The Study Of Buddhist Funeral Rituals In Wusongji

Wu Shan set,the full name is Wu Shan Lian Ro Sin Shue Bai Yong,is an alternate book for new monks who learn the basic Buddhism knowledge and motion written by Shi Yingzhi in Nan Tang dynasty.Shi Yingzhi had many literary and calligraphy works as well as occupied an important position in the history of Buddhism music.The book is divided into three volumes and the article aims at combing and analyzing the Buddhism Funeral Ceremony notes of middle volumes,emphasizing on the funeral obsequies,condolences and burials.The funeral was held in Filial Yard and Filial Hall,and its name was different from the Tang Dynasty's Fugacious Yard and Fugacious Hall.Once the monk died,people should sing hymns and bow to Buddha,use Ten Recitation for rebirth in the pure land.Ten Recitation text mainly composed of three parts: background introduction,ten praise and ten wishes and rhetoric,and it can also be subdivided into five parts.In Fugacious yard's layout,the corpse into niche or bier,wear mourning clothes and eve of the burial,all of them reflect the author's idea of "non-secularity and goodness".Condolences mainly introduces the monks to condole peers,friends and relatives.The younger generations must offer foods to the souls to show respect.The consolation goes through the funeral ceremony from wear mourning clothes to Zhaigong and daxiang.The contents of the burial ceremonies include the funeral procession mixed with auspicious and ominous rituals,cremation and fugacious hall's layout as well as Chang Yi after back from graveyard.The characteristics of the auspicious and ominous rituals is good and bad rites are mixed and the good rite in the front and the bad one in the back.The author believes that the monks in front of the Zen bed act as openers and guiders of the dead souls which are equivalent to the guide car,and the Zen bed replaces the soul car to transport the spirits of the dead.These two parts form auspicious ritual;the car that transports the body is ominous ritual.After reaching the cemetery,one should set up a memorial service and apply food."Put up the bier and down into the temple-ten recitation-close the door."In addition,I find two Ten Recitation of Cremation and a Ten Recitation of the Whole Body Entering the Tower in Qinggui literatures.The structure of these three readings are also divided into three parts.The funeral ceremonies in the Wu Shan Set had significant influence in China through the quotations of later literatures,even affecting Japan and South Korea.