Observances, Feasts, and Scripts

Observances, Feasts, and Scripts is the first monograph written in English to offer a comprehensive analysis of the varieties of zhai , a multifaceted term with deep historical and religious significance in Chinese Buddhism. Drawing on a wide array of sources—including canonical texts, apocryphal writings, hagiographies, and ritual documents—this book unveils zhai as a ritual complex encompassing temporary observances, communal feasts, and modes of interaction between the seen and unseen realms.