Ritual Balance. Putting Death in It s Place

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Lora Nicholson
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1 Ritual Balance Putting Death in It s Place

2 The Forbidden City

3 The Central Axis of the Forbidden City North Triad Palace of Earthly Tranquility Hall of Peaceful Unity Palace of Heavenly Brightness Center Triad Hall of Protecting Harmony Hall of Middle Harmony Hall of Supreme Harmony South Hall of Martial Hall of Florescent Valor Culture Gate of Supreme Harmony Meridian Gate

4 The Central Axis of the Forbidden City

6 Hall of Supreme Harmony

7 The Spatialization of Hierarchy Place Status Function North Inner Private Cosmic Passively engaged Center Noble Actively engaged Powerful South Outer Public Mundane Supplicating Seeking

8 Ritual Paying attention Time

9 I. 1-3 Offerings Imperial Ritual Reader: The Moon Year Ch. III II. 4-6 Presentations, dance #4 presentation of wine, wu dance #5 presentation of wine, wen dance III. 7-9 removing and sending off

10 Rite of Universal Salvation P u-tu/ Pudu Universal Crossing-over Mulian (Moggalana) When: Chung-yuan chieh (15 th day, 7 th month), Earth Day Annual cycle: Heaven, Earth, Water (S to N)

11 The Problem of Death Death, a non-transcendent state Still here Implications: A personal problem A family problem A social problem Solutions: ritual, balance, placement

12 How does the P u-tu Take Place? How does the P u-tu ritual address the concerns surrounding death for the Chinese? Given a weak notion of transcendence, how does the P u-tu resolve the problem of the suffering dead and social disorder? What is the role of place(ment)?

13 The Dis-location of Death Disorder (luan), cf. Chaos (hun-dun) qi hun- po, (3 and 7) Re-establishing order; putting the dead in their place ancestor halls, plaques Ashes, graves

14 Death: Ancestors, Ghosts Ancestors Timely death Part of orderly cycle Descendants Spirit tablets Bones and ashes No need for salvation Ghosts/demons (gui) Untimely death: accident, suicide, murder, war Interrupted cycle; residue of unbalanced qi Orphaned hun

15 When Death Becomes a Problem, Individual and Social The deceased lacking in one or more of the necessities descendant-less ghosts Improper placement of bones/ashes hell beings (lacking in piety, ignorance of the paths/course) Solution: Buddhism and the P u-tu Ritual

16 Buddhism Fuo Dao 1st Century C.E. arrival in China From Central Asian A foreign religion

17 Where? The Source of the Dharma Temple

18 Fayuan (Source of the Dharma) Temple Central Axis Upper Library, Meditation Hall Hall of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Patriarch s Hall Middle Guanyin Shrine Hall of the Great Hero (Sakyamuni) Lower Hall of the Four Kings Bell Tower Drum Tower Gate Heng Ha

19 BUDDHAS Amida Shakya- Medicine Buddha muni Buddha Buddha Ananda Kasyapa BODHISATTVAS Samanta- Guanyin Manjushri badhra Dragon Girl Sudana HUMAN Heavenly King Heavenly King Dizang Min Dao Ming Heavenly King Heavenly King Maitreya Jialan Weituo

20 Centered Pudu Altar Space The Three Buddhas (North) Dizang Bodhisattva (Center) Hungry ghosts (South)

21 Centered Ritual Time Sacrifice to Heaven (Imperial) P u-tu Ritual I. 1-3 Offerings II. 4-6 Presentations, dance #4 presentation of wine, wu dance #5 presentation of wine, wen dance III. 7-9 removing and sending off I. 1. Opening the Altar 2. Inviting the Gods (shen) II 3. Releasing the Deceased from Torment 4. Preaching the Sermon 5. Feeding the Hungry Ghosts III. 6. Sending off the Gods and Ghosts

22 The Necessities of the Afterlife Journey Topographical knowledge An advocate/guide: bodhisattvas Descendants

23 An Advocate/Guide Bodhisattvas (Pusa) Engaged Guanyin Pusa compared to Amitabha Buddha Centering

24 Guanyin Pusa Avalokitesvara bodhisattva embodiment of compassion female rescues women from blood pool

25 Dizang ("Earth-Store") Pusa Rescued his mother from hell in a former life vow to enter hells Dizang Centered 2 Boys (with Records of Good and Evil) 5 Kings + 5 Kings (the Ten Kings of Hell)

26 Bodhisattvas Dizang Pusa Guanyin Pusa

27 Implications: Lacking transcendence, a need for reintegration of the deceased Ancestors Ghosts and demons Proper placement in: The continuum of time Place, geographic, social and cosmic order, i.e., things in place, good form Centering and balance

28 Review: Chinese Ritual Sacred Spaces South to north center axis Linked hierarchy Time-space continuum Poles linked by the center Triads non-dualistic No transcendence

Confucianism Daoism Buddhism. Eighth to third century B. C.E.

Confucianism Daoism Buddhism. Eighth to third century B. C.E. Confucianism Daoism Buddhism Origin Chinese Chinese Foreign Incipit Confucius, 551-479 B.C.E Orientation Lay Sociopolitical scope Dao/ Philosophy Political philosophy that sees the individual s primary