| Abstract |
During the reign of the Wanli Emperor (1572-1620), several members of the literati had a temple built at Gushan in the city of Hangzhou. The temple was a testament to the religious syncretism at the time, for it combined elements of Pure Land Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Tiantai Buddhism (天台宗), and the worship of Guan Yu (關羽). This article attempts to answer three main questions having to do with Gushan Temple. First, what was the social network that linked the founding members of the temple together? In other words, how were the temple ’ s founders connected to one another? Second, what were the religious beliefs of the founding members? This article shows that they were followers of the teachings of Zhu Hong (雲棲祩宏) and Yongming Yanshou (永明延壽), both well-known Buddhist scholars. At the same time, the founders worshipped Guan Yu, the famous general deified as a Bodhisattva after his death. They also found the repentance rituals of Tiantai Buddhism immensely appealing. Third, how do the inscriptions found at the temple reflect the religious beliefs of the founders? On the temple can be found not only poems from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, but also the Lotus Sutra of Wondrous Dharma. These texts, it is argued, are indicative of the mentality of the temple’s founders. |
