法華信仰的物質性傳播：《弘贊法華傳》的經本崇拜=The Physical Basis in the Dissemination of the Lotus Belief (Fahua Xinyang 法華信仰): the Worship of Texts in Accounts of the Propagation and Praise of the Lotus [Sutra] (Hongzan fahua zhuan 弘贊法華傳)
This paper explores the material impact of sacred texts on Chinese Buddhist ideas, especially the worship of the Lotus Sutra (Fahua jing 法華經). The main goal of the paper is to assess the text’s place and function within Chinese lotus beliefs, an approach different from previous analyses of the text’s ideas and exposition from the viewpoints of various Buddhist schools. Traditional scholarship has focused on the thought of the Lotus Sutra and therefore ignored the material base of its great spread in Asia. This paper views the text as a treasure of Buddhist doctrines, as well as a sacred object used in individual cultivation and collective rituals. The paper features a case study of the Hongzan Fahua zhuan 弘贊法華傳, edited in the Tang dynasty and continuously published until today, that collects all pious practice related to the Lotus Sutra. This work is especially valuable for shedding new light on general worshippers’ attitudes towards Buddhist sutras in their practical forms and internal dynamics. This paper concludes with an assessment of the place of book worship in Chinese Buddhist practice.
