A Study On Buddhism

The texts of Buddhism rites are the important basis of Buddhism rituals.Also,they are the critical parts of Buddhism studies.For many reasons,the academic studies of Buddhism rituals are in the initial stage.In this article,the Poyu Rite in Buddhism(《佛门破狱科》)(herein collectively referred to as the Poyu Rite)is taken as the research target.Seven titles of the copied forms,procedures,and contents are introduced on the basis of the collation of the texts.By close reading the texts and binding the materials of the Tiandi Mingyang Water-Land Retreat(天地冥阳水陆法会),the relationship between the Poyu Rite and the Water-Land Retreat is being studied.In addition to the introduction and conclusion, the body of the article is divided into three parts. The first part is the introduction of seven titles of the copied forms,procedures, and contents. The second part is taking the Three Treasures of Buddhism as the starting point, the relationship between the Poyu Rite and the Water-Land Retreat can be discussed by combining with the existing texts of the Water-Land Retreat. The third part is the introduction of the Poyu Rite investigated by the author.The appendix is the collation of the Poyu Rite.This article has two critical points. The first point is the collation of the Poyu Rite.By collating the texts, new materials are desired to be found, so it can be the basis of the studies of the Poyu Rite. The second point is by close reading the contents of the Poyu Rite, and analyzing the new important materials, the relationship between the Poyu Rite and the Water-Land Retreat can be discussed.By the collation and analysis of the Poyu Rite, the following points can be proposed:The first, different kinds of texts of the Poyu Rite have quite different procedures and contents. But they also have substantially the same procedures.The second, the Buddha system of the Poyu Rite is mostly coincided with the system of the Water-land Retreat. So it is illustrated that the texts of the Poyu Rite use the ones of the Water-land Retreat. It is also consistent with the background that since late Tang Dynasty, the Water-Land Retreat covers procedures of the salvation of the dead.The third,the Altar Schema of Poyu(破地狱坛)and the procedures of calling onthe Buddha prove that the texts of the Poyu Rite belong to one of the texts of the Water-Land Retreat.The fourth, according to the procedures of calling on the Buddha, the information that talking about Purdue, Bailian Patriarch and so on proves that the Poyu Rite was not exist before the Yuan Dynasty.The fifth, the Poyu Rite is also held in some areas. Nowadays, the procedures of rituals are less than those in the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. It is consistent with that Buddhism rituals have tendencies of simpleness.