

Studies in the Little Community, cd. M cK im M arrio tt, C om parative Studies o f C ultu res and C ivilizations, N o . 6, The American Anthropological Association Memoir 57:3 (June 1955): Part 2, N o . 83.

4 For an A lthusserian analysis and a response, see Stephan I). It. Feuchtw ang, "Investigating R elig ion ,” in Marxist Analyses and Social Anthropology, ed. M aurice Bloch (London: M alaby Press, 1975), pp. 61-82; and Em ily M artin A hern, Chinese liitual and Politics, C am b rid g e Studies in Social A n thropology , N o . 34 (C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press, 1981), esp. pp. 92-108.

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the som ew hat larger circle o f the vernacular, while both will be engulfed by the vastly larger circlc o f the oral, the only true mass literature o f prem odern times. . . . The differences lie not in distinct system s o f philosophical and religious belief bu t in different em phases am ong attitudes and values.5

A ttitudes and values were further diffracted according to one’s relationship to organized religion. M em bers o f the sam e class w ith the sam e rudim entary level o f literacy, for exam ple, w ould have quite different interpretations o f the protagonist o f The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother from the Dark Regions, depending on w hether they w ere m onks or m em bers o f a lay B uddhist society on the one hand o r unaffiliatcd lay people on the other.

R ather than consign the ghost festival to the am orphous lum p o f “ popular religion,” I have docum ented and assessed the festival as it appears at all levels o f Chinese society. Yet Chinese society itself appears so ridden w ith variation in class, literacy, and religiosity, that m y analysis may well appear lost in details, its clarity threatened by the com plexity (or chaos) o f the social landscape.

But w e arc left w ith som ething m ore (or, as C huang-tzu w ould say, som ething less) than chaos. I w ould suggest that in paying attention to the social context o f Chinese religion, we m ust take pains to em ploy concepts m ore detailed than ju s t “ popular religion,” w ith its inherently dichotom ous and top-heavy assum ptions. Specifically, as 1 have attem pted to do in the later chapters o f this study, w e m ust address the enduring com ponents o f Chinese socioreligious life: m ythology, ritual, cosm ological conceptions, religious virtuosi, the ancestral cult. A better understanding o f Chinese culture will be achieved only w hen these form s o f Chinese religion arc explored against the background o f Chinese society.

A R i t u a l P e r s p e c t i v e

W hile one style o f analysis pursued in this study breaks dow n the ghost festival, em phasizing its different meanings in different social contexts, another style o f analysis, equally im portant, necessitates a m ore synthetic v iew /’ It is true that the crow d draw n to tem ples for the celebra-

5 Patrick H anan, The Chinese Vernacular Story (C am bridge: H arvard U niversity Press,1981), pp. 12-13. See also Johnson , “ C om m unication , Class, and C onsciousness in Late Im perial C h in a ,” pp. 34-72.

11 T h is section extends the argum ents m ade in an earlier essay; see S tephen F. Teiser, “ (■hosts and A ncestors in M edieval C hinese Religion: T he Y ii-lan-p’en Festival as M o rtuary R itual,” H R 26:1 (A ugust l986):47-(>7.

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C H A P T E R 8

don o f the full m oon o f the seventh m onth was far from hom ogeneous. Participants came from all classes, all levels o f literacy, and from hom es as well as m onasteries. But if the festival attracted a crow d distinguished by its plurality, the festival was also a com plcx w hole. The ghost festival was a m ultivalcnt sym bolic event that drew together different classes, united a variety o f social forces, and expressed a curious blend o f values. V iew ing the festival as ritual— specifically, the kind o f rite that m arks a socially valued passage— allows a deeper appreciation o f the in tegrity o f the event.

To m ost interpreters, the ghost festival betrays am biguity: it jo ins together tw o sides that in a strictly rational w orld w ould otherw ise be kept separate. T sung-m i devotes a portion o f his Commentary on the Yii- lan-p'en Siitra to a discussion o f m ortuary ritual, in w hich he attem pts to distinguish B uddhist from Confucian rituals:

Confucians place the coffin in the grave, preserving the m aterial form . Buddhists chant, recite, and hold posthum ous feasts, serving the departed consciousness. . . . Confucians practicc internal purity and external calm, thinking o f [their ancestors’] utterances and actions. Buddhists set ou t offerings and expound sutras, aiding [their ancestors’] karm ic retribution .7

^T h e beauty o f T sung-m i’s analysis is that it makes a B uddho-C onfucian ou t o f everyone. The separation between the “ C onfucians” and the “ B uddhists” is illusory from the very start. “ B uddhism ” and “ C onfucianism ” arise only by abstracting from the actual ritual, w hich involves both burial and com m em oration, m editative repose and com m unal rec ita tion .|O ther Buddhist apologists and historians augm ent the polarization inherent in T sung-m i’s account, view ing the ghost festival as a contradictory mix o f interests, the stress on family being opposed to the higher B uddhist goal o f deliverance from the cycle o f reb irth .8 Confucian defenders o f indigenous custom s have postulated the same dichotom y, but w ith the opposite valuation^] Yen C h ih -t’ui (531— 591), for instance, applauded the way in w hich the ghost festival strengthened the solidarity o f the kinship group, but he rem ained critical o f the offerings— part o f the. same ritual— intended to appease hun-

, gry ghosts.<JFor o ther interpreters the em otional ambivalence o f the festival cs-

7 Tsung-mi Commentary, T . no. 1792, 39:505b.8 See, for exam ple, Tsuda Sokichi, Shinn bukkyo no kenkyu (Tokyo: Iw anam i shoten,

1957); and M ichihata R yoshu, Bukkyo to jukyo (Tokyo: Daisan bunm cisha, 1976).9 Sec Ssu-yu T eng, trails., Family Instructions for the Yen Clan: "Yen-shilt chia-hsiin" by

Yen Chili-t'ui, T 'o u n g Pao M onograph N o. 4 (Leiden: E. J. Drill, I96H), p. 2 1 1.

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calates to a scandal o f rationality. In this view participants in the ghost festival use faulty logic, since they sim ultaneously hold incom m ensurate notions o f the afterlife:

In m any ways B uddhism and ancestor w orship w ere contradictory . . . . The idea o f rc-birth is clearly contrary to the concept o f a continuing ancestral spirit. C ould one logically go on w orshipping an ancestor w ho had been reborn as an animal or as another person?10

But the tw o voices o f the ghost festival— one expressing fear o f ghosts, the o ther proclaim ing adm iration for ancestors— need no t be diagnosed as indications o f schizophrenia. The tw o sides o f ghost festival sym bolism , sum m ed up in the friction betw een ghost and ancestor, may well suggest som ething far m ore healthy, interesting, and intelligent. Accepting, rather than explaining aw ay, the am bivalences o f the ghost festival requires a closer look at the relationship betw een ghosts and ancestors.

It w ould appear that the rituals o f the ghost festival em brace no t an illicit pairing o f opposites, bu t a continuum defined by ghosts at one end and by ancestors at the other. In his seminal study o f sym bolic classification in a com m unity near Taipei, A rthur W olf writes:

T he im portan t point is that how ever they arrange their [spirit] tablets, people in San-hsia recognize a continuum o f obligation that runs from those dead to w hom the living are obligated by descent to those to w hom they are hardly obligated at all. The dead at one end o f the continuum are true ancestors; the dead at the o ther end arc alm ost ghosts.11

This line o f analysis may be pursued still further in the case o f the ghost festival. As a perform ance, the festival docs m ore than ju s t m irror the concerns o f society w ith the class o f strangers (ghosts) and the class o f loved ones (ancestors). M y suggestion is that, like o ther rites o f passage, the ghost festival effects a transition from one status to the next.

It m ay well be argued that the ghost festival m arks not one passage, but four. T hrough the offerings given to please and appease them , the

H u g h D R. Baker, Chinese Family and Kinship (N ew York: C olum bia U niversity Press, 1979), p. 98.

" A rth u r P. Wolf, "G ods, G hosts, and A ncestors," in Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society, ed. A rthu r P. W olf (Stanford: S tanford U niversity Press, 1974), p. 159. T h e q u o tation cited here tends to con trad ict W o lf s later portrayal (p. 169) o f “ the ex trem e contrast . . . betw een the gods and ancestors on the one hand, and ghosts on the o th e r."

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“ dead”— that class o f beings w hose vitality is disturbing bu t never in doubt— are m oved from the threatening category o f ghost to the honored position o f ancestor. For the living the festival m arks a second passage, the successful com pletion o f the first half o f the year. For m onks w hose lives arc regulated by a calendar inverse to the secular one, the ghost festival m arks not only the end o f the old year and the inauguration o f the new one, but also the release o f ascetic vigor built up in retreat. A fourth passage is m arked in the agricultural cycle, in w hich the harvest is synchronized w ith the last bloom o f yang forces in the face o f au tum n’s chilling winds.

T he ghost festival shares m any o f the features regularly identified w ith rites o f passage. Since they surround the transition from one social w orld to the next, rites o f passage com prise an unavoidable sequence o f phases. In the first phase the individual is separated from his or her previous status. Plucked out o f the flow o f norm al tim e but no t yet having arrived at a secure station, the individual is in transit, and sym bols o f lim inality are especially pronounccd in this phase. T he second phase occurs w hen the individual crosses beyond the threshold and is incorporated into a new group. Them es o f integration and rebirth are typical o f this second phase o f aggregation .12

The phasic nature o f rites o f passage goes far tow ard explaining the am biguous sym bolism o f the ghost festival; it allows us to m ake sense ou t o f the presence o f both ghosts and ancestors in the festival. T he celebration o f the seventh m oon m arks the passage o f the dead from the liminal stage, w here they are troublesom e, threatening, and feared as ghosts, to the stage o f incorporation, in which they assume a place o f honor w ithin the family. In the liminal phase the dead lack clothes, they have subhum an bodies, they have difficulty eating, they arc constantly in m otion. G hosts are a species in transition. The dead person’s liun and p'o spirits arc unstable, waiting to be assigned their next rebirth. G host festival offerings are frequently dedicated to this dangerously shifting g roup o f “ all sinners in the six paths o f reb irth” (i-ch’ieh liu-tao tsui-jen). B ut offerings arc also made to the dead in the phase o f incorporation, after they have jo ined the group o f ancestors stretching back seven generations. As ancestors they have successfully com pleted the jou rney

12 M y sum m ary o f rites o f passage here d raw s especially on A rno ld van G enncp, The Riles o f Passage, trans. M onika B. V izedom and Gabricllc L. CafFce (C hicago: U niversity o f C hicago Press, 1960); R obert H ertz, Death and the Right Hand, trans. R odney N eedham and C laudia N eedham (Glencoe: Free Press, 1960); and E dm und Leach, “ T w o Essays concerning the Sym bolic Representation o f T im e ," in Rethinking Anthropology, London School o f Econom ics M onographs on Social A n th ropo logy , N o . 22 (London: A th lone Press, 1961).

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from life, through death, to rebirth. T hey arc welcom ed back into the family as its im m ortal progenitors, creators and m aintainers o f the values necessary to sustain the life o f the kinship group.

Far from indicating a confusion o f categories or an accidcnt o f histo ry , the coupling o f apprehension about ghosts w ith the propitiation o f kin represents a neccssary ambivalence about the dead. The ghost festival articulates the fear that the dead have no t been resettled and m ight continue to 'haunt the com m unity as strangers, at the same tim e that it expresses the hope that the dead be reincorporated at the head o f the family line. By analyzing the processual structure o f the ghost festival ritual, w e are better able to understand how it holds together as a coherent system.

A n H is t o r ic a l P e r s p e c t iv e

To the relativities o f class and the aggregating function o f ritual m ust be added the vagaries o f history. The ghost festival developed on the basis o f earlier celebrations, but its m ost familiar features appeared only in the fourth o r fifth century, largely through the influence o f the m ythology, rituals, and social form s o f Buddhism . D uring the T ’ang dynasty the m yth o f M u-lien rescuing his m other from the fires o f hell gripped the Chinese im agination, which came easily to accept the fact that its filial hero, M u-lien, was no t sim ply a follower o f the B uddha but a m onk, one w ho had form ally renounced the com forts and duties o f kinship. T ow ard the end o f the medieval period, how ever, Buddhism started to assume a different profile in Chinese socicty. Although the pow er o f the Buddhist church began to wane, nevertheless B uddhist ideas and practices were w oven m ore effectively into the fabric o f social life. Thus the decline o f Buddhism as an institutional religion coincided with the greatest diffusion o f B uddhist influence th roughou t Chinese society. The historical course o f the ghost festival offers several insights into this broader pattern o f change.

T he reigning paradigm teaches that Chinese B uddhism reached its peak in the late m edieval period under the T ’ang dynasty. Buddhism entered China in the first century o f the com m on era as a religion o f foreign m erchants and missionaries, and several centuries passed before the Chinese were able to translate properly the ideas o f the Indian religion. But once B uddhism was understood, it was quickly modified to suit Chinese tastes. This proccss o f “ sinicization” is though t to be represented m ost clearly in several phenom ena o f the T ’ang dynasty: the brilliant career o f the pilgrim and translator, H suan-tsang (602- 664); the ascendancy o f the C h ’an school, m arking the union o f Taoist

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spontaneity w ith a m ature understanding o f M adhyam ika emptiness; the poetry and outlook on life o f Po Chii-i (772-846); and the ingenuity o f num erous doctrinal form ulations (p’an-chiao, “ division o f the teachings”) used to com prehend and system atize the entire history o f Buddhism . Paul Dem ievillc sum m arizes the standard view:

U nder the T ’ang (from 618 to 909), w ho assum ed the heritage o f the Sui and made China for three centuries the m ost brilliant em pire o f the w orld , Chinese B uddhism reached its apogee. To speak now adays o f a fervent Buddhist, one still says in vernacular Chinese, “ a B uddhist o f the T ’ang.” At this tim e there is no art nor literature that could not in som e measure be called Buddhist; econom ic life is renew ed under the influence o f the B uddhist church, in which the em bryo o f capitalism is born; and as for philosophical thought in this age, one is at pains to find any outside o f Buddh ism .13

W ith social conditions always exerting a strong pressure on the trajectory o f Buddhism , periods o f severe decline often follow ed the high points. T he rebellion o f An Lu-shan between 755 and 763 effectively m arked the end o f centralized pow er, and the H uang C h ’ao rebellion betw een 874 and 884 b rought destruction and social chaos unprecedented in the T ’ang. Between these tw o cataclysms came the suppression o f B uddhist institutions that peaked in the year 845, from which only the C h ’an and Pure Land schools em erged intact. If the T ’ang dynasty represents the high point, it also contains some o f the m ost violent convolutions in the institutional history o f B uddhism in China.

A consideration o f the diachronic dim ension o f the ghost festival, how ever, casts som e doubt on the historical veracity o f the standard m odel, w hich tends to undervalue the significance o f im portan t developm ents bo th before and after the T ’ang. In assessing the cosm ology presented in the legends o f the ghost festival, this study has draw n attention to the synthesis o f Indian and Chinese conceptions o f the afterlife, a synthesis that was achieved in the first few centuries a.d ., before the ghost festival first appears in the w ritten records. The standard

13 Paul D cm ieville, “ Le B ouddhism c ch ino is,” Encyclopedic de la PUiade, histoirc des religions (Paris: G allim ard, 1970), 1:1275, reprin ted in D em ievillc, C hoix d'ttudes bouddhiques (Leiden: E. J . Brill, 1974), p. 391. For o ther discussions o f the spccial characteristics o f C hinese B uddhism during the T ’ang dynasty , see R obert M. G im ello, " C h ih - ycn (602-668) and the Foundations o fH u a-y e n B uddh ism " (Ph .D . d issertation, C o lu m bia U n iversity , 1976), esp. pp. 93-130; and Peter N . G regory , “ C hinese B uddhist H erm eneutics: T he C ase o f H ua-ycn ,” Journal o f the American Academy o f Religion 51:2 (June 1983):231-49.

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m odel places this synthesis much later, in the Sung dynasty, after the institutional strength o f Buddhism had declined.14 Later periods o f B uddhist history are made even m ore problem atic, sincc they tend to be judged by the m onochrom atic ideal o f doctrinal innovation against w hich they invariably fall short. Yet surely the rich story o f p o st-T ’ang B uddhism contains as m any examples o f innovation and renewal as o f declinc.15

T he accepted paradigm is not so m uch w rong as it is one-sided. M ost studies o f Buddhism during its golden age concentrate on doctrine .16 But i f B uddhism did indeed reach its peak during the T ’ang, its m anifestations m ust be sought in less rarified realms o f Chinese culture; the graph we draw o f B uddhism ’s path m ust include m ore dim ensions than ju s t tim e and thought. In fact, the m ore pervasive influence o f B uddhism on Chinese society is to be seen in dom ains that are no t distinctively Buddhist.

T he account o f the ghost festival sketched in these pages offers several im portan t lessons concerning the historical process through w hich “ religious phenom ena translate themselves into a reorganization o f the social.” 17 N o t only was the festival instrum ental in bringing about far- reaching changes in Chinese socicty, it also serves— now as part o f a narrative w ritten in the historical style— as a convenient lens for view ing several o f these transform ations.

T he em ergence o f the ghost festival in medieval times signifies an im portan t alteration in the traditional calendar. While the festival was undoubtedly established on the basis o f earlier celebrations held in the m iddle o f the seventh m onth , beginning in medieval times the festival held on that day w ould henceforth never cscapc association w ith insti

14 A ccording to A rthu r F. W righ t. “ Before B uddhism divine re tribu tion was believed to fall upon families; B uddhism then in troduced the idea o f karm ic causation, bu t this w as on an individual basis. Finally the tw o w ere in terw oven in to the view that has prevailed since the Sung period; that divine retribu tion w orks 011 a fam ily basis and th ro u g h a chain o f lives” ; A rthu r F. W righ t, Buddhism in Chinese History (Stanford: S tanford U n iversity Press, 1959), p. 105.

15 Sec, for exam ple, Ju d ith A. Berling, The Syncretic Religion oj Lin Chao-en (N ew Y ork: C o lum bia U niversity Press. 1980); and C hiin-fang Yii, The Renewal o f Buddhism in China: Chu-huitg and the Late Ming Synthesis (N ew York: C o lum bia U niversity Press,1981).

16 Im portan t exceptions to this generalization include: K enneth K .S. C h ’en, The Chinese Transformation o f Buddhism (Princeton: Princeton U niversity Press, 1973);Jacques G crnet, Les Aspects economiques du bouddhisme dans la societe chinoise du Ve an Xe siecle (Saigon: Ecolc Franchise d ’E x trem e-O ricn t, 1956); M ichihata R yoshu, Todai bukkyo shi no kenkyii (K yoto: H ozokan, 1957); and Stanley W einstein, Buddhism under the T'ang (C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press, 1987).

17 G crnet, Les Aspects t'cotiomiqiies du bouddhisme, p. xiii.

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tutional religion. The affiliation o f the festival w ith organized religion is unm istakable in the medieval period, w hen offerings were m ade regularly to B uddhist (and Taoist) m onks at their temples. A fter the medieval period the linkage was m aintained m ore indirectly: if celebrations w ere carried ou t less often w ithin the walls o f the tem ple, the tim ing o f the festival was still synchronized w ith the end o f the sum m er retreat for m onks.

The m edieval ghost festival also sheds im portant light on the history o f Chinese m ortuary practiccs. T he condition o f the dead, form erly pictured only in hazy generalities, was now defined in horrifying detail. T he stories that w ere told about the founding o f the festival relate the jou rney o f deceased spirits th rough the courts o f hell, w here they undergo questioning, judgm ent, and torture before being assigned to their next rebirth. T he m ythology o f the ghost festival provides num erous examples o f how B uddhist landm arks in the o ther w orld (King Yam a’s court, Avici Hell, the karm a m irror that reflects past deeds) became perm anent additions to Chinese topography. T he w orldview reflected in the medieval ghost festival constituted a m ature synthesis o f Indian deities and concepts w ith Chinese ones, lacking only the numerical system atization o f hells characteristic o f postm edieval religion. T he portrait o f the hells draw n in yu-lan-p’en literature was also im portant for didactic purposes: in show ing the torm ents suffered by the dead it supplied unequivocal justification for perform ing the key ritual o f the ghost festival, w hich was designed to secure a pleasurable rebirth for one’s kin.

The influence o f the ghost festival on Chinese society is enshrined m ost clearly in the dom ain o f family religion. In early medieval China, m onks w ere viewed as ungrateful profligates w hose egotism drove them to reject the family while reaping the material benefits accordcd them by Chinese law. But beginning in the T ’ang, as seen m ost clearly in the transactions o f the ghost festival, m onasticism was accepted, though never w ithout com plaint, as a necessary com plem ent to family life. In the rituals o f the ghost festival, householder and ascetic arc both needed to maintain the harm onious w orkings o f nature and to further the welfare o f the living and the dead. By virtue o f the soteriological efficacy that m onks alone com m and, the Sangha was m ade an essential part o f Chinese family religion. Precisely because they had shed the bonds o f kinship, m onks gained the pow er to produce even greater blessings for the family. The history o f the ghost festival docum ents the addition o f the role o f w orld rcnounccr to the social w orld o f traditional C hina, illustrating the way in w hich Buddhism prepared its ow n transform ation, synthesis— and, after the medieval period, its diffusion— throughout the entire fabric o f Chinese society.

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墨子制作

Bibliography

I. P r im a r y S o u r c e s

A. Works in Buddhist and Taoist Collections

A -p ’i-ta-mo chii-she lun p»Jjg. J p E { g .^ ^ (Abhidharm akosa). V asubandhu , tran s

la ted b y H siian -tsang (6 0 2 -6 6 4 ). T . n o . 1558. T ran s la tio n b y La Vallee

P oussin , L ’Abhidharmakosa.

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H siian -tsan g '£ 5$ (6 0 2 -6 6 4 ). T . n o . 1545.

Chai-chieh lu C a . late seven th c e n tu ry . T T . n o . 464.

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412) an d C h u F o -n ien (ca. 365). T . n o . 1.

Cheng-fa nien-ch’u ching IK ."3 I?. (Saddharmasmrtyupasthanasutra). T ran s la ted

b y G a u ta m a P ra jn a ru c i (ca. 5 3 8 -5 4 3 ). T . no . 721.

Chien-cheng lun 3&IEjl£j- H siian -i £ %£ (ca. 6 9 0 -7 0 5 ). T . no . 2112.

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1032). T . n o . 1951.

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T T . n o . 253.

C hin-yiian chi <Jj. T su n -sh ih (9 6 4 -1 0 3 2 ). Z . 2A , 6 :2 .

C hing-lii i-hsiang P a o -c h ’a n g (ca. 516). T . n o . 2121.

C hiu mien-jan o-kuei t ’o-lo-ni shen-chou ching g j Pti M / E 1$ $£ iE • S iksananda

(6 5 2 -7 1 0 ). T . n o . 1314.

C hiu-pa yen-k'ou o-kuei t ’o-lo-ni c h i n g n |® A m o g h av a jra (7 0 5 -

774). T . n o . 1313.

C hiu tsa p ’i-yii ching J § : ■ T ra n s la te d b y K ’an g S en g -h u i bftfft 5% (d. 280).

T . n o . 206.

C hu-ching yao-chi T a o -sh ih jgfU : (d. 683). T . n o . 2123.

C h 'u san-tsang chi-chi { iJH stS IE # ;-. S e n g -y u fgijft (4 4 5 -5 1 8 ). T . n o . 2145.

C huan-chi po-yuan ching (Avadanasataka). T ran s la ted b y C h ih C h ’ien

5 . IK (c a - 2 2 0 -2 5 2 ). T . n o . 200. C f. tran sla tio n f ro m S ansk rit b y Feer, L ’A vadana-Cataka.

C hung a-han ching <ji foj f t ( Madhyamagama). T ransla ted b y G au tam a S am ghadeva

(ca. 3 8 3 -3 9 8 ). T . n o . 26.

Chung-ching m u-lu 'le f t1.111®. F a-ch in g U<#f(. (ca. 594). T . n o . 2146.

Chung-ching m u-lu M* 11 %£■ Y cn-tsu n g / t £]' (ca. 602). T . no . 2147.

231墨子制作

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Chung-ching m u-lu ffcgg [=) £$ . C h in g - t ’ai (ca. 665). T . n o . 2148.

D ai nihon bukkyo zensho H 100 vols. T o k y o : S uzuk i g ak u ju tsu

zaidan , 1 9 7 0 -7 3 . A b b re v ia te d as Z S .

D ai nihon zo k u zo k yo ^ R 150 cases. 1 9 0 5 -1 2 ; r e p rin t ed ., Shanghai:

C o m m e rc ia l Press, 1923. A b b re v ia te d as Z .

Fa-yiian chu-lin T a o -sh ih jjJ [U; (d. 683). T . n o . 2122.

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4 3 1 -4 8 1 . T . n o . 1484. T ran s la tio n s b y Ish ida, Bommo kyo \ an d de G ro o t, Le

Code du M ahayana en C hine.

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Fo-tsu li-tai t'ung-tsai { $ i f l . f t j j | N ie n -c h ’a n g & (d. 1341). T . n o . 2036.

Fo-tsu t'ung-chi 3(112- C h ih -p ’an (ca. 1260). T . n o . 2035.

Fo wu-po ti-tzu tzu-shuo pen-ch’i ching f# 21 S ’ ^ f t «£ 'fc • D h a rm a ra k sa (ca.

2 6 5 -3 1 3 ). T . n o . 199.

Fu-m u en-chung ching T . n o . 2887.

Fu-m u en nan-pao ching $£ A n S h ih -k a o (c a - 1 4 8 -1 7 0 ). T . n o .

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Hung-m ing chi ih B f t i f i . S cn g -y u f f j i (4 4 5 -5 1 8 ). T . n o . 2102.

l-ch’ieh-ching y in -i — M - H s iia n -y in g ffi (7 3 7 -8 2 0 ). T . n o . 2128.

K'ai-yiian shih-chiao lu C h ih -sh e n g (ca. 6 6 9 -7 4 0 ). T . n o . 2154.

Kao-seng chuan H u i-c h ia o (4 9 7 -5 5 4 ). T . n o . 2059.

Kao-seng fa-hsien chuan F a-hsien if; 3$ (ca. 416). T . n o . 2085.

Ken-pen-shuo i-ch'ieh-yu-pu p ’i-nai-yeh an-chii shih j-g — f t(M ulasan'astivadavinayavarsavastu). T ran s la ted by 1-ching (6 3 5 -7 1 3 ). T .

no . 1445.

Ken-pen-shuo i-ch’ieh-yu-pu p ’i-nai-yeh sui-i shih — #

(M iilasarvastivadavinayapravaranavastu). T ran s la ted b y 1-ching (6 3 5 -

713). T . n o . 1446.

Ken-pen-shuo i-ch’ieh-yu-pu p ’i-nai-yeh yao-shih fg (M ula-

sarvastivadavinayavastu). T ran s la ted b y I-ch in g (635—713). T . n o . 1448.

K okuyaku issaikyo, wakan senjutsubu m l ? — 101 vols. T o k y o :

D a ito sh u ppansha , 1 9 5 8 -6 3 .

Ku-chin i-ching I ’u-chi '4 ' , 7 - |? i® [ 0 I£ . C h ’in g -m a i (ca- 6 4 5 -6 6 5 ). T . n o . 2151,

Kuan-fo san-mei hai ching j£$ ■($ H fl£: #3 & B u d d h a b h a d ra (3 5 9 -4 2 9 ). T . n o . 643.

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K uei wen mu-lien ching 5&|n] IH A n S h ih -k a o ' ( £ (ca. 1 4 8 -1 7 0 ). T . n o . 734.

232

墨子制作

P R I M A R Y S O U R C E S

Lan-p’en ching shu-ch’ao yii-i | i j J i h - h s i n H f f (ca. 1068). Z . 1, 9 4 :4 .

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N o t ex ta n t; la rgely rep ro d u c e d in L an-p’en ching shu-ch’ao yii-i.

Lan-p’en hsien-kung i f i f i Y u a n - c h a o i i (1 0 4 8 -1 1 1 6 ). Z . 2 B , 3 :2 .

Li-huo lun BP-Slfe- M o u Y ung ^ § 4 (ca. th ird ce n tu ry ). In H ung-m ing chi ‘j/* ijfl | j l .

S en g -y u (4 4 5 -5 1 8 ). T . n o . 2102. T ran s la tio n b y P e llio t, “ M e o u -ts e u .”

Li-tai san-pao chi Fci C h ’an g -fa n g (ca. 5 6 1 -5 9 7 ). T . n o . 2034.

Ling-pao ta-lien nei-chih hsing-ch’ih chi-yao T h ir te e n th

ce n tu ry . T T . n o . 407.

Liu-tu chi ching K ’an g S en g -h u i (d. 280). T . n o . 152.

Lung-hsing Jo-chiao pien-nien t ’ung-lun $C8 3 j t f i T s u - h s i u (ca.

1164). Z . 2 B , 3: 3 - 4 .M i-sha-sai-pu ho-hsi wu-fen lit (M ahisasakavinaya). T ra n s

la ted b y B uddhajTva (ca. 4 2 3 -4 2 4 ). T . n o . 1421.

M iao-fa lien-hua ching ( Saddharmapundarikasulra). T ran s la ted b y

K u m ira jiv a (3 5 0 -4 0 9 ). T . n o . 262. T ran s la tio n b y H u rv itz , Scripture o f the

Lotus Blossom o f the Fine Dharma.

M ing-pao chi % T ’an g L in / |f g “ (ca. 6 0 0 -6 5 9 ). T . n o . 2082.

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P a o -c h ’an g g P g (ca. 519). Z . 2B , 7 :1 .

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M o-li-chih-t’ien ching i A m o g h a v a jra (7 0 5 -7 7 4 ). T . n o . 1255b.

M o-li-chih-t’ien p ’u-sa t ’o-lo-ni ching l^#IJ ^ A /£ £ ? • A m o g h a v a jra (7 0 5 -774). T . n o . 1255a.

M o-lo wang ching ^ 1 1 3 : .® - C h ii- c h ’ii C h in g -sh e n g / H . i l l M ( ca- 4 5 5 -4 6 4 ). T . n o . 517.

N an-hai chi-kuei nei-fa chuan I-ch in g (6 3 5 -7 1 3 ). T . no .

2125.

O -kuei pao-ying ching f li A n o n y m o u s (ca. 3 1 7 -4 2 0 ). T . n o . 746.

Pan-ni-yiian hou kuan-la ching DEM1.- A ttr ib u te d to D h arm arak sa (ca.

2 6 5 -3 1 3 ). T . n o . 391.

Pao-en fen g -p ’en ching ® ( T h e Sutra on Offering Bowls to R epay Kindness).

A n o n y m o u s (317—420). T . n o . 686.

Pieh-i tsa a-han ching (Sam yuktagam a). A n o n y m o u s (ca. 3 5 0 -4 3 1 ). T .

n o . 100.

Pien-cheng lun fcf IF. rift- F a-lin jg j j# (5 7 2 -6 4 0 ). T . n o . 2110.

Ritsuon sobo den f l - f t i f f t f t ’ ($■ E ken (ca. 1689). Z S . V ol. 64.

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233

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Shih-chia p ’u !§ . S cn g -y u (4 4 5 -5 1 8 ). T . n o . 2040.

Shih chu o-kuei yin-shih chi shui-fa A m o g h a v a jra (7 0 5 -7 7 4 ).

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Shih-shih chi-ku liieh B&. C h iic h -a n 4 ^ (ca. 1354). T . n o . 2037.

Shih-shih t ’ung-lan T su n g -h s ia o 5j<B£§ (ca. 1204). Z . 2 A , 6 :3 .

Shih-shih yao-lan f ? i t ® • T a o -c h ’cn g (ca. 1019). T . n o . 2127.Shih-sung lii f- fj? (Sarvastivadavinaya). T ran s la ted b y K u m ara jiv a (3 5 0 -4 0 9 ). T .

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61.Ssu-fen lii O S 'Q t (D harm aguptavinaya). T ran s la ted b y B u d dhayasas (ca. 4 0 8 -4 1 2 ).

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Sui-yiian wang-sheng shih-fang ching-t’u ching fa -hjg*. C h a p te r E leven

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Sung kao-seng chuan f t T T s a n - n i n g (919—1001). T . n o . 2061.

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1509. T ra n s la tio n b y L am o tte , Le Traite de la grand vertu de sagesse.

Ta-chou k ’an-ting chung-ching m u-lu ?IJ ><£ ffc £9. R $&- M in g -c h ’iian {£ (ca.

695). T . n o . 2153.

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b y P ra b h a m itra (5 6 5 -6 3 3 ). T . n o . 1604.

Ta-sheng ta-chi ti-tsang shih-lun I'fmjij??.- T ran s la ted b y H siian-

tsang (6 0 2 -6 6 4 ). T . n o . 411.

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la tio n b y B eal, Si-yu -k i.

T a -t’ang nei-tien lu T ao -h s tian j j j g (5 9 6 -6 6 7 ). T . n o . 2149.

T'ai-chi chi-Uen nei-fa i-liieh p*j £ £ Bft. C h e n g Ssu-hsiao (1 2 3 9 -

1316). T T . n o . 548.

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T T . n o . 457.

T ’ai-shang tung-hsiian ling-pao san-yiian p ’in-chieh kung-te ch’ing-chung ching (■■_ jjii] £

*St E i/ t ; pm J& *E IS- C a . fifth c e n tu ry . T T . no . 456.

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C a - six th c c n tu ry . T T . n o . 370.

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T T . n o . 336.

234

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H s in -w e n -fe n g c h ’u -p a n k u n g -ssu , 1974. A b b re v ia te d as T .

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T T . R eferences use th e n u m b e r in g system in th e H a rv a rd -Y e n c h in g index ,

Tao-tsang tzu -m u yin-te.

Ti-tsang p ’u-sa pen-yiian ching T ran s la ted b y S iksananda (6 5 2 -

710). T . n o . 412.

Tsa a-han ching !j$t|&Tft£i! (Sam yuktagam a). T ra n s la te d b y G u n a b h a d ra (3 9 4 -4 6 8 ).

T . n o . 99.

Tsa tsang ching F a-hsien (ca. 3 9 9 -4 1 6 ). T . n o . 745.

Tseng-i a-han ching f t i® (Ekottaragama). T ran sla ted b y G au tam a Sam ghadeva

(ca. 3 8 3 -3 9 7 ). T . n o . 125.

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Wei-mo-chieh so-shuo ching S Fftq $ (VimalakTrtinirdesa). T ran s la ted by

K um arajTva (3 5 0 -4 0 9 ). T . n o . 475.

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in C hing-lii i-hsiang, T . n o . 2121 an d in Fa-yiian chu-lin, T . n o . 2122.

W u-shang pi-yao t e h M.' S? ■ C o m p le te d 583. T T . n o . 1130.

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c e n tu ry ). T T . n o . 463.

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£ $ £ (6 0 2 -6 6 4 ). T . n o . 1579.

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2 6 5 -3 1 3 ). T . n o . 685. T ra n s la tio n b y C h a v an n es, D ix Inscriptions.

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841). T . n o . 1792.

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Z . 1 ,3 5 :2 .

Yii-lan-p’en ching shu hsiao-heng ch’ao j £ f l i f i ( Y “-jung Com m entary).

Y ii-ju n g ^ 3 $ (S ung). Z . 1, 9 4 :4 .

Yii-lan-p’en ching shu hsin-chi ,fo|V| # r iid (Yiian-chao Com m entary). Y uan -ch ao

x J tf l (1 0 4 8 -1 1 1 6 ). Z . 1 ,3 5 :2 .

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Yii-lan-p’en ching shu hui-ku t ’ung-chin chi P ’u -k u a n f f -g j

(ca. 1178). Z . 1 ,3 5 :2 .

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(5 7 8 -c a . 645). P . n o . 2269, p r in te d as T . n o . 2781.

Yiian-jen lun A ^ - T su n g -m i 7jx $ i (7 8 0 -8 4 1 ). T . n o . 1886.

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T u K u n g -c h a n f t i s IB (ca. 581—624). T e x t in M o riy a M itsu o ^ J|gf 3= fifl 4ft ■

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Index

A -p ’o ("m o th e r” ), 61 A bhidharm a, 63 AbhidharmakoSa, 152, 181 Abhijiid, see Shen-t'ung Abhiseka, 96 Agamas, 65, 114 A ggregates (skhandas), 185 Alaya-vijiidna, 21 In A m itabha, 192A m oghavajra (P u -k 'ung chin-kang), 79,

107An-chii, 32, 205. See also M onks, sum m er

retreat o f A n-kuo ssu, 83 A n, Lu-Shan, 222 A n, Shih-K ao, 126n A nanda, 117, 138 A nathapindika, 102 A ncestors: in ghost festival, 13, 40, 45,

70, 199; and karm a, 202; and m erit, 3; offerings to , 196, 199-200; and sham anism , 145-46. See also Family

A ncestral cult. Im perial, 47, 60 A ncestral T em ple, Im perial (t ’ai-miao), 5,

47, 80, 82 A niruddha. 138, 151 A pocrypha, 62A sceticism , see M onks; R enunciation A svajit, 121, 124A udience, and M u-lien m yth , 113 A u tu m n , inauguration of, 28 Avadana: audience of, 135; as genre, 61,

116n; and M u-lien, 20, 131; and The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, 116. See also Chuan-chi po-yiian ching

Avalambana (“ hang ing d o w n "), 22 Avici Hell, 175-76, 181

Baker, H ugh , 197, 219 B akhtin , M ikhail, 30 Bhajana ("vessel"), 22 Bim bisiira, K ing, 59, 60, 69, 85n Black Rope Hell, 181 lioilitc, D erk, 18, 27

Bodhimandala, 157n “ B odhisattva o f the E ast," 63 Bon, 9Bon odori (“ D ance o f B o n ” ), 9 Book o f Changes, see 1-ching Book o f Rites (Li-chi), 28 Book o f Songs, see Shih-ching B oon, Jam es A ., 209 B ow l, m o n k ’s, 160, 162 B rahm a’s H eaven, 90, 172 B redon, Ju lie t, 13B right A ccord, G ate o f (K uang-shun

m en), 79, 81 B uddha (Sakyam uni): b irth of, 207; and

C h ’in g -t’i, 131; as filial son, 140; founding o f gho st festival by, 7, 46; and karm a, 130; as liberator o f denizens o f hell, 130, 176; and his m other, 115; offerings to , 66, 67, 69; in The Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Siitra, 58; and sham anic pow ers, 154. 156

Buddhaputra, 101 B uddhatrata , 46 Buddhayasas, 181B uddhism : in C hina, 141; in C hinese so

ciety, 223; as label, 77; as organized relig ion , 40-41, 44; and sham anism , 166; suppression of, 97-98; suppression o f (in 446), 97; suppression o f (ir. 574), 97; suppression o f (in 845), 96, 97, 222. See also C hinese B uddhism ; C osm ology; Hell; Indian and C entral Asian B uddhism ; K arm a; M onks

B ureaucracy, 188-90

C alendar, C hinese, 27 C anon , 19. See also A pocrypha C apital, K ing o f the (Tu-shih w ang), 183 Cassock, m o n k ’s, 131, 161, 162 C entral O ffice o f the Im perial W orkshop

(Shao-fu cliien, C lum g-shang shu), 44, 78

(,'han-ch 'il slitm-fl yeh-pao ching, 187

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I N D E X

“ C han g -ch in g ” (honorific nam e o f Tai- tsu n g ’s m other), 82

C hang-ch ing ssu, 5, 81, 82, 84 C hang , H siao-shih, 193 C hang , H u, 90n C hang , H ua, 170 C hang , Y en-yiian, 192 Ch'ang (“ tasting” ), 29 C h ’ang-an: ghost festival in (during

T ’ang dynasty ), 44; ghost festival in (in 768), 79; ghost festival in (in 844), 95

C h ’ang-chu seng-mi (“ perm anent property o f the Sangha” ), 66

Chao (“ illum ina tion” ), 159 Chao-slten (“ call d ow n sp irits”), 145 C harity : in lectures to B uddhist lay peo

ple, 47; in The Lecture T ext on the Yii- lan-p’en Siitra, 101; and M u-lien, 118; in The Transformation T ext on Mu-lien Saving His Mother, 89

C havannes, E douard , 16 C h ’en, C h ing -yen , 193 C heng , C hih-chen , 110 Cheng-fo nien-ch'u ching, 181 C heng , Ssu-hsiao, 41 C h ’eng, C h ing , 188 C h ’eng-ying, 188n C h i-k u o ssu, 64 Chi-ssu (“ sacrifices” ), 67 C h i-tsang , 46Ch'i-lin (Chinese “ un ico rn” ), 72 C h ’i-pao p ’en-po ("bow ls o f the seven

jew e ls” ), 85n C h ’i te wang-yang (“ his v irtue is vast”),

123nC h ’i-yiieh shih-wu-jih (“ T he Fifteenth D ay

o f the Seventh M o n th ” ), 214 Chia-ch’ih-na (Skt. kathina), 33 Chiang-ching-wen, see Sutra lecture text C h ’iang-ku (“ G athering O rphaned

Souls” ), 8 Chien-shen (“ see sp irits” ), 145 C h ih , C'h’icn, 125, 132 C hih-hsii, 92n C h ih-lang , 46 C hih-li, 104 C h ih -p ’an, 56n, 80, 82 C hih-sheng , 55n, 62 C h ih -yen , 180nC hih -yuan , 103-104. See also “ H ym ns in

Praise o f L an-p’en ’’

C h ’in, Far-R eaching K ing o f (C h ’in- kuang w ang), 183

C hinese B uddhism : in terp retation of, 23- 25, 169, 178; paradigm s in study of, 223; du ring T ’ang dynasty , 221-22; after T ’ang dynasty , 223

C hinese religion. 91C hinese society: m edieval, 11; as system

o f exchange, 208 C hing -ehao Y in, H siieh-ku, 85 C hing-fa ssu, 193 C h in g -k u n g ssu, 193, 194 Ching-lu i-hsiang, 180 C h in g - t’ai, 55n Ching tu san-mei ching, 180 C hing-t’u yii-lan-p’en ching, see Pure Land

Yii-lan-p 'en Siitra C h ing -y ii, 55n C hing-y ii ssu, 193C h ’in g - t’i (M u-licn’s m other): as black

dog , 177; e tym o lo g y of, 118n; in H eaven o f T h irty -T h ree , 177; in hell,6, 7, 59; as hungry ghost, 171, 177; in M ing dram a, 111; previous lives of, 60, 90, 117, 119, 171; salvation of, 7; in The Transformation T ex t on Mu-lien Saving H is Mother, 119-20; in Vinaya sources, 131

Chiu t’ang shu (O ld T'ang History), 71, 79, 82, 83

Chiu-pa yen-k’ou o-kuei t ’o-lo-ni ching, 108 C hristian ity , 24 C h u , T ao-shuang , 183n C h u -h u n g , 108Chuan-chi po-yiian ching: h ungry ghosts

in, 125-29; m others and m onks in, 131- 33; translated, 127-29

C’hung-shang shu (“ C entral O ffice” ), 78 C h u n g -tsu n g (T ’ang em peror), 82n C hung-y iian : festival of, 35-40; as Taoist

nam e for ghost festival, 214. See also M iddle P rim ordial

Chung-yiian jih (“ T h e Day | H onoring | the M idd le P rim ord ia l” ), 8

C h ’ung-fu ssu, 3C h ’ung-w cn kuan (C ollege for the Exal

ta tion o f L iterature), 72 Class structu re, 17, 216; anil literacy, 18;

and organized religion, 217 Commentary on the Yii-lan-p'en Sutra (Yii-

lan-p'ni filing shu, by T sung-m i): as

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I N D E X

apologetic w ork , 47; form and content of, 93-95; and later com m entaries. 92; on m erit, 210-12; on The Pure Land Yii- lan-p'en Siitra, 62; on reciprocity , 201; on the six penetrations, 148-49; textual h istory of, 93. See also T sung-m i

Commentary Praising the Yii-lan-p’en Sutra (Yii-lan-p’en citing tsan-shu, by H ui- ching): on filiality, 201; form and conten t of, 63, 64-65; literary value of. 47; on M u-lien ’s pow ers, 159; on pow ers o f m onks, 159; on salvation, 154; textual h isto ry of, 64, 65. See also H ui- ching

C o m m o n people, 89 C onfucianism , Sung, 93 C onfucius, 198nC o p p er Pillar and Iron Bed Hell, 175 C osm ology : B uddhist. 14; Chinese, 14;

and C hinese B uddhism , 168-69; and com m on people, 195; and folk religion, 89; o f ghost festival, 168; and gods, 14; and lay people, 192; and m editation, 191; and m onks, 191; in The Sutra on the Prophecy o f King Yama, 183-84; as synthesis o f Indian and Chinese conceptions, 184, 222, 224; Taoist, 37

C o w h e rd (C h ’ien-niu), 29 C ro w d ed Hell, 181

Daianji, 9 Dang-ki, 143D eG roo t. Ja n J . M .,3 1 , 112, 125, 146D em ieville, Paul, 222Dharanis, 108D harm a: offerings to . 66D harm agup ta sect, 24, 48nDhyana, 148; stages of, 152-53, 166, 191D ionysus, 24D ipam kara, 117, 119Dirghagama, 181D iv ination , 4D u rkheim , Em ile, 16

Ear, d iv ine, 148-49, 153 E conom y: and religion, 210 Edkins, Joseph , 14 E ighteen transform ations, 163 E m peror: and state ritual, 80; us partici

pant in ghost lVstiv.il, 5, 44, 47, 48, 60,

72, 80. See also under names o f specific emperors

E nn in , 3, 95, 96, 98 E nryakuji, 96Ethics: and folk religion, 89 E ty m ology , 23Exalted M aster o f the W ay (T ’ai-shang

tao-chiin), 38 E xam iner o f Fate, 172 Exchange: betw een ancestors and de

scendants, 197; in ghost festival, 209- 10; in Indian B uddhism . 210; and m onks, 14; theory of, 208

Eye, divine, 148-49, 151, 154, 159

Fa-ching, 55n Fa-hsien, 168Fa-hui ta-sh ih (“ G reat M aster o f D harm a

W isdom ” ), 103 Fa-la (B uddhist N ew Year), 34, 206. See

also N ew Year, B uddhist Fa-shih, 143Fa-yiian chu-lin, 55n, 60-61, 66-67, 121—

23. See also T ao-shih Fa-yun, 146Family: and C hinese religion, 17; as so-

cio-relig ious institu tion , 197. See also A ncestors

Fang, H siian-ling , 64 Fang-shih, 143Fang yen-k’ou (“ Releasing |H u n g ry

G hosts w ith | B urn ing M o u th s” ), 8 Feast, nature of, 30 Fei, C h ’ang-fang, 55n Fen-hsing, 144 Feng (sacrifice), 170 Festivals, during T ’ang dynasty , 66 Filiality: and B uddhism , 65; and ghost

festival, 12, 47; in The Commentary on the Yii-lan-p 'en Sutra, 93-94; in The Commentary Praising the Yii-lan-p 'en Sutra, 65; in The Lecture T ext on the Yii- lan-p’en Siitra, 1, 102; as topic o f lectures to lay people, 47

First River, K ing of, 183, 184 Five O ffices, K ing of, 183 Five Paths, G eneral o f (W u-tao chiang-

chiin), 6, 173, 185 Five Paths, K ing o f the C ycle o f (W u-tao

cluian-lun w ang), 183, 185 Five Vehicles, 94

267 墨子制作

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Flow ers, as ghost festivals offerings. 69 F o-t’u -teng , 166n Fo-tzu, 101Fo wu-po li-tzti tzu-shuo pen-ch’i ching, 150 Folk religion, 215, 217 Fu (“ m erit”), 210Fu, H siang (M u-licn’s father), 119, 120n Fu-ch’u (“ P u rg a tio n ” festival), 29n Fu-hsien ssu, 193 Fu-mu en-chung ching, 102n, 201

G autam a, Prajnaruci, 181 G autam a, S iddhartha, see B uddha G ender: and gho st festival, 82; in M u-lien

m yth , 12. See also C h ’in g -t’i; M other G enre, 113 G en to , 9G ernet, Jacques, 10, 210 G host festival: am biguous sym bolism of,

220; B uddhist and C onfucian values in, 218; in B uddhist tem ples, in medieval tim es, 44; calendrical significance of,13, 27-30, 34-35; and com m on people, 41-42, 44, 58, 192, 215; com prehensive p icture of, 24; cosm ology of, 190-91; extravagance o f offerings, 69; and fam ily religion, 202; ghosts and ancestors in, 219-21; in H aw aii, 8; and hum an fecundity , 207; and institu tional religion, 215, 223; institu tions w here celebrated, 8, 40, 43, 98; in Japan, 9; in Java, 8; in K orea, 8; legends associated w ith , 109; and levels o f C hinese society, 43, 108- 109, 166-67; and m onastic retreat, 133; nam es for, 8, 35, 214-15; nondenom i- national character of, 40, 41-42, 215; du ring N o rth e rn Sung dynasty , 108- 109; offerings given du ring , 8, 44, 58, 98, 200; and political con tro l, 216; popularity of, 95; as rite o f passage, 220; rituals of, 67, 99; sources for study of, 17, 20, 44; in S outh China, in sixth centu ry , 58; T an tric influence on , 107-108; T ao ist version, 35-40. See also C h u n g - yiian; “ M u-lien m y th ” ; Y ii-lan-p’en

G hosts and ancestors, 219, 220 G overnm en t, See E m peror; State G o vernm en t officials, 81. Sec also E m

peror; State G ranet, M arcel, 15

G reat Scream ing Hell, 181 G reat T rad ition and Little T rad ition , 169-

70G reg o ry , Peter, 93 G unabhadra, 180n

H an, O , 207H ang-chou , celebration o f ghost festival

in, 110 H arvest, 4, 28, 45 H aw aii, 8H eaven o f T h irty -T h ree , 90, 115, 130,

131. 138Hell: in B uddhism , 180-81; bureaucracy

of, 174; in C hinese B uddhist sources, 180; enum eration o f various types of, 179-85; as focus o f y ii-lan-p’en literature, 191; in later C hinese religion, 181; fo r m en on ly , 174; pictures of, 192-94; in T ao ist sources, 180; ten courts of,183; te rm s for, 169. See also C osm ology; and under names o f specific hells

Hell o f Fiery H eat, 181 Hell o f G reat H eat, 181 Hell o f Resuscitation, 181 H iei, M oun t, 96 H si (“ sham ans” ), 142 HsP (“ L ustra tion" festival), 29 H si, H o, 73 H si-m ing ssu, 68, 70 “ H si-tz ’u ch uan ,” 147 H si-yu chi (Journey to the West), 111, 161 n Hsiang-shili (“ d iv iner” ), 127 H siao, T zu-liang , 180n Hsiao-p’en pao-en ching (The Sutra on Re

paying Kindness with the Smaller Bowl),61

Hsien-fo (“ O fferings to the B uddha” ), 67H sin-hsing , 186H sin g -t’ang kuan, 98H siuan-tsung (T 'ang em peror), 97H siian-tsang, 64, 70, 111, 187, 221H siian-tsung (T ’ang em peror), 77, 78H siin , O u -y an g , 35-36H ua-tu ssu, 193H ua-yen , 93Huai-nan-lzii, 77Huan-hun chi (Record o f a Returned Spirit),

187H uang , C h ’ao, 111, 222

268

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I N D E X

Huang-ch'iian, see Y ellow Springs H ui-chao , 46H ui-ch ing , 46, 63. See also Commentary

Praising the Yii-lan-p 'en Siitra Hui-ching Commentary. See Commentary

Praising the Yii-lan-p 'en Siitra H ui-ta , 133H u n g ry G hosts, 125-30 H y m n s, 45" H y m n s in Praise o f L an-p’en ” (“ Lan-

p ’en li-tsan w en ” ), 104-107

I-ch’ieh liu-tao tsui-jen (“ all sinners in the six paths o f reb irth ” ), 220

l-ching (Book o f Changes), 74, 146-47I-wen lei-chii, 36 Im partial, K ing, 176, 183, 185 Im perial A ncestral Tem ple, see Ancestral

T em ple, Im perial Im perial C ity (htiang-ch'eng), 80 Im perial R epository (Shosoin), 9 Indian and C entra l Asian B uddhism : and

C hinese B uddhism , 24; cosm ology of, 178; m onastic retreat in, 20-21, 32-34; M u-licn in, 20

Indra, 136, 138 Iranian religions, 24 fsvara, 139 Iw am o to , Yutaka, 24

Jade R egister {yii-li), I83n J a p a n ,9Japanese literature, 9Java, 8Jih -hsin , 92nJikaku daishi, 96Journey to the West, see Hsi-yu chiJu (“ C onfucian” ), 143Ju-tsang (“ in to the canon”), 19Ju i-tsu n g (T ’ang em peror), 82n, 84n

Kahteing, 33nK ’ai-feng: gh o st festival in, 110 Kama, 205 K ’ang, C h u , 180n K ’ang, Seng-hui, 120 Kao (C h ’i em peror), 56n K ao-tsu (T ’ang em peror), 79, 80, 81 Karm a: and ancestors, 202; and bureau

cracy, 203; in (Commentary on the Yii-lan-

p ’en Sutra, 119; in M u-lien m yth , 178- 79; in The Transformation T ext on M u- lien Saving His Mother, 89, 203

K arm a O fficial, 172 Kasi, 139 Kathin, 33n Kathina, 33K inship, 131. See also A ncestors; G hosts

and ancestors Knife H ill and S w ord Forest Hell, 175 Ko, H u n g , 165nK olita, 118, 121. See also M u-lien K olitagram aka, 121 K orea, 8K sitigarbha, see T i-tsang K u, M oun t, 103 Kuan-la ching, 55n K uan-ti, 144 Kuan-ting ching, 133 K uan-yin , 101, 133, 144 K uang-shun m en, see B right A ccord,

G ate o fKuei-chieh (“ T h e G host Festival” ), 8 K uei-feng M ounta in , 93 Kuei wen mu-lien ching, 126 KumarajTva, 153, 171, 181 K ’un-lun , 72, 74, 77, 86 Kung-te (“ m erit”), 210. See also M erit K ’u n g -t’ung , 87 K ’ung , Y ing-ta , 64

Lan-p’en, 22, 23nLan-p’en ching shu chih-hua ch'ao, 104 Lan-p’en hsien-kung i (Ceremonial for Lan-

p ’en Offerings), 104, 204 “ L an-p’en li-tsan w en ,” see “ H ym ns in

Praise o f L an -p ’en”Lao-tzu, 165 Lay people, 47, 100Lecture T ext on the Yii-lan-p'en Siitra: on

filiality, 7; fo rm and con ten t of, 99-102; tex tual h isto ry of, 102

L i chi, see Book o f Rites Li, Lou, 75 Li, Y in-chih, 56n Li-tai ming-hua chi, 192 Lien (“ refin ing” ), 41 Lin, Pu, 103 L ing-chih ssu, 104 L ing-hu, C h 'u , 39

269

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I N D E X

L ing-yao, 92Lion strides (shih-tzu pu ), 156 L iteracy, 216 Liu, H sii, 82 Lo, T su n g -t’ao, 131L o-pu (“ T u rn ip ” ), 117. See also M u-lien L o-yang: ghost festival in (during T 'an g

dynasty), 44; gho st festival in (in 692),71

L ow er Prim ordial, 36, 37 Lu, K ung, 39, 40 Lu, L eng-ch 'ich , 193 Lu, Y uan-yu, 109 Lu-lou, 119

M adhyam ika, 63 M agic, 155Mahdprajnaparamitdidstra, 65, 153, 155,

181Mahdsdnghikavinaya, 68 Mahdvibhasa, 181 Mahayanasutralamkara, 63 M aitreya, 192 M allika, Q ueen , 60 Mandalas, 96 Mang-hon il, 9 M anichacism , 24 M arici, 131 M arkets, 109 M artial pow ers, 163M audgalyayana, 6, 119. See also M u-lien M auss, M arcel, 208M editation: in C hinese B uddhism , 152—

53; in scholastic B uddhism , 151; and social class, 166; and special pow ers, 165

M edium s, see Sham anism M em orandum on O fferings to the B ud

dha (contained in Fa-yiian chu-lin, by Tao-shih), 66-71. See also Tao-shih

M en-t'u (“ lay disciples” ), 101 M eng, T sung , 201 M cng, Y iian-lao, 110 M erit: and C hinese B uddhism , 58; and

exchange, 210; field of, 210- 12 ; transfer of, 3, 202

M iddle P rim ordial (chung-yiian) (Taoist diety), 8, 35, 37, 189

M ilky W ay, 76 M in g -ch ’iian, 55n

Ming-hsiang chi, 133 M ing-lu (“ dark roads” ), 172 M onasticism , see M onks M onks: and asceticism , 45; in Asia, 14; in

C hina, 14; and C hinese society, 35,197, 198, 208; and fam ily religion, 91, 196-97, 204, 205, 208, 212, 224; as hosts o f banquet, 67; as interm ediaries, 7; and karm a, 204; and kinship, 209; pow ers of, 205; as recipients o f offerings, 204; sum m er retreat of, 4, 20, 31- 35, 205, 206, 207; traditional view s of, 197. See also Sangha

M orality books, 8M ortu ary ritual: B uddhist distinguished

from C onfucian , 218; B uddhist elem ents in, 224; and ghost festival, 14, 196, 220-21; T sung-m i on , 218

M other: o f B uddha, 138; and m onks, 115;salvation of, 48, 133. See also C h ’in g -t’i

M u, Je n -ch ’ien, 188 M u-[ch ien -|licn , 6. See also M u-lien Mu-chien-lien ming-chien chiu-mu pien-tven,

see Transformation T ext on Mu-licn Saving His Mother from the Dark Regions

M u-lien: in Agamas, 114-16; as bodhisattva, 115; in canonical sources. 116; in the Commentary on the Yu-tan-p'en Siitra, 119; in the Commentary Praising the Yii-lan-p’en Sutra, 118-19; and com m on people, 166-67; as disciple o f the B uddha, 120-25; and the elite, 167; and filiality, 102; and h ungry ghosts, 125-30; in Indian B uddhism , 20, 148; as m edita to r, 65; in m onastic literature, 152; and m ourn ing , 198; in plays, 110; in popular sources, 152; pow ers of, 162— 64; prev ious lives of, 60, 61, 116-19,120, 150; in the Pure Land Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, 116-18; as sham an, 15, 114, 124, 158-64, 168; and social class, 166; and special pow ers, 124n, 155; in The Transformation T ext on Mu-lien Saving His Mother, 6, 90, 119-20; in Tseng-i a- han ching, 136-39; in y ii-lan-p’en literature, 124. See also M audgalyayana; “ M u-licn m y th "

Mu-lien chiti-ma hsing-hsiao hsi-wen, 110 "M u -lien m y th " : in canonical sources,

46; in Ch'itiK dynasty sources, 111; in

270

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Japanese literature, 9; in K orean literature, 8; in M ing dynasty dram a, 110- 1 1 ; in m odern sources, 1 1 1 ; orig ins of, 134, 135; in pao-chiian, 111; in the Pure Land Yii-lan-p 'en Siitra, 59; and social class, 134; in the Siitra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness, 55; in The Transformation T ext on Mu-lien Saving His Mother, 6, 46, 90; in The Yii-lan-p'en Siitra, 55

M u-lien pien, 90 M u-lien san-shih pao-chiian, 111 Mudras, 108 M usicians, 44, 68, 79 M y tho logy , C hinese B uddhist, 115, 134

N a-she, 133, 140 N agarjuna, 153 N agas, 115nNai-ho (“ W athelhvedo R iver” ), 90, 173,

184N alandagram aka, 121 N anda, 114, 136-38 Naraka, 170N ational offerings (kuo-chia ktmg-yang),

66N ei tao-ch 'ang, see Palace Chapel N e w Year; B uddhist, 34, 35, 205-206;

secular, 35, 206 Nidana, 116n Nikayas, 114N iladhi, 118n. Sre rtho C h ’m g-t'l Nirvanasiitra, 65 N ose, divine, 162

O -kuei, see H u n g ry ghosts Obon, 9O ffice r o f E arth , 36 O ffice r o f Records, 172 O rig inal Celestial Venerable (Y iian-shih

t ’ien-tsun), 38

Paek-chong it (“ T he D ay on w hich O ne H undred K inds |o f Food are O ffered to the B uddha]"), 9

Pages o f G ood and Evil, 172 Palace C hapel (nei tao-ch’ang), 47, 79, 80,

83Palacc o f G reat Illum ination (Ta-m ing

kung), 80, HI

Pan-ni-huan hou kuan-la ching, 55n P ’an-chiao (“ division o f the teachings” ),

222P ao-ch’ang, 54n, 180 P ao-chih , 108Pao-chiian ("p recious scrolls” ), 8, 111 Pao-en (“ repay k indness” ), 115. See also

R eciprocity Pao-en feng-p'en ching, see Sutra on Offering

Bowls to Repay Kindness Pao-sha ssu, 193 Parents, 131Pen-sheng, 116n. See also Avadana P ’en (“ b o w l” ), 4, 21, 22 P ’en-tso-na (“ vessel” ), 22 P ’i-yii, 116n. See also Avadana Pien-hsiang (“ transform ation p ictures” ),

88, 193Pien-hua (“ m etam orphosis” ), 144 Pien-wen (“ transform ation tex t”), 6, 87,

88Pilgrim ages, 97 Plays, 8Po, C hii-i, 90, 222 Popular lectures, see Su-chiang P opu lar religion, see C lass structure; Folk

religion; R eligion, folk and elite Possession, see Sham anism P rabham itra , 63 Prajiia, 124nPrasenajit, K ing, 60, 137, 150 Pravarana, 32, 34, 205 P rayers, 45Precious scrolls, see Pao-cliiian Preta, see H u n g ry ghosts P u -k ’ung chin-kang, see A m oghavajra P ’u -kuan , 92n P ’u -kuang ssu, 64P ’u-tu (“ T h e U niversal Passage [o f H u n

gry G hosts O u t o f H ell]” ), 8 Punya, 210n. See also M erit Punyaksetra, 210 Pure Land (school), 222 Pure Land (W estern Paradise), 192 Pure Land Yii-lan-p’en Sutra (Ching-t’u yii-

lan-p’en ching): audicncc of, 62; on C h ‘in g -t’i, 95, 119; form and content of, 58-61; on ghost festival offerings,69; on hell, 171; on M u-lien 's pow ers, I5H, 163; textual history of, 61-62

271

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P urga tory , see C osm ology ; Hell Purneccha, 125-26

Q ueen M other o f the West, 76

Radha, 117nRajagrha, C ouncil of, 206 R ebirth , see C osm ology ; Hell; K arm a R eciprocity , 102. See also Pao-en Record o f Seasonal Observances in Ching-

ch’u (Ching-ch’u sui-shih chi, by T sung Lin), 56

R egeneration, 34, 45, 205 Religion: C hinese, 15, 169, 190; defined,

15; folk and elite, 15, 17, 134; institutional and diffused, 16, 18, 198

R enunciation, 205. See also M onks “ R epaying K indness” (pao-en), 200, 201 R etribu tion , see K arm a R ite o f passage, 220R itual, see G host festival, rituals of; M or

tuary ritual; R ite o f passage R obinet, Isabelle, 144 R w 'n (“ sou l” ), 22 R yd shuge, 157n

Sage, 86 Sai-kong, 143 Saicho, 96Sakyam uni, see B uddha Samadhi, 124nSan-chieh chiao (Teaching o f the Three

Stages), 19, 186 San-kuan (Three O fficers), 37 San-yiian (Three P rim ordials), 36 Sangha: attacks upon, 208; and ghost fes

tival offerings, 45. 67; and festival meal, 68; offerings to , 66, 69; p roperty of, 67, 68, 70, 97; and sham anic pow ers, 156; and state con tro l, 156-57. See also M onks

Sangoku denki, 9 Sanjaya, 121Sariputra: as disciple o f Buddha, 20, 120-

24; and w isdom , 124n, 168 Sarvastivada sect, 131 Sarvastivadavinaya, 68 Schippcr, K ristofer, 164 Scream ing Hell, 181 Sembalijang hantu, 8

Sem ele, 24 Seng-yu , 1 2 1 ,183nSham anism : and ancestors, 145-46; and

B uddhism , 140, 148-57, 165; in C hina, 140, 141-47, 164; definition of, 141; d u ring Eastern C h o u dynasty , 142; in India, 154; in institutional and diffused religion, 164; and m editation , 150-54, 158; and possession, 145; and social class, 141, 158; and soul jo u rn ey , 145; and special pow ers, 146-47; and the state, 143, 156-57; sym bolism of, 161— 62; and T aoism , 164; in The Transformation T ext on M u-lien Saving His Mother, 151

Shan (sacrifice), 170 Shao-fu chien (Im perial W orkshop), 78 Shen (“ sp irit,” “ sp irits ,” "sp iritua l” ),

146, 147Shen-tsu (“ spiritual feet” ), 139, 149 Shen-t’ung (“ spiritual penetra tions”): in

B uddhism , 163, 166; in Chinese cosm ology , 146-47; in m onastic literature, 153; defined by T sun g -m i, 148

Sheng-mao chih wei-i (“ the w onderfu l appearance o f a m igh ty d ep o rtm en t” ), 123n

Shih, A rtisan, 75 Shih-chia p ’u, 121-23 Shih-ching (Book o f Songs), 65 Shih-en (“ ten kindnesses” ), 102 Shih-kung, 143Shih-pa wang san-mei ting (“samddhi-con-

cen tration o f the eighteen k ings” ), 158n Shui-lu hui (“ A ssem bly o f W ater and

L and” ), 108 Siksananda, 107, 187 Six paths (o f rebirth), 171 Skhandas, 185 Sotti ryd, 157nSpirit-m edium s, see Sham anism Spirit tablets, im perial, 80, 81 Spiritual penetrations, see Shen-t'ung S su-chung ssu, 3 Staff, m o n k 's , 161, 162, 175 State: con tro l o f clergy by, 97; and dif

fused religion, 143; and institutional religion, 40, 156-57; and slum an ism ,143; as sponsor o f ghost festival offerings. 5, 44, 48. 60, 66, 71. See also E m

272

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peror; R eligion, institutional and diffused

Su-chiang ("popu lar lectures” ), 100 Sudatta, 60 Sugar C ane clan, 123n Sulaksana, 120n Sum eru, M oun t, 114 Sung, Im perial K ing of, 183 Sung ma-kti ("Sending G rains"), 8 Sutra: as genre, 46; as one o f T hree Bas

kets, 94Sutra lccture tex t (chiang-ching-wen), 99,

100Sutra on Offering Bowls to Repay Kindness

(Pao-enfeng-p'en ching)'. form and conten t of, 46, 54; in Japan, 9; on M u-lien’s pow ers, 158; textual h istory of, 48; translated , 49-54

Sutra on the Prophecy o f King Yama (Yen-lo wang shou-chi ssu-chung yii-hsiu sheng- ch'il-chai] wang-sheng ching-t’u ching), 182-84

Ta fang-kuang shili-lun ching, 186 Ta-p ’en ching-t'u ching (T h e Pitre Land Su

tra o f the Larger Bowl), 61 Ta-sheng ta-chi ti-tsang shili-lun ching, 187 T ai-tsung (T ’ang em peror), 47, 78, 79 T ’ai, M agistrate o f M ount, 14, 90, 170,

183, 184 T ’ai, M o u n t, 6, 169T ’ai-shang tao-chiin , see Exalted M aster

o f the Way T ’ai-shang tung-hsiian ling-pao san-yiian

p ’in-chieh kung-te ch’ing-chung citing, 37 T'ai-shang tung-hsiian ling-pao san-yiian yii-

ching hsuan-tu ta-hsien ching, 38 T ’ai-tsung (T ’ang em peror), 80n T ’ai-yiian, ghost festival in (in 840), 3, 44 T ’an-yao , 180n T 'an g , Lin, 188 T ’ang, Y u n g -t’ung, 165 T ’ang dynasty : B uddhism during , 11, 83,

221-22; C hinese religion du ring , 11; religion and the state du ring , 40-41, 83

T'ang liu-tien, 77-78 T an tra , 107-108 Tao-ch'ang, I57nTao-hsien (“ lu n g in g u pside-dow n"), 94n T ao-hsiian , 55i i , 61

T ao-m in g , 187 Tao-seng ko, 156Tao-sh ih : b iog raphy of, 70-71; on hell,

170. See also Fa-yiian chu-lin\ M em orandu m on O fferings to the Buddha

Tao-te ching, 86nT aoism : canon of, 71; confession in, 38;

as label, 77; and m editation , 41; as o rganized religion, 40-41

Tapas, 205T e-tsung (T ’ang em peror), 5, 20, 47, 83,

84, 85 T endai, 96T heravada B uddhism , 152 T hree Baskets, 94 T h re e je w e ls , 66 T hree O fficers, see San-kuan T hree P rim ordials, see San-yiian T hree Stages, Teaching of, see San-chieh

chiaoT hree Teachings, 104 T hree Vehicles, 76T i-tsang (K sitigarbha) Bodhisattva: in

C hina, 186-88; and cosm ology, 14; and M u-licn , 6, 172; in The Transformation T ex t on Mu-lien Saving His Mother, 187

Ti-tsang p ’u-sa pen-yiian ching, 187 Ti-yii (“ earth ly p rison ,” o r “ hell” ), 170 T ’ien -t’ai (school o f B uddhism ), 104 T ’ien -t’ai, M oun t, 76 T in g -h u i ch’an-shih (“ M editation M aster

o f C oncen tra tion and W isdom ” ), 93 T ransfo rm atio n pictures, see pien-hsiang T ransfo rm ation text, see pien-wen Transformation T ex t on Mu-lien Saving His

Mother from the Dark Regions (T a mu- chien-lien ming-chien chiu-mu pien-wen): audicncc of, 89, 191, 192, 194; form and con ten t of, 46, 153; on hell, 171-79; and m artial pow ers, 163; on m editation , 151; M u-lien in, 6; on M u-lien’s pow er, 160; and popular im agination, 87, 91; tex tual h istory of, 89-90

T ransfo rm ations, K ing of, 183 Tsa-chii, 110 T s’ai, T zu -huang , 64 T san-n ing , 206 T s 'ao , Sai-ying, 111 Tseug-i a-han ching, 114, 136-40 T scng-tzu , 201

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T su-hsiu , 83n T s ’ui, Wei, 1 lOn T s’ui, Y uan-yu, 85, 86 T sun-sh ih , 103, 108 T su n g , Lin, 5, 55n, 56, 206 T su n g -m i, 46; b iography of, 92-93; in ter

pretation o f ghost festival by, 7. See also Commentary on the Yii-lan-p 'en Sutra

Tsung-mi Commentary, see Commentary on the Yii-lan-p ’en Siitra

T u , T ’a i-C h ’ing , 55n T u -t’o ssu, 3 T u n -h u an g , 20 T ung , An, 201 T ung , Y ung, 65, 201 Tung-yiieli (“ Eastern Peak” ), 169 T ’ung (“ p enetra tion” ), 146, 147 T ’ung-chi, 143 T ’u n g -t’ai ssu, 56n T ’ung-yung chih wu (“ general tem ple

funds and possessions” ), 66 T urn ip , 60, 120, 132. See also M u-licn T usita H eaven, 192 T zu -tzu , 32, 205. See also Pravarana T z 'u -en ssu, 68, 193

U dyana, K ing, 138 Ullambana (“ hanging d o w n ” ), 22 Ullampana (“ sa lvation” ), 22 U n d erw o rld , see C osm ology; Hell U pali, 206U pananda, 114, 136-38U patisya, 121. See also SariputraU pper P rim ordial, 36, 37U ptalavarna, 139Urabon, 9Urvan (“ sou l"), 22U ttara , 132-33, 140

Varsa, 32, 205. See also M onks, sum m er retrea t o f

Vimalakirtinirdefa, 70n Vinaya: d istribu tion o f robes in, 33; on

M u-licn and his m other, 131; recited by U pali, 206; on sham anic pow ers, 156; su m m er retrea t in, 32; and T hree Baskets, 94

W an, H ui, 166n W ang, ( 'h in , 79

W ang, H siang, 201 n W ang, T su -tc , 1 lOn W ang, Wei, 79 W ang, Yen, 133 W athellw edo, River, see Nai-ho W eaving M aiden (C hih-nu), 29 W eber, M ax, 189, 213 Wei (“ m ig h t,” “ m ig h ty ”), 163 Wei-i hsiang-hsii, 124n Wen ti-yii ching, 180, 185 W olf, A rthur, 219 Worin sokpo, 8W orthy -and-G ood (nam e o f elder), 126 Wu (C hou em press), 47, 82n W u (Liang em peror), 56n, 108 Wu (“ sham an,” “ sham anness” ), 142. See

also Sham anism W u, T ao-hsiian, 84n, 193, 194 W u-tsung (T ’ang em peror), 96, 99

Y am a, K ing (Yen-lo w ang): and Chinese cosm ology , 14. 185-86; encounter w ith M u-licn, 6; in later C hinese cosm olo g y , 183, 184; in The Transformation T ext on Mu-lien Saving His Mother, 90,172

Y ang, C . K „ 16 Yang, C h iung , 20, 71, 72, 86 Y ellow Springs (huang-ch’iian), 6, 169 Yen, C h ih - t’ui, 218 Y en-lo w ang, see Yam a, King Yen-lo wang shou-chi ssu-chung yii-hsiu

sheng-ch’il-chai] wang-sheng ching-t’u ching, see Siitra on the Prophecy o f King Yama

Yen, T sung , 55n Y in, Y ao-fan, 4Yin-yiian, U 6n . See also Avadana VY ogacara, 63Y oshioka, Y oshitoyo, 42nYu-shen (“ sends his spirit roam ing” ), 145Y ii-jung, 92nYii-lan, 4, 21, 22Yii-lanb, 22Yii-lan', 22Yii-lan ch’ing-ching ching, 23nYii-lan fo-p’en ("y ii-lan B uddha-bow ls"),

22nYii-lan hui (“ Yii-lan A ssem bly"), 8, 23n Y ii-lan -p ’en: au thenticity of, 46; as Hud-

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dhist nam e for ghost festival, 214; literature, 113; m eaning o f term , 4, 21-22, 94; as nam e for ghost festival, 3, 7

Y ii-lan -p ’enb, 22Yii-lan-p’en ching, see Yii-lan-p’en Siitra Yii-lan-p 'en ching shu, see Commentary on

the Yii-lan-p ’en Siitra Yii-lan-p’en ching tsan-shu, see Commentary

Praising the Yii-lan-p’en Siitra "Y ii- lan -p ’en fu ,” see Yang, C hiung;

“ Y ii-lan -p ’en R hapsody”“ Y ii-lan -p ’en R hapsody” (“ Y ii-lan-p’en

fu’’): com position of, 71; form and con ten t of, 72; significance of, 77; translated, 73-75. See also Yang,C h iung

Yii-lan-p’en Siitra (Yii-lan-p’en ching): in C hina, in six th century , 58; cited by T ao-sh ih , 61; cited by T sung Lin, 5, 56;

com m entaries on , 46, 92; copying of, 9; division of, 95. 101; on family relig ion , 196; form and con ten t of, 46, 54; in ja p a n , 9; m eaning o f “ y ii-lan -p 'en" in, 21; on M u -lien ’s pow ers, 158; on M u-licn ’s vision, 148; on responsibilities o f m onks, 204; textual h istory of, 48-49, 54-56; translated, 49-54

Y uan-chao, 92n, 104 Yuan-chao Commentary, see Y uan-chao Y iian-ch 'i, 92n Y iian-ch’ing , 103Y iian-shih t ’ien-tsun , see O rig inal Celes

tial V enerable Yiieh-ling, 28

Z oroastrian ism , 24 Z iircher, E rik , 42n

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Teiser - 1996 - The Ghost Festival in Medieval China

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