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In Search of the Dharma
This is the first and only book in English on modern Chinese Buddhism written by a practicing Chinese monk. Chen-hua provides a rare eyewitness account of Chinese monastic life and Buddhist practices before they were changed forever by the Communist revolution. It begins with his departure from home in northern China to study Buddhism in Kiansu and Chekiang in the south and ends with his rejoining the monastic order in Taiwan after spending several years as a draftee in the Nationalist army. Following century-old traditions of Ch'an monks, Chen-hua made prilgrimages to all the major monasteries and holy sites, and sought instruction from many famous masters. His ordination at Pao-hua; "Buddha recitation weeks" at Ling-yen; scriptural studies at T'ien-ning; and a pilgrimage to P'u-t'o, the sacred island of Kuan-yin, are some of the highlights of this candid and perceptive book. The Introduction by Chun-fang Yu places the work in a historical perspective. Notes, a glossary of Chinese terms, maps, and photos help readers who are new to the field.
Chinese Buddhism
What are the foundational scriptures and major schools for Chinese Buddhists? What divinities do they worship? What festivals do they celebrate? These are some of the basic questions addressed in this book, the first introduction to Chinese Buddhism written expressly for students and those interested in an accessible yet authoritative overview of the subject based on current scholarship. After presenting the basic tenets of the Buddha’s teachings and the Chinese religious traditions, the book focuses on topics essential for understanding Chinese Buddhism: major scriptures, worship of buddhas and bodhisattvas, rituals and festivals, the monastic order, Buddhist schools such as Tiantai and Chan, Buddhism and gender, and current trends—notably humanistic Buddhism in Taiwan and the resurgence of Buddhism in post-Mao China. Each chapter ends with discussion questions and suggestions for further reading. A convenient glossary of common terms, titles, and names is included.
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Yu presents a groundbreaking, comprehensive study of one of the most popular and important "deities" in the Buddhist pantheon--one who changed gender as he/she was imported into China from India. Yu explores this dramatic transformation of the (male) Indian bodhisattva Avalokitesvara into the (female) Chinese Kuan-yin--from a relatively minor figure in the Buddha's retinue to a universal savior and one of the most popular deities in Chinese religion.
Passing the Light
The term “revival” has been used to describe the resurgent vitality of Buddhism in Taiwan. Particularly impressive is the quality and size of the nun’s order: Taiwanese nuns today are highly educated and greatly outnumber monks. Both characteristics are unprecedented in the history of Chinese Buddhism and are evident in the Incense Light community (Xiangguang). Passing the Light is the first in-depth case study of the community, which was founded in 1974 and remains a small but influential order of highly educated nuns who dedicate themselves to teaching Buddhism to lay adults. The work begins with a historical survey of Buddhist nuns in China, based primarily on the sixth-century biog...
Precious Volumes
"Precious volumes," or pao-chüan, were produced by popular sects in the Ming and early Qing dynasties. These scriptures were believed to have been divinely revealed to sect leaders and contain teachings and ritual instructions that provide valuable information about a lively and widespread religious tradition outside mainstream Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Largely neglected until now, they testify to the imagination and devotion of popular religious leaders. This book, the most detailed and comprehensive study of pao-chüan in any language, studies 34 early examples of this literature in order to understand the origins and development of this textual tradition. Although the work focuses on content and structure, it also treats the social context of these works as well as their transmission and ritual use.
Clothing, Food, and Travel
This book explores the material and cultural history of the Ming Dynasty based on the Chinese magnum opus Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan (literally, The Story of a Marital Fate to Awaken the World), written under the pseudonym of the seventeenth-century writer Xizhou Sheng. The novel weaves into its narrative, through the characters' personalities and the events it illustrates, important details of Ming material life. Through the literary snapshot of the Ming material culture as reflected in Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan, this work investigates the practices and customs of clothing, food, and travel, three of the "four major concerns of the people's livelihoods," known as yishizhuxing in Chinese. While frequ...
Buddhism in the Sung
New paperback edition The Sung Dynasty (960–1279) has long been recognized as a major watershed in Chinese history. Although there are recent major monographs on Sung society, government, literature, Confucian thought, and popular religion, the contribution of Buddhism to Sung social and cultural life has been all but ignored. Indeed, the study of Buddhism during the Sung has lagged behind that of other periods of Chinese history. One reason for the neglect of this important aspect of Sung society is undoubtedly the tenacity of the view that the Sung marked the beginning of an inexorable decline of Buddhism in China that extended down through the remainder of the imperial era. As this book...
China and Europe
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