Undergraduate Courses offered by Centre of Buddhist Studies

ELECTIVES / INTER-FACULTY ELECTIVES

(OPEN TO ALL FACULTIES)
BSTC 2004
Chinese Buddhism and Ritual (6 Credits)
Academic year: 2024-25

Instructor: Dr. SIK Fa Ren

Email: [email protected]
Time: 15:30 – 17:20, 2nd Semester (Every Friday)
Venue: CPD LG18

Course Description:
From the very early period and throughout the entire Buddhist history, the Buddhist traditions
have adopted indigenous rituals and practices and devised a great variety of their own rituals.
This course provides an introduction to Buddhist ritual practice in Chinese Buddhism from the
perspectives of their psychological, religious and spiritual significant.
We will begin by exploring several theories and research methods of ritual adopted in
anthropology and religious studies. Having studied the theoretical basis of ritual studies, students
will further study the doctrinal, mythic and other dimensions of Buddhist practice, examine the
structural patterns of various rituals, survey the different categories of ceremonies, and analyse
the most important groups of rituals.
Focus of study will be the effort of ritual experiences on individual enlightenment, effect of ritual,
and the expression of participants’ understanding of Buddhist teaching. As a comparative
approach to Buddhist rituals, the course will use related myths, texts, and video record of ritual.
Rituals including the recitation of sutras (scriptures) and mantras, funeral ritual, ritual of liberation
of living animals, and the ritual of saving all sentient beings from water and land (shuilu fahui) are
examined in some detail. Fieldwork studies may also be conducted. Students therefore can
personally witness how Hong Kong Buddhists perform these kinds of rituals.

Objective:
In addition to becoming acquainted with the major categories of Chinese Buddhist rituals, students
would know more about how Buddhists express their belief through actual practice. From this
learning approach, students would gain both knowledge of Buddhist doctrines and practices
simultaneously.

Assessment: 100% coursework consisting of the following:

Activities Ratio Submission deadline
Attendance and Discussion 10%
Quiz (20 MC questions) 40% 21st Mar (at the lecture)
Term paper (2500-3000 words) 50% 9th May (23:59)

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Further Notes
1. Teaching will be delivered in face-to-face mode; students are required to go through
the assigned readings before joining each lecture so that they can participate in class
discussion and raise their own questions. Final assessment of this course is 100%
coursework including class participation and one term paper.
2. Quiz (20 MC questions) at the class is expected to demonstrate your participation,
as well as comprehension and critical thinking on the related topics. Good fulfilment
of this component is one of the keys leading to the success in this course.
3. Term paper (2500-3000 words) on one of the topics discussed in lectures, or you
may choose your own topics related to the course (in this case, make sure you
discuss with the lecturer beforehand). To write this paper, you must consult at
least three different academic publications (lecture PowerPoints or notes are not
counted).
4. Use any citation style you are familiar with but be consistent and provide page
numbers. Your essay must be single line-spaced with a font size of 12 and should
be submitted through ‘Turnitin’ on Moodle by the deadline. The acceptable
maximum AI is 10% and similarity rate is 20%, excluding footnotes / endnotes and
reference list / bibliography. Substantial marks will be deducted if AI and similarity
rate is over 10% and 20% respectively.
5. The grading principles are as follows: B-range grades are for basically good writing,
including, clear structure, logical and rational presentation of your ideas and thoughts;
generally correct understanding of Buddhist teachings; readability in language,
acceptable technical matters (e.g. a title page, reference, and other conventions).
The A-range grades are for writing that is excellent in all the above aspects.
6. There will be penalty for the late submissions: 1) submission within the first 7 days
after the deadline will result in a deduction of one sub-grade (e.g. A-> A-); after the
8the day following the deadline, the deduction will be a full grade (e.g. A-> B); 3) any
submission made two weeks after the deadline will only receive a passing grade.
7. Faculty Grade Expectations: http://arts.hku.hk/grade_expectations.pdf
8. Academic Honesty: Plagiarism is a serious academic offence. The University
upholds the principle that plagiarism in any form is unacceptable and any student
found plagiarizing is liable to disciplinary action in addition to failing the assessment
concerned. Please read the following webpage on “plagiarism” for details:
http://arts.hku.hk/current-students/undergraduate/assessment/plagiarism

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Course schedule with bibliography:
Lecture 1 (24 Jan) Topic: Course introduction

NO CLASS (31 Jan) Lunar New Year Holiday

Lecture 2 (7 Feb) What is ritual? Power of ritual

Readings:
*Harvey, Peter (1990), Chapter 8 of An Introduction to Buddhism (Cambridge University
Press), pp.170-195.
*Bell, Catharine (1992) Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice (Oxford University Press, USA), pp. 3-
93.
Fromm, Eric (1950) Chapter 3 of Psychoanalysis and Religion (New Haven: Yale University
Press). PP. 21-64.
James, William (1985) The Varieties of Religious Experience (US: Harvard University Press)
pp.53-76.

Lecture 3 (14 Feb) Ritual Functions

Readings:
*Pettazzoni, Raffaele (Jan. 1937), 'Confession of Sins and the Classics', The Harvard
Theological Review, vol. 30, pp. 1-14.
Rappaport, Roy A. (1999), Chapter 5 of Ritual and religion in the making of humanity
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Tambiah, S. Jeyaraja (1985), “A Performative Approach to Ritual”, in Culture, Thought, and
Social Action: An Anthropological Perspective (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University
Press, 1985), pp.123-166.
*------------------ (Jun. 1968), 'The Magical Power of Words', Man, vol. 3, pp. 175-208.

Lecture 4 (21 Feb) Current studies of Buddhism and ritual

Readings:
Alexander, Bobby C. (1997), “Ritual and Current Studies of Ritual: overview”. In Stephen D.
Glazier (ed.): Anthropology of Religion: A Hand Book, (London: Greenwood Press),
pp.139-160.
*McRae, John R. (May, 1995), 'Buddhism', Journal of Asian Studies, 54 (2), pp. 354-71.

Lecture 5 (28 Feb) Theoretical basis of Buddhist ritual (1) — Buddhist Cosmology,
Concepts of Karma and Rebirth
Readings:
*Harvey, Peter (1990), Chapter 2 of An Introduction to Buddhism (Cambridge University
Press), pp.32-46.
*Sadakata, Akira (1997), Buddhist Cosmology: Philosophy and Origins (Tokyo: Kosei).
Naranda (1980), The Buddha and His Teachings, Singapore, Chapter (27); pp.436-453.
Laumakis, Stephen J. (2008), Chapter 5 of An introduction to Buddhist philosophy
(Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press).
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Lecture 6 (7 Mar) Theoretical basis of Buddhist ritual (2) — Merit Making and Transference
Readings:
*Walsh, Michael J. (2007), 'The Economics of Salvation: Toward a Theory of Exchange in
Chinese Buddhism', Journal of the American Academy of Religion Advance, pp. 353-82.
*Xueyu (2003), 'Merit Transfer and Life after Death in Buddhism', Ching Feng, New Series
4.1, pp. 29-50.

NO CLASS (14 Mar) Reading Week

Lecture 7 (21 Mar) Confessional Ritual and QUIZ

Readings:
*Yo, Hsiang-Chou. (2001), “Chinese Buddhist Confessional Rituals: Their Origin and Spiritual
Implications” in Kalupahana, David J. edited. 2001. Buddhist thought and ritual
(Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass), pp.173-86.

Lecture 8 (28 Mar) Death Ritual of Chinese Buddhism

Readings:
Jing Yin (2006), “Death from the Buddhist View: Knowing the Unknown” in Chan, Cecilia
Lai Wan and Chow, Amy Yin Man (ed.), Death, Dying and Bereavement - A Hong
Kong Chinese Experience (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press), pp.93-104.
*Welch, Holmes (1973), The Practice of Chinese Buddhism 1900-1950 (Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Harvard University Press), pp. 179-206.

NO CLASS (4 April) Holiday - Ching Ming Festival

Lecture 9 (11 April) Ritual for Saving the Flaming-mouth Hungry Ghosts
Readings:
*Teiser, Stephen F. (1988), The Ghost Festival in Medieval China (Princeton: Princeton
University Press), pp.168-208.
Orzech, Charles (1996), “Saving the Burning-Mouth Hungry Ghost,” in Donald S. Lopez,
Jr., ed. Religions of China in Practice (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University
Press), pp. 278-83.

NO CLASS (18 April) Ester Holiday

Lecture 10 (25 April) Buddhist Rituals for Saving All Sentient Beings (1)
Readings:
*Stevenson, Daniel B. (2001), 'Text, Image, and Transformation in the History of Shuilu
fahui, the Buddhist Rite for Deliverance of Creatures of Water and Land', in Marsha
Weidner (ed.), Cultural Intersections in Later Chinese Buddhism (Honolulu: University
of Hawaii Press), pp.30-70.

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Lecture 11 (2 May) Buddhist Rituals for Saving All Sentient Beings (2)
Readings:
*Stevenson, Daniel B. (2001), 'Text, Image, and Transformation in the History of Shuilu
fahui, the Buddhist Rite for Deliverance of Creatures of Water and Land', in Marsha
Weidner (ed.), Cultural Intersections in Later Chinese Buddhism (Honolulu: University
of Hawaii Press), pp.30-70.
*Recommended readings

Further Reading
Alexander, Bobby C. (1997), “Ritual and Current Studies of Ritual: overview”. In Stephen D.
Glazier (ed.): Anthropology of Religion: A Hand Book, (London: Greenwood Press), pp.139-160.
Alexander, Jeffrey C. and Colomy, Paul (1985), 'Toward Neofunctionalism', Sociological Theory
3, pp. 11-23.
Bell, Catherine (May, 1988), 'Ritualization of Texts and Textualization of Ritual in the Codification
of Taoist Liturgy', History of Religions, 27 (4), pp. 366-92.
--- (Jan., 1989), 'Ritual, Changes, and Changing Rituals', Worship, 63, pp.31-41.
--- (1992), Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice (New York: Oxford University Press).
--- (1997), Ritual Perspectives and Dimensions (New York: Oxford university Press).
Berkwitz, Stephen C. (ed.) (2006), Buddhism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives (Santa
Barbara (US): ABC-CLIO).
Bernard, H. Russell (1988), Research Method in Cultural Anthropology (Newbury Park, California:
SAGE Publication).
Brook, Timothy (1993), Praying for Power: Buddhism and the Formation of Gentry Society in Late-
Ming China (Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press).
--- (Dec., 1989), 'Funerary Ritual and the Building of Lineages in Late Imperial China', Harvard
Journal of Asiatic Studies, 49 (2), pp. 465-99.
Cave, Roderick (1998), Chinese Paper Offerings (Hong Kong: Oxford University Press).
Chappell, David W. (ed.) (1987), Buddhist and Taoist Practice in Medieval Chinese Society
(Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press).
Chen, Kenneth K. S. (1964), Buddhism in China, a historical survey (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton
University Press).
--- (1968), 'Filial Piety in Chinese Buddhism', Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 28, pp. 81-97.
--- (1973), The Chinese Transformation of Buddhism (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press).
Chen, Pi-yen (2002), 'The Contemporary Practice of the Chinese Buddhist Daily Service: Two
Case Studies of the Traditional in the Post-traditional World', Ethnomusicology, 46, pp.226-
50.
Davis, Edward L. (2001), Society and the supernatural in Song China (Honolulu: University of
Hawaii Press).
Durkheim, Emile (1915), The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life: A Study in Religious
Sociology (London: G. Allen & Unwin).
Eberhard, Wolfram (1967), Guilt and Sin in Traditional China (Berkeley: University of California
Press).
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Ebrey, Patricia (Apr., 1990), 'Cremation in Sung China', The American Historical Review, 95 (2),
pp. 406-28.
Eliade, Mircea (1961), The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion (New York: Harper
and Row).
Gates, Hill (Jul., 1987), 'Money for the Gods', Modern China, Vol. 13, No. 3, Symposium on
Hegemony and Chinese Folk Ideologies, Part II, pp. 259-77.
Geertz, Clifford (1999), 'From the Native’s Point of View: On the Nature of Anthropological
Understanding', in McCutcheon Russell T. (ed.), The Insider/ Outsider Problem in the
Study of Religion (London, New York: Cassell), pp.50-63.
Ghose, Lynken (2007), 'Karma and the Possibility of Purification: An Ethical and Psychological
Analysis of the Doctrine of Karma in Buddhism', Journal of Religious Ethics, 35 (2), pp.
259-90.
Gregory, Peter N. and Daniel A. Getz, (ed.) (1999), Buddhism in the Sung (Honolulu: University
of Hawaii Press).
Holt, John C. (Jun. 1981), 'Assisting the Dead by Venerating the Living: Merit Transfer in the Early
Buddhist Tradition', Numen, Vol. 28, Fasc. 1, pp. 1-28.
Huang Chi-chiang (July, 1998), “Consecrating the Buddha: Legend, Lore, and History of the
Imperial Relic-Veneration Ritual in the T'ang Dynasty” in Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal
vol.11, pp.483-533.
Jones, Charles B. (2003), “Foundations of Ethics and Practice in Chinese Pure Land Buddhism”
in Journal of Buddhist Ethics v.10.
Prip-Möller, Johannes (1967), Chinese Buddhist Monasteries: Their Plan and Its Function as a
Setting for Buddhist Monastic Life (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press).
Kwong, Chungwah (2002), The Public Role of Religion in Post-Colonial Hong Kong: An Historical
Overview of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Christianity (Asian Thought and
Culture, 53; New York: Peter Lang).
Liebenthal, Walter (1952), 'The Immortality of the Soul in Chinese Thought', Monumenta
Nipponica, Vol. 8, No. 1/2, pp. 327-97.
Makransky, John (2000), 'Buddhist Views on Ritual Practice: Mahāyāna Buddhist Ritual and
Ethical Activity in the World', Buddhist-Christian Studies, vol. 20, pp. 54-59.
Overmyer, Daniel L. (June 1990), 'Buddhism in the Trenches: Attitudes Toward Popular Religion
in Chinese Scriptures Found at Tun-Huang', Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, vol. 50,
pp. 197-222.
Pang, Duane (1977), 'The P’u-tu Ritual: A Celebration of the Chinese Community of Honolulu',
Buddhist and Taoist Studies, vol. 1, pp.95-122.
Rappaport, Roy A. (1999), Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press).
Reader, Ian and Tanabe, George J. (1998), Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the
Common Religion of Japan (Honolulu University of Hawai'i Press).
Reader, Ian (2005), Making Pilgrimages: Meaning and Practice in Shikoku (Honolulu: University
of Hawai’i Press).
Sadakata, Akira (1997), Buddhist Cosmology: Philosophy and Origins (Tokyo: Kosei).

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Smith, Bardwell L. (Sep., 1968), 'Toward a Buddhist Anthropology: The Problem of the Secular',
Journal of the American Academy of Religion Advance, 36 (3), pp. 203-16.
Stephen C. Berkwitz (ed.), Buddhism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives (Santa
Barbara (US): ABC-CLIO).
Strickmann, Michel (2002), Chinese Magical Medicine (Stanford: Stanford University Press).
Tambiah, Stanley J. (Jun. 1968), 'The Magical Power of Words', Man, vol. 3, pp. 175-208.
--- (1973), 'Buddhism and This-Worldly Activity', Modern Asian Studies, vol. 7 (1), pp. 1-20.
Teiser, Stephen F. (Aug., 1986), 'Ghosts and Ancestors in Medieval Chinese Religion: The Yü-
lan-p'en Festival as Mortuary Ritual', History of Religions, 26 (1), pp. 47-67.
--- (Dec., 1988), ‘ “Having Once Died and Returned to Life”: Representations of Hell in Medieval
China’, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 48 (2), pp. 433-64.
Ter Haar, Barend J. (1998), Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads: Creating an Identity
(Leiden: EJ Brill).
Tong, Chee Kiong (2004), Chinese Death Rituals in Singapore (London ; New York:
RoutledgeCurzon).
Tong, Chee Kiong and Kong, Lily (Sep., 2000), 'Religion and modernity: ritual transformations
and the reconstruction of space and time', Social & Cultural Geography, pp. 29 - 44.
Turner, Victor (1969), The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-structure (Chicago: Aldine
Publishing Co.).
Van Gennep, Arnold (1960), Rite of Passage (London: Routledge & Paul).
Watson, James L. and Rawski, Evelyn S. (ed.) (1988), Death Ritual in Late Imperial and Modern
China (Berkeley: University of California Press).
Welch, Holmes (1968), Buddhist Revival in China (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).
--- (1973), The Practice of Chinese Buddhism 1900-1950 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard
University Press).
--- (Apr. - Jun., 1965), 'The Reinterpretation of Chinese Buddhism', The China Quarterly, 22, pp.
143-53.
Weller, Robert P. (1987), Unities and Diversities in Chinese Religion (Seattle: University of
Washington Press).
--- (Feb, 1985), 'Bandits, Beggars, and Ghosts: The Failure of State Control over Religious
Interpretation in Taiwan', American Ethnologist, vol. 12, pp. 46-61.
Wilson, Bryan and Dobbelaere, Karel (1994), A Time to Chant: Soka Gakkai Buddhists in Britain
(Oxford: Clarendon).
Woodhead, Linda, et al. (2001), Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations
(London: Routledge).
Wu, Cheng-han (1988), 'Temple Fairs in Late Imperial China', Ph. D. dissertation (Princeton
University).
Yu, Chun-fang (1981), The renewal of Buddhism in China (New York: Columbia University Press).

3) E-Journals
Journal of Buddhist Ethics. Free. This is a web based academic journal for free distribution.
Web address: http://www.jbe.gold.ac.uk/

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Journal of Global Buddhism. Free. This is a web based academic journal for free distribution.
http://www.globalbuddhism.org/dig.html

Western Buddhist Review. Free. It contains good academic papers for download.
http://www.westernbuddhistreview.com/

Buddhist Studies Review. HKU Library. Published twice a year by the UK Association for
Buddhist Studies, started form 1984. S 294.3 B927 S9

The Eastern Buddhist. HKU Library. Published twice a year by the Eastern Buddhist Society in
Kyoto. Japan, started from 1965. S 294.3 E13 B9

Contemporary Buddhism. HKU Library. Published twice a year, Richmond, England: Curzon,
c2000- S 294.3 C761 B

Website Recourses
JSTOR The Scholarly Journal Archive. This Archive needs subscription, so use it through HKU
Electronic Recourses. http://www.jstor.org/jstor

NII Scholarly and Academic Information Navigator. Mostly Free. The National Institute of
Informatics (Japan) has incorporated approximately 2.8 million full text articles (PDF) in NII-ELS,
from 1,000 published academic journals . Currently NII has obtained permission of 271
academic societies. NII-ELS also provides full text (PDF) of Research Bulletins of Japanese
universities. All of the full text articles incorporated in NII-ELS are available through CiNii along
with bibliographical information on other academic papers.

Taisho Edition of Chinese Tripitaka. Free. If you can read classical Chinese and wish to
refer to the original Chinese texts, please visit http://www.cbeta.org/index.htm. This website
includes volumes 1-55 & 85 of Taisho Edition of Chinese Tripitaka.

Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon. Free for download and reading from The University of The
West website: http://www.uwest.edu/sanskritcanon/index.html