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A Maitreya in Every Home, a Guanyin for Every House- Hold” Is Often Invoked to Describe Buddhist Devotion in China

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A Maitreya in Every Home, a Guanyin for Every House- Hold” Is Often Invoked to Describe Buddhist Devotion in China THE BUDDHIST PANTHEON1 Hou Xudong The expression “A Maitreya in every home, a Guanyin for every house- hold” is often invoked to describe Buddhist devotion in China. But the expression describes the product of gradual change over hundreds of years, rather than devotion in the earliest period of Chinese Buddhism. To understand the paths of development in Buddhist devotion over the course of Chinese history, analysis is required. To this end, we must return to the period when Buddhism first entered China, correspond- ing politically to the Three Kingdoms, Western and Eastern Jin, and the Northern and Southern dynasties. This period, also known as the Six Dynasties (220–589), was the first peak of development in the history of Chinese Buddhism. This was especially the case after the Eastern Jin and the Sixteen King- doms (317–420), when Buddhism in various localities broke through the limited confines of communities of foreigners and began to win converts among a broad group of Han Chinese, henceforth rapidly entering a new period of development.2 This development took place in the translation of scripture and the investigation of doctrine. It was also reflected in the steady rise and spread of communities of lay devo- tees, and religious activities like the erection of monasteries, creation of images, copying of scriptures, and fasting assemblies. It was these devotional activities that formed the foundation for Buddhism during the Six Dynasties period. Buddhist devotion during the Six Dynasties has in recent years attracted much scholarly attention, with new types of research con- tinuously appearing.3 This research is for the most part founded on a 1 Translated by John Kieschnick. I wish here to thank Françoise Wang-Toutain, Stephen F. Teiser, John Kieschnick, and Li Yuqun for their comments on an earlier draft of this paper. 2 See Arthur F. Wright, “Buddhism and Chinese culture: phases of interaction,” in Robert M. Somers, ed., Studies in Chinese Buddhism (New Haven, 1990), pp. 10–20. 3 For instance Liu Changdong, Jin Tang Mituo jingtu xinyang yanjiu (Chengdu, 2000); Fu Nanzi, “Zhonggu Yaoshi xinyang,” MA Thesis (Xuanzang renwen shehui xueyuan, 2000); Chün-Fang Yü, Kuan-yin: the Chinese transformation of Avalokitesvara 1096 hou xudong particular type of Buddhist belief, such as the cult to Maitreya, Amitābha, Guanyin, Dizang, and the Medicine King. The starting point for such research is usually accounts about a buddha or bodhisattva in Buddhist scripture. Since the research is based on Buddhist doctrine, areas in which the practice of lay devotion transcends the prescriptions found in Buddhist scripture are frequently overlooked. As a result, this text-based approach does not reveal a full picture of the actual beliefs of devotees. For this reason, I here attempt to take the actual beliefs and practices of Buddhist devotees as my starting point, consulting—but not relying exclusively on—Buddhist scriptures, to present an overall picture of devotion to buddhas and bodhisattvas during the Six Dynas- ties period. Below I draw chiefly on the following sources: 1. Inscriptions on various types of Buddhist images or steles (here- after: “image inscriptions” ທቝಖ). Image inscriptions are the product of the creation of Buddhist images by devotees. According to Buddhist scriptures, making images is one way for a devotee to earn religious merit. For this reason, Buddhist devotees—whether as individuals or as a family, for a monastery or for a community of the faithful known as a “devotional society” (yiyiʳ߳ᆠ) or “Dharma society” ( fayiʳऄᆠ)— made Buddhist images in order to garner merit. These donors provided funds to hire craftsmen to make Buddhist images, or bought them ready made. The smallest of these images are a few inches tall, the largest more than a zhang. They were commonly made of stone or of bronze. After the image was finished or purchased, the donor would usually inscribe a text of varying length on the base of the image, or on its back, or beside the niche in which it was carved. The image inscription recounts the circumstances leading to the creation of the image, including the time it was made, the vow the donor made when having the image made, and the name of the donor. According to the names recorded, participants in these projects included ordinary people with no official title, monks, nuns, and offi- cials. Most of these names appear in no other historical sources; these ordinary devotees are a counterbalance to the emperors, generals, high officials, and eminent monks who take center stage in the received (New York, 2000); Wang Qing, Wei Jin Nanbeichao shiqi de fojiao xinyang yu shenhua (Beijing, 2001). For Dizang, see Zhuang Mingxing, Zhongguo zhonggu de Dizang xin- yang (Taibei, 1999); Zhang Zong, Dizang xinyang yanjiu (Beijing, 2003); Ng Zhiru, The making of a saviour bodhisattva: Dizang in medieval China (Honolulu, 2007)..
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