Study On The Third Patriarch

The Third Patriarch,an Buddhist monk in the Southern Song Dynasty,is one of the Buddhist secular gods widely worshipped in Minnan(the southern region of Fujian),Taiwan and even southeast Asia during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.This paper chooses the belief in the Third Patriarch as its research topic.Considering the special geographical environment and human history of Minnan,and using research methods like field investigation of anthropology and historical literature analysis,the paper mainly explores the origin and development of the belief in the Third Patriarch,which has integrated orthodox Buddhism with folk beliefs;it then examines the Linji Chan identity of the Third Patriarch Zuting Longhu Temple and other related issues,and further analyzes the close relations between Linji Chan identity and the belief in the Third Patriarch;additionally,it also discusses various branches of the belief in the Third Patriarch,and studies the spatial distribution,as well as the mode and motivation of the spread and dissemination of the belief.The belief in the Third Patriarch constitutes an important part of Fujian's Buddhist secular god belief(worship of eminent monks)system,reflecting the general rules of such a secular god belief.At the same time,the belief in the Third Patriarch is different from other factions of Buddhist secular god beliefs,since it has distinct Buddhist features and Minnan regional characteristics.