Chinese Beliefs and Practices in Southeast Asia

Copyright © 2021 by Hock-Tong Cheu.

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CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1 Buddhism in Chinese Culture

Chapter 2 Confucianism in Chinese Culture

Chapter 3 Taoism in Chinese Culture

Chapter 4 Chinese Attitudes Toward Religion: A Case in Malaysia

Chapter 5 Chinese Religious Conception And Its Impact on Social Life¹

Chapter 6 Confucian Ethics and Economic Success Among the Chinese in Malaysia

Chapter 7 The Nine Emperor Gods in Malaysia

Chapter 8 The Datuk Kong: A Sino-Malay Spirit Cult in Malaysia

Chapter 9 The Spread of Malay and Chinese Saints in Sabah

Chapter 10 The Localization of Chinese Locality Cults in Malaysia

Chapter 11 The Sinicization of Malay Keramat in Malaysia

Chapter 12 Indigenization or Desinicization of an Aboriginal Temple in Malaysia

Chapter 13 Festivals in Chinese Tradition: an Historical Perspective

Chapter 14 The Festival of the Nine Emperor Gods in Peninsular Southeast Asia

Chapter 15 Socio-Psychology of the Vegetarian Festival in Thailand

Bibliography

Chinese Character List

PREFACE

T his book consists of fifteen chapters which can be divided into five major themes: (i) Chinese religion, (ii) Chinese attitudes toward religion, (iii) Chinese spirit cults in Malaysia, (iv) the development of local spirit cults, and (v) major festivals celebrated in Malaysia.

(i) Chinese Religion. This section deals with three religious traditions of the Chinese community in Malaysia, in particular, and other countries like Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand in Southeast Asia, in general. The aim of the first topic, Buddhism in Chinese Culture, is two-fold: first, to provide the reader with a general view of Buddhism since its inception in India, its spread and adaptation in China, and its diffusion and transplantation in Southeast Asia; and second, to give a summary of the various facets of Buddhism in Chinese Culture.

The second topic, Confucianism in Chinese Culture, has to do with Confucianism from different perspectives. Some scholars were explicit in saying that it is more than a philosophy, a religious philosophy while others were more inclined to argue that it is a philosophical religion. None says explicitly that it is purely a philosophy.

In spite of the varied aspects of Confucianism, most parts converged on the important themes of (i) Confucianism as an aspect of Chinese culture and society, and (ii) Confucianism as an aspect of religion and philosophy. Both aspects have practical relevance and timeliness in contemporary global society, transcending national and ethnic boundaries. Hence, Confucianism, just as Buddhism and Taoism, may be said to have formed an important component of Chinese culture, not only in East Asia but also in Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia.

The third topic, Taoism in Chinese Culture, focuses primarily on the development of Taoism in Malaysia: (i) The origin of Taoism and its transformation; (ii) the development of Taoism in Malaysia; (iii) the organization of Taoist temples and shrines in Malaysia; (iv) the influence of Taoism on the Chinese community in Malaysia; and (v) the future development of Taoism and its social standing.

Due to the misdeeds of the Taoist practitioners, including the priests and spirit mediums, who abuse their position by fleecing their clientele with exorbitant fees, some even exploit female devotees sexually due to the latter’s gullibility and ignorance of the occult. The image of Taoism has thus been badly tarnished and received a bad impression among the young generations who were more educated. They branded Taoism as "you dao wu jiao (got the way but no religion) and kao shen wei sheng (depending on the spirit beings for their livelihood) and called them shen gun" (using the spirit beings as walking sticks).

Their misdeeds had seriously marred the reputation of the Taoist religion. In order to regain its reputation, there is a need for the Federated Taoist Association to have a closer supervision of the its practitioners’ ethics, revamp the organization of the Taoist temples and shrines, and imbue them with a thicker element of Taoist philosophy to regain the image and status of Taoism in Malaysia.

(ii) Chinese Attitudes Toward Religion. This section attempts to discuss (i) Chinese attitudes toward religion; (ii) Chinese religious conception and its implication on their social life; and (iii) how Confucian ethics have contributed to the economic success of the Chinese in Malaysia.

The first topic deals with Chinese attitudes toward religion. The way in which they view the world is the attitude they have toward a particular set, or sets, of beliefs which forms the core of religion and which in turn forms the basis of their social life. The beliefs held by the Chinese in Malaysia, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, is syncretic and eclectic in form and substance. A typical Chinese is not only a Buddhist, a Confucian, a Taoist, but also an animist. Nonetheless, he is neither Taoist, Buddhist, Confucian, nor animist in isolation. He is all in one: He is a Chinese, and his religion is ‘Chinese Religion’.

Their attitudes toward religion are readily observable in their behavior, for example, the manner in which they conduct social and religious rituals, customs, and practices. The underlying factors which influence their attitudes are beliefs and values. Beliefs, attitudes, and values thus form an inseparable pattern for the believers’ perception of, and adaptation to, the environment in which they find themselves. These were examined in relation to the age-old traditions, which form the facets of beliefs and values, or world-views and ethos.

We also observe how change in attitude has brought about change in religious orientation and vice versa. Many characteristic attitudes emerged vis-a-vis beliefs and values. Some of the attitudes and value-orientations which condition change and non-change, continuity and discontinuity in Chinese religion include: religious response, belief system, religious rituals, sacred literature, religious symbols, religious organization, religious practitioners, religious traditions, religious system, and culture and ethnic identity.

The second topic discusses Chinese religious conception and its implication in their social life. Field studies conducted in Ampang between 1977 and 1984 found that the socio-cultural milieu in which this community finds itself has very much determined the formation of passive social attitudes and fatalistic world-views, which in turn shape the socio-cultural patterns of the community.

The Chinese community in Ampang has reflected a low level of social life. A majority of the residents live in abject poverty. Among some of the social problems obtain in the village are: squatters problem, school dropouts, activities of secret society, and high crime rate. These socio-economic conditions are in contradiction to the stereotype which claims that Chinese represent a community that is ‘rich and wealthy’ or that Chinese community ‘can develop without government assistance or the implementation of the National Economic Policy’. The abject poverty of the Chinese in the Ampang New Village apparently has emerged as a consequence of the stereotype mentioned above.

The third topic is about how Confucian ethics has contributed to the economic success of the Chinese in Malaysia. Scholars conducting macroscopic research in Taiwan and other Northeast and Southeast Asian nations in the late 1970s and 1980s identified Confucian ethics as one of the key factors which had contributed to their success. To find out whether Malaysian Chinese upheld similar view at the micro-level, I carried out field-work among the Chinese in Jementah, located at the southern state of Peninsular Malaysia, in the early 1990s.

During the research, I met with Mr. Li Danqun, a well-known calligrapher and artist, who drew the following conclusion by contrasting Confucian with Buddhist and Taoist values. He said, Confucian values are more positive and dynamic; Taoist and Buddhist values are more negative and passive. Hence, he concludes, the success of the Chinese in Jementah was undoubtedly attributed to the practice of Confucian rather than Buddhist or Taoist values. He has thus, in few words, expressed the sentiments of a great majority of the respondents who took part in the survey.

Although numerous critics have hurled disparaging remarks against Kahn’s argument that the success of the Taiwanese was attributable to Confucian ethics, none has been able thus far to discredit the validity of his basic arguments: first, Taiwan’s success was attributed to cultural factors favoring development, excellent management of the economy, the favorable international and technological climate for growth, and quite simply, hard work and dedication; and, second, individualism that was appropriate for rapid growth in the past is becoming obsolete in the increasingly globalized market. Both arguments were based on his observation that Confucian ethics, among other things, instill purposive and efficient communal and organizational activities and efforts, harmonious human relations, and a sense of hierarchy and complementarity of relations conducive to economic development.

While it may be argued that one need not have to be a Confucian to achieve success, there is reason to believe that, given the universal nature of Confucian ethics and their overriding emphasis on family relations, if one adheres to these values, one is better equipped with the capability to achieve success. In fact, I would venture to postulate that, if the Chinese in Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and elsewhere were ever to backslide in their economic status, it is not so much because of their adherence to Confucianism but the lack of it.

(iii) The Chinese Spirit Cults in Malaysia. This section attempts to discuss the various aspects of (i) the Nine Emperor Gods, (ii) the Datuk Kong, and (iii) the spread of Malay and Chinese spirit cults to Sabah in East Malaysia.

The first topic sets out to examine the Nine Emperor Gods as a set of sacred symbols. In approaching this problem, we have shown how local devotees conceive of the Nine Emperor Gods, and how this cult is manifested in local rituals and worship centers. Our concern is to examine this spirit cult as a component of local Chinese pantheon and see how it is articulated in local Chinese worldview and ethos.

The Nine Emperor Gods, as far as the believers are concerned, are stellar deities who had once been humans but who, through the practice of asceticism and spiritual enlightenment had ascended to Heaven. They are, therefore, endowed with the celestial power to bring about earthly harmony between the Yin and Yang interactions, not only in the macro-cosmos but also in the micro-cosmos, on earth just as it is in Heaven. The belief as portrayed in the world-view and ethos associated with the Nine Emperor Gods, symbolizing the spirit of brotherhood and the unity of human endeavors between Heaven and Earth, represents but a facet of religious behavior that is characteristic of the Taoist tradition, a tradition that came into being before the existence of ‘Imperial China’.

What we have attempted to demonstrate in this study has to do with the ideas that (i) human organism represents but a replica of the macrocosm; (ii) both the microcosm and macrocosm are physically and spiritually related in the interrelated planes (Heaven and Earth); (iii) both micro- cosmos and micro-cosmos are governed and articulated by two related sets of symbols, the nine body souls, on the one hand, and the nine star lords, on the other. The natural phenomena, namely, the nine orifices of the human body and the nine planets of the solar system, provide the basis for the conception of the corresponding sets of sacred symbols which give meaning and form to the conception of world- view and ethos as well as to the conception of myth and reality.

The second topic is basically built on the thesis that social and religious phenomena are closely interrelated, and that this interrelationship is directly or indirectly reflected in and by the socio-political structure that characterizes a particular socio-cultural milieu in which worshipers find themselves. The Chinese attempt in localizing and indigenizing their traditional spirit cult, commonly known as Datuk Kong, is but a psychological representation of their unwavering desire to Malaysianize their world-view and ethos by homogenizing their spirit belief with that of the truly traditional and indigenous Malay’s, especially the spirit cult of the pre- and non-Islamic persuasion, including the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia, the Kadazan and Murut in Sabah, as well as the Iban, Bidayuh and Kayan in Sarawak.

In this spirit cult the Chinese hinge on their hopes and aspirations for reconciliation with the treacherous world out there. In the same spirit cult, too, they seek to foster peace and harmony in their existence as Malaysians espousing and sharing with others the same spirit of humanity, irrespective of race, color or creed. Thus, clearly represented in this spirit-cult movement is a tacit acknowledgment on the part of the worshipers that conversion to a single official religion is an ideal which may work towards ‘beautifying’ the goal of national integration. However, as long as the State and political leaders continue to dichotomize Malaysians into two opposing categories, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, and treat them differently on the basis of two separate sets of citizenship rights, the minorities’ response to the official religion will remain that much unattractive.

This is understandable since conversion does not bring them any closer to the threshold of a common nationhood. The goal of attaining national integration through the use of a single religion as a unifying factor will inevitably remain a mirage. The development of this spirit cult in the direction it has taken is but a representation of the earnest desire of the Chinese community to reconcile with the socio-cultural milieu in which they claim legitimate rights as citizens of Malaysia and wherein they have single-mindedly resolved to uphold their own religion and age-old cultural tradition.

Under these circumstances, the spirit cult as represented by the Datuk Kong and the Nine Emperor Gods (cf. Cheu 1982), will continue to form the focus of religious and socio-cultural life. More so if economic and physical developments, together with their contradictions in social and political relationships, go on unabated. It is in these spirit cult movement that interrelationships between religion and social phenomena are most vividly articulated. This is, in part, attributed to the socio-political structure that increasingly makes its influence felt on the socio-cultural milieu wherein worshipers of different ethnic and religious origins stake their rights for fundamental liberty, religious autonomy, and cultural continuity.

The third topic sees the spread of the Malay and Chinese saints to Sabah. It is a natural response of the Chinese community to the general assumption among the Malay elite in Sabah that one-way assimilation policies should be implemented among the non-Malays. However, this study as well as my earlier study on Islam and Ethnic Integration in 1974 shows that unilateral cultural assimilation will not bring about the desired results if the non-Malay community is not structurally integrated into the social, cultural, economic, and political institutions.

The Datuk Kong movement as well as the localization of Chinese locality cults among the Chinese in Sabah clearly shows that integration among them occurs not only as a result of reaction against the forces of social, economic and political obstacles in their way of life but also as a manifestation of the sentiments of their existence in the multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-lingual, and multi- sociocultural environment. To the Chinese community, whether in Peninsular Malaysia or in Sabah and Sarawak, this is a big step forward in their religious adaption and their attempt to integrate with the larger society.

Hence, the only sensible way out for the administration is to institute a change in social ideological principles to remove the institutionalized racial discrimination and conflict, on the one hand, and practice the principle of jus soli to coordinate equal political status, on the other. This means that Malaysia needs to consider a long-term strategy to implement the policy of uniting the people. Any nation-building policy takes a long time to lay its foundation. Therefore, it is not something that can be done in a hurry so as to avoid negative effects that could hinder or even slow down the process.

(iv) Processes of Localization, Sinicization, and Indigenization of spirit cults in Malaysia. This section deliberates on three processes of change in the development of spirit cults in Malaysia: (i) the localization of Chinese locality cults, (ii) the Sinicization of Malay keramat, and (iii) the indigenization or desinicization of an aboriginal spirit cult.

In the first topic, we attempt to introduce several earth deities in Chinese homes. In Malaysia, the earth deity (Tudigong) still functions in its original sense in the public and private domains of the Chinese community. In Hakka homes this cult is identified as Dizhu (Lord of Land), Dizhu Gong (Grand Lord of Land), or Dizhu Caishen (Lord of Land and Deity of Wealth). In recent years, however, it is more commonly referred to as Tangfan Dizhu (Sino-Native Lord of Land), Tangfan Dizhu Gong (Sino-Native Grand Lord of Land), or Tangfan Dizhu Caishen (Sino-Native Lord of Land-cum-Deity of Wealth). Even the Datuk Kong has come to be identified as Tangfan Nadugong.

The reinterpretation has taken into consideration the existence of non-Chinese spirit beings and the necessity to perform rituals in supplication to them for the attainment of peace and security. An understanding of the Malay language and local cultures have attributed to the shift from traditional Chinese spirit cult to that of the Malays. The evolution in the status and form of Chinese earth deity constitutes an excellent example of localization or Malaysianization of ancient Chinese earth deity.

Nonetheless, these spirit cults have served as a medium through which Chinese become acquainted with local cultures and beliefs. The mutual support and participation in the innovation of individual traditional spirit cults among the various dialect and ethnic communities have increased the frequency of inter-dialect and inter-ethnic contacts and cross-cultural interaction.

This has, to that extent, contributed to a greater sense of `communitas’ (Turner 1969) in a multi-ethnic social system. Thus, although the localization of the traditional earth deity among the Chinese is circular and horizontal in nature, the practice and ritual participation among the various Chinese dialect groups and non-Chinese communities, is vertical and dynamic in character.

In the second topic, I try to stand outside the pale of Malay society to examine how and why Malay keramat has been adopted by Chinese believers in Malaysia and how it has been adapted to the pattern of their belief system. It begins with a brief discussion on the concept of ‘keramat’; how and why this concept has been reinterpreted and reintegrated by Malay folk believers; how and why keramat-worship has spread from the Malay to the Chinese community; how and why it has subsequently undergone the process of Sinicization; and ends with a concluding statement, highlighting Chinese community’s adoption of the Malay keramat and its intrinsic and extrinsic values.

From the above, it is clear that the development of the Nadugong and Tangfan Nadugong is based on the format of keramat, the origin of which is traceable to the pre-Islamic tradition of the Arabian civilization. The Chinese’ readiness to accept the Malay keramat as their spirit pantheon is facilitated by their ancient belief in earth deity and kin- and non-kin ancestors. The development itself signifies an attempt on the part of the Chinese community to reinterpret the Malay locality cult and reintegrate it into their belief system. The reinterpretation and reintegration are effected through the process of Sinicization rather than assimilation. Here, one sees an interesting paradox in keramat-worship: while keramat cult is on the decline among the Malay Muslims, especially under the impact of the dakwah movement, it is gaining ascendancy among the non-Muslim communities in Malaysia.

Nonetheless, these spirit cults have served as a medium through which Chinese become acquainted with local cultures and beliefs. The mutual support and participation in the innovation of individual traditional spirit cults among the various dialect groups and ethnic communities have increased the frequency of inter-dialect and inter-ethnic contact and interaction. This has, to that extent, contributed to a greater sense of ‘communitas’ (Turner 1969) in the multi-dialect and multi-ethnic social system. Thus, although the Sinicization of local Malay keramat is internally circular, horizontal and involutionary, the practice and ritual participation among the various Chinese dialect groups and non-Chinese ethnic communities, is externally vertical and dynamic in character.

The third topic seeks to examine, briefly, the implications of religious change underlying the development of the Aboriginal Stone Datuk Temple and its effect on the future course of development of traditional Chinese temples in Malaysia. It begins with a brief survey of the temple site and proceeds to give a brief description and analysis of its historical background, its structure, and its organization. What is of significance is that, although the Aboriginal Datuk Seman is installed as the godhead in this temple, the organization of its worship rituals remains basically Chinese.

The construction of this full-size Sino-Aboriginal temple in Broga, Selangor, poses several questions. First, is this going to be the first and the last temple of its kind, or whether more of this kind of temples will be forthcoming to grace the cultural landscape of the Chinese community in Malaysia? Second, will it set the pattern for the future development of more keramat temples of this size and stature to further intensify the indigenization process of Chinese culture in Malaysia? Third, will it be used as a center of tourist attraction so as to contribute to the development of the tourism industry in this part of Southeast Asia?

If the latter pattern occurs, one valid question would be: What are the implications of this development on the traditional Chinese temples? Will traditional Chinese temples gradually become more and more desinicized as they become more and more indigenized and as the Chinese become more Malaysianized in their linguistic, religious, and socio-cultural orientation in the next millennium? Or will the indigenization process merely be a blessing in disguise - in the sense that it may inadvertently serve as a bulwark against cultural anachronism, and thus ensure the preservation and continuity of traditional Chinese temples in a rapidly changing socio-cultural environment?

Alternatively, will the traditional Chinese temples themselves become relics of the past or show-pieces of tourist attraction as the new generation gradually turn away from their traditional beliefs and practices and as they become more globalized in their world-view and ethos under the impact of national education, on the one hand, and the impact of globalization through the Multi-Media Super Corridor, on the other hand?

(v) Celebration of Festivals among the Chinese in Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia. This section winds up with the practical aspects of Chinese religion and emphasis on (i) the festivals in Chinese tradition, (ii) the festival of the Nine Emperor Gods in Southeast Asia, and (iii) the socio-psychological aspects of the Nine Emperor Gods Vegetarian Festival in Thailand.

The first topic discusses primarily on the festivals in the Chinese tradition. The festivals form part and parcel of the cultural heritage traceable to as far back in time as the mythical antiquity. The Chinese today are the inheritors of two main traditions: The Little Tradition and the Great Tradition. Both traditions contain memories of ancient beliefs and practices which are re-enacted yearly in the form of festivals or calendrical rites. The festivals ipso facto form part and parcel of their belief system and serve as rhythmic breaks for the Chinese to stop for pauses and merry-making as they respond to the cyclic changes of a particular year represented by a particular animal.

Each calendar year has four seasons and eight joints (sishi bajie) during which major rites of intensification and minor birthday anniversaries of the gods, deities, and ancestors are celebrated to mark the rhythmic changes of the season, usually in the form of temple fairs or communal worship. The Chinese calendar can also be sub-divided into twenty-four solar terms, wherein each season is punctuated by five solar terms. Theoretically speaking, therefore, the Chinese may celebrate up to as many as twenty-four festivals in a particular year.

The festivals and birth-day anniversaries of deities and ancestors constitute part and parcel of their belief system. Indeed, the system is a composite folk and elite beliefs, all of which form the basis of their age-old cultural heritage. They symbolically take stock of the cyclic changes in the ‘four seasons’ (the temporal dimension) in the tropic of the South Sea and seek to attain harmonious relationships, in time and space, between the past and the present, between the living and the dead, between Heaven and Earth, and between the Chinese and non-Chinese vis-a-vis the Upper, Middle and Lower Worlds (the spatial dimension).

The second topic attempts to present an analysis of the Nine Emperor Gods as portrayed in the Chinese temples in Malaysia and elsewhere. The Nine Emperor Gods are symbolically represented as (i) the nine planets in the universe (macro-cosmos), (ii) the nine sultanates in society (infra-cosmos), and (iii) the nine orifices of a human organism (micro-cosmos). The Nine Emperor Gods rituals consistently bear testimony to the fact that the physical and spiritual conditions of human society constantly depend upon the Yin and Yang interactions between the macro-cosmos and micro-cosmos. To maintain a harmonious physical relationship between them, there must be spiritual harmony in the interaction between the star deities controlling the nine planets, on the one hand, and the body souls or celestial breaths controlling the nine orifices of the human body, on the other.

This is based on our interpretation of the symbols represented in religious institutions and ritual organizations. The sacred symbols relate to the inorganic phenomena - seen as macro-cosmos - as well as their relationship with the organic phenomena - seen as micro-cosmos. They provide the basis for human understanding of what they are and how they relate to each other in the realms of the known and the unknown, the real and the unreal, the auspicious and the inauspicious, the sufferable and the insufferable. In these realms, the unknown is made known, the unreal is made real, the chaotic is made less chaotic, and the insufferable is made sufferable.

The belief as portrayed in the world-view and ethos associated with the Nine Emperor Gods symbolizing the spirit of brotherhood and the unity of human endeavors between heaven and earth, represents but a facet of religious behavior that is characteristic of Chinese tradition. What we have attempted to show are three-fold: that human organism represents but a replica of the macro-cosmos; that both micro-cosmos and macro-cosmos are physically and spiritually related in two inseparable planes, namely, heaven and earth; that both microcosm and macrocosm are signified by two related sets of symbols, namely, the nine body souls or celestial breaths, on the one hand, and the nine divine brothers or star deities, on the other. The natural phenomena (the nine orifices and planets) provide the basis for the conception of the corresponding sets of sacred symbols which give meaning and form to the conception of world-view and ethos as well as the conception of myth and reality.

The third topic on the socio-psychological aspects of the Nine Emperor Gods Vegetarian Festival in Thailand. The Vegetarian Festival celebrated in Thailand shares many similar characteristics with those of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival in Malaysia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. For example, the Vegetarian Festival is celebrated from the first till the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. It involves the welcoming of the Nine Star Deities, tall-lamp raising, worship and divination, trance dance and trance rituals, lion dance, dragon dance, hot oil bathing ritual, sword-blade ladder climbing, bridge crossing, fire-walking, sending-off ceremony, and tall-lamp lowering ritual, street processions, with elaborate use of religious symbols. The devotees also wear white garments and light white or yellow candles to signify the observation of a vegetarian diet. However, there are variations in terms of the organization of the rituals, spirit-mediumship, and the manner in which the rituals are performed.

Living a healthy life and having a longer life span may not necessarily or primarily due to food and nutrition, medication, health insurance, and genetic endowment. Physical participation in the nine-day and nine-night festival, the part-take of a vegetarian diet, the adherence to the five Buddhist precepts of spiritual purity, the spirit-mediums’ active participation in trance, trance dance, and healing rituals, and the general social cohesion during the festival also play a part in their physical and mental well-being. All these have contributed to the socio-psychological well-being of the community.

During the annual celebration of the Nine Emperor Gods Vegetarian Festival, social media has contributed to the revitalization of tradition, not only in the mass media but also on the Internet and the Facebook. The social media has promoted the festival as the largest local tourist event in line with the development of tourism as a dominant economic activity since the 1990s. Through this festival, the Chinese community has gained an opportunity to strengthen their ethnic identity, which was suppressed during the era of Thai nationalism. However, only some dominant groups have been able to portray the authenticity of the Vegetarian Festival as a Taoist tradition although several Nine Emperor Gods temples in Thailand celebrate the event as a Theravada Buddhist tradition. The state’s approval of the festival has given a boost to the image of the Chinese community in Phuket. This has contributed to the socio-psychological well-being of the devotees, in particular, and the Chinese community, in general.

Thus, the five themes which discuss (i) Chinese religion, (ii) Chinese attitudes toward religion, (iii) the development of spirit medium cults, (iv) the various processes of localization, sinicization, and indigenization of the Chinese, Malay, and Orang Asli spirit cults, and (v) the practical aspects of religious festivals in historical perspectives, the focus on the Nine Emperor Gods festival in Southeast Asia, and the socio-psychological aspects of the Nine Emperor Gods Vegetarian Festival in Thailand, all form an interrelated structure of Chinese religious traditions with inevitable prospects of change and non-change, continuity and discontinuity in the offing.

Hock-Tong Cheu

1

BUDDHISM IN CHINESE CULTURE

T HE aim of this chapter is two-fold: first, to provide the reader with a general view of Buddhism since its inception in India, its spread and adaptation in China, and its diffusion and transplantation in Southeast Asia; and second, to give a summary of the various facets of Buddhism in Chinese Culture.

A General View of Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy founded by Siddhartha Gautama in northeastern India during the late sixth century and, the early fourth century BC. In principle, Buddhism teaches non-violence although its adherents in positions of power have waged war in various stages of development. Some Buddhist monks have observed celibacy but some have also written erotic manuals and enjoyed sex life.¹ Since its spread from India to Central, Southeast and East Asia, Buddhism has played an important role in shaping the spiritual and material life of much of the Eastern world. In recent years it has also attracted some adherents in the West.²

The Buddha and His Teachings

Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhist religion, was also known as the Buddha Sakyamuni, Sage of the Sakyas. He was born about 563 B.C.³ and died at the age of eighty years. Upon his birth, a fortune-teller foretold that he would become a monk. Being a prince of the Sakyas, his father was saddened by the prediction and instructed his royal staff lo watch over him so as to con-fine him within the four walls of the palace. However, he was still able to come into contact with the real world on his outing. He is said to have encountered an old man, a sick man, a dead man, and a poor mendicant on four different occasions. These encounters had greatly changed his outlook in life. He was so disturbed by the pain and suffering of his fellow beings that he vowed to find a solution to these problems.

Even though he was married, and a child was born to him, he decided to leave the palace to lead an ascetic way of life as a hermit. His extreme asceticism made him realize that one need not have to suffer in body to acquire spiritual enlightenment. This led him to embark upon a Middle Path in his search for the Ultimate Truth.

This has come to be identified as the Eightfold Path. The Eight-Fold Path includes: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. The first two, viz. right understanding and right thought, form the basis of wisdom (anna); the third, fourth and fifth, i.e. right speech, right action, and right livelihood, form the essence of ethical conduct (sila); and the last three, viz. right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration, form the basis of mental discipline (samadhi). The Eight-Fold Path is thus made up of three components: wisdom, discipline, and conduct.

Later he propounded his philosophy of life in his Four Noble Truths. The first truth is Dukkha: Life on earth is suffering, with its attendant sorrows and joys, its imperfection and dissatisfaction, its impermanence and insubstantiality. The second truth is Samudaya: The cause of suffering is desire, greed, ‘thirst’ (tanha), defilements, impurities, and attachment to things of the world. The third truth is Nirodha: Suffering can be ended by stopping one’s desire, i.e. by attaining nirvana, the Absolute Truth or Ultimate Reality. The fourth truth is Magga: The way to stop desire is the Noble Eight-Fold Path.

His life and teaching, in theory and practice, were recorded in Pali in the Theravada canon of sacred scriptures, known as the Tripitaka (the Three Baskets). The Tripitaka includes: (i) the Vinaya Pitaka (the Basket of Discipline), which deals with the discipline of law and precepts for spiritual advancement; (ii) the Sutta Pitaka (the Basket of Discourses), which has to do with the practical aspects of ethical conduct, self-control, merit, selflessness, and exemplary conduct; and (iii) the Abidhanna Pitaka (the Basket of Scholasticism), which delves into the doctrines of metaphysics and philosophy. The Vinaya Pitaka was compiled by Upali, the Sutta Pitaka by Ananda, and Abidhanna Pitaka by Kasyapa. These texts form not only the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism in South Asia but also the basis of other Buddhist traditions in Central, East, and Southeast Asia.

Besides the Pali texts which characterized Buddhism in southern India, Buddhist scriptures were also written in Sanskrit in northern India. Both written texts were used as sources of Buddhist teaching and the basis of development in India and other parts of Asia. Ultimately, it gave rise to variants of Buddhism representing different periods, geographical areas, and cultural traditions.

Division of Buddhism

Some scholars have divided Buddhism along philosophical lines based on three classical periods. The Way of the Elders, which represented an early phase of Theravada Buddhism, emphasized the no-soul idea and the reality of the constituents (dhannas) of the world. The Middle Way (Madhyamiha) School, which represented a middle phase, introduced the ideal of the ultimate emptiness (sunyata). The Consciousness Only (Vijnanavada) School, which represented a third phase of its development, was philosophically idealistic. This philosophical division has its limitation since it only touches certain aspects of classical Buddhism, based on teachings developed before the fifth century BC and ignores subsequent developments."

Other scholars have elaborated a schema based on polemical divisions within the Buddhist community. They focus attention on three Buddhist ‘vehicles’ (yana), each of which is characterized by a different understanding of the process and goal of salvation. The three vehicles are: (i) the Hinayana (the Lesser Vehicle); (ii) the Mahayana (the Greater Vehicle); and (iii) the Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle) or Mantrayana (Sacred Sound Vehicle). The Hinayana refers to the lesser means of progress towards liberation. The ideal of the practitioners of the Hinayana was the arhat (Pali, arahant), the saint who has attained nirvana, while that of the Mahayana was the bodhisattva, the all-compassionate Buddha-to-be, who resolves to become a Buddha in some distant future and dedicates the course of his innumerable lives to saving beings of all kinds.’

The Hinayanists elaborated a gradual process of individual salvation, characterized by the attainment of an arhat, or one who achieves enlightenment on his own and is not obliged to impart his knowledge to others. It is practiced mainly in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Myanmar (Burma), Kampuchea (Cambodia), Laos, and Thailand.

The Mahayana refers to the greater means of progress to enlightenment. It refers to a form of Buddhism which developed in northern India and Central Asia from about the first century AD and which is prevalent today in Nepal, Sikhim, Tibet, China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan.⁶ Mahayana Buddhism was also transmitted to Sri Lanka and China, but it eventually vanished from South Asia. The Mahayanists elaborated a gradual path of salvation lasting over many lifetimes or kalpas, but their emphasis was different in that (i) an individual’s soteriological process could be aided and abated by external power, and (ii) ultimately only one soteriological goal is to be reached, i.e. the attainment of fully realized Buddhahood, The Vajrayana is an Indian movement which was slow in gathering momentum in its early stage. Prevalent in Nepal and Afganistan, it is also known as Esoteric Buddhism,⁷ Tantric Buddhism (Tantrayana), Diamond Vehicle or Mantra Vehicle (Mantrayana). Combining yoga and ritual, it accepts the basic approach and goal of the Mahayana but feels that individual realization can be accomplished more quickly, in some cases even in this life.⁸

The Vajrayanists describe the practices that lend to this attainment in texts called tantras (hence the name Tanrayana) in contrast to sultras, the generic name of the non-tantric Buddhist scriptures. The trantric scriptures were not accepted by either the Hinayana or the Mahayana school although in recent years such scriptures are used and recited in some of the Mahayana and Hinayana temples in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. ‘Tantrayana’ is also used to refer to the Buddhist tradition infused with Tantrism on the islands of Bali and Java in lndonesia.⁹

Although this tripartite schema is by far the most common one used by scholars to divide Buddhism into identifiable categories, it has two serious flaws. First, it underestimates the significance of developments of Buddhism outside India, especially after the first millennium. And, second, it tends to over-emphasize certain features as external differences and ignore the intrinsic similarities of Buddhist teaching.¹⁰

However, it is undeniable that Buddhism has shaped and in tum has been shaped by its surrounding cultures and religious traditions. Hence the application of such labels as Tibetan Buddhism,¹¹ Chinese Buddhism¹² and Japanese Buddhism¹³ to contemporary developments of Buddhism. This contemporary division of Buddhism is not without danger, though.

For aught we know, it conceals the capacity of Buddhist tradition to transcend the boundaries of culture, politics, and nationality. It thus belittles its role as a world religion and the universal status of its founder. Although the development of Buddhism is marked by transformations, the basic teachings of Gautama Buddha re-main unchanged. Buddhism has developed from a small community of mendicants and householders in Northeastern India into a universal religion associated with empire, civilization, and culture in different parts of Asia, and ultimately with modernity and the West as well.¹⁴

The ‘Northern’ Sanskrit Mahayana formed the basis of Buddhism of Central and East Asia. Buddhism spread to China via Persia and Tibet in the first century AD. When it first came to China, traditional elite found contradictions in its teachings. Its entry created awareness among local religious leaders and spurred them to explore ways to eliminate the contradictions and to reduce the Buddhist teachings to one basic truth. Attempts were made to integrate Buddhist teachings into vast structures of ‘graded revelations.’

This tendency eventually produced the great scholastic systems of medieval Chinese Buddhism. On the other hand, radical rejection of diversity by the propagation of ‘direct’ intuitive way to enlightenment and the abandonment of all scriptural study has given rise to the development of Chan (Zen) Buddhism,¹⁵ a form of Buddhism which took tin Tibet, Mongolia, China, and Japan.¹⁶ Conversely, the awareness of the power of recitation and the development of Chan Buddhism had also contributed to the abandonment of scriptural study and, in some cases, even monastic disciplines.

Buddhism in China

Buddhism encountered ups and downs in its spread and adaptation. Despite its successful advance, it was confronted by formidable obstacles in China, with a vast empire and an eminent civilization dominated by political and social values and norms which contravened some of the most fundamental ideas of Buddhism.

The quest for purely individual salvation in Buddhism through the organization of monasteries and nunneries was rejected by Confucian world-view as narrow-minded and selfish since humans can best perfect themselves only within society. Buddhist perception of all worldly existences as illusory and its belief in ideas like rebirth (samsara), the retribution of all acts (karma), and the pursuit of metaphysical aims such as liberation (moksha) and enlightenment (nirvana) became outlandish novelties that ran counter to the teachings of China’s most revered sages.¹⁷

The non-Chinese origin of the doctrine was sufficient to condemn Buddhism as ‘barbaric’ and ‘evil,’ and therefore unfit to be propagated in the Middle Kingdom (Zhongguo). The monastic ideal of total rejection and abandonment of family life was seen as a direct conflict with the basis of Confucian morality underlying man’s primary duty in fulfilling his obligations to the family: the cult of ancestors, the observance of filial piety, the institution of marriage, and the procreation of male off-spring to perpetuate the patrilineage. The monk’s life was not only regarded as immoral but also condemned as parasitical.

In fact, the monastic institution was branded as an ‘anti-social’ body within the state. Much ill-will and suspicion was created by the traditional claim of the Buddhist clergy to be regarded as an unworldly body, not subject to any temporal obligations and exempt from any form of government supervision. The idea that the monk does not bow before the king as an ancient conception in Buddhism in India was looked upon as alien, subversive, and sacrilegious. It became the subject of debates and conflicts for centuries, until in Song and Qing periods the Buddhist clergy had to abandon its claims and lost much of its independence.¹⁸

In spite of all these inhibiting factors, Buddhism was able to take root in China and became an important factor in the development of Chinese civilization. This was largely due to the fact that its formative phase coincided with a period of political disintegration coupled with a temporary decline of Confucianism as a state ideology.

It was under these conflicting conditions that Taoism came to be developed as an alternative to that Chinese world-view. The smallness of the Confucian elite and the magnitude of the social masses steep in