Overview

Possibly the most profound and far-reaching effects of Buddhism on Chinese culture occurred at the level of practice in religious rituals designed to cure people of disease, demonic possession, and bad luck. A basic concern with healing characterizes the entire gamut of religious expression in East Asia. By concentrating on the medieval development of Chinese therapeutic ritual, the author discovers the origins of many surviving rituals across the social and doctrinal frontiers of Buddhism and Taoism, including transmission to persons outside the Buddhist or Taoist fold. The author describes and translates many classical Chinese liturgies, analyzes their structure, and seeks out nonliturgical sources to shed further light on the politics involved in specific performances. Unlike the few previous studies of related rituals, this book combines a scholar's understanding of structure and goals of these rites with a healthy suspicion of the practitioners' claims to uniqueness.

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9780804734493

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""Strickmann unearths the history, literature, and fundamental assumptions of Buddhist and Taoist religious rituals and offers a wealth of astute social and literary commentary. He combines the highest standards of philological and historical scholarship with an eye for the spiritually bizarre, the socially telling, and the psychologically gripping detail - all in a style that is elegant, entertaining, well-organized, and always accessible."" - Stephen F. Teiser, Princeton University ""Strickmann's love for his subject shines through in his sprightly and witty writing; his work also demonstrates impeccable scholarly authority."" - J.W. Dippmann, Central Washington University ""This fascinating book, amassing a wealth of scholarship on Daoism and Tantric Buddhism, expands our vision and draws attention to numerous important topics in the study of East Asian religions."" - Daoist Studies ""This thought-provoking book is an important contribution to the study of medicine and religion in medieval China... that looks critically at the mutual influences and intersections of Taoist and Buddhist practices..."" - Journal of American Academy of Religion ""As a guide to the jungle of curious elements in Chinese and Japanese medieval cultures, Chinese Magical Medicine is a highly fascinating study."" - History of Religions

'Strickmann unearths the history, literature, and fundamental assumptions of these Buddhist and Taoist religious rituals and offers a wealth of astute social and literary commentary. He combines the highest standards of philological and historical scholarship with an eye for the spiritually bizarre, the socially telling, and the psychologically gripping detail - all in a style that is elegant, entertaining, well-organized, and always accessible.' Stephen F. Teiser, Princeton University

Author Information

The late Michel Strickmann was Professor of Chinese Religions at the University of California, Berkeley (1978-91). Bernard Faure is Professor of Asian Religions at Stanford University. He is the author of The Will to Orthodoxy: A Critical Genealogy of Northern Chan Buddhism (Stanford, 1997).

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