Encyclopedia of Buddhism Volume One A -L Robert E. Buswell

F ILIALITY
relationships. In Japan, it is especially a time to visit
Shinto shrines, although on New Year’s Eve people
may go to temples to help ring the temple bell 108
times, signifying the elimination of the 108 defilements
(Sanskrit, kleśa). In Tibet, on the other hand, the celebration
of the New Year (Lo gsar) serves to reaffirm
Buddhist supremacy over indigenous forces, and, since
the time of TSONG KHA PA (1357–1419), it has segued
into the celebration of the Great Prayer Festival (Smon
lam chen mo).
Bibliography
Ch’en, Kenneth K. S. Buddhism in China. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 1964.
DeVisser, Marinus Willem. Ancient Buddhism in Japan: Su tras
and Ceremonies in Use in the Seventh and Eighth Centuries
A.D. and Their History in Later Times. Paris: Paul Geuthner,
1928.
Holt, John C. Discipline: The Canonical Buddhism of the
Vinayapitaka. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1981.
Horner, I. B., trans. The Book of the Discipline (Vinayapitaka),
Vol. 4: Mahavagga. London: Luzac, 1971.
Horner, I. B., trans. The Minor Anthologies of the Pali Canon,
Part 3: Chronicle of Buddhas (Buddhavam sa) and Basket of
Conduct (Cariyapitaka). London: Pali Text Society, 1975.
Robertson, Alec. The Triple Gem and the Uposatha: Buddhist
Ethics and Culture. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Colombo Apothecaries’
Company, 1971.
Seneviratne, H. L. Rituals of the Kandyan State. Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press, 1978.
Wijayaratna, Mohan. Buddhist Monastic Life: According to the
Texts of the Theravada Tradition, tr. Claude Grangier and
Steven Collins. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press, 1990.
JONATHAN S. WALTERS
FILIALITY. See Family, Buddhism and the
FOLK RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
Folk religion refers to beliefs and practices that are not
specifically marked as Buddhist. The term covers a
broad range of phenomena, including worship of local
deities, healing practices, the banishment of
demons by priests (exorcism), providing offerings to
the ANCESTORS to bring them comfort in the afterlife,
divination, and other ritual activities seeking good fortune,
health, or salvation.
Separating Buddhism from its background (folk religion)
is neither easy nor objective. Folk religion is usually
a second-order description, an attempt by debating
parties to insulate an imaginary form of pure Buddhism
from less desirable activities occurring in the
background. The reality, however, is always more complicated:
Elements subsumed under the label of folk
religion are mixed together, coherently, with what unreflective
authors want to isolate as true, authentic
Buddhism. Early biographies of the historical Buddha,
for instance, describe how before the Buddha was born
his father consulted the state oracle, who prophesied
that his son was destined for greatness. The soothsayer,
Atiśa, stated that the young prince would become either
a great ruler or a majestic world-renouncer. Similarly,
most accounts of the Buddha’s enlightenment
note that after six futile years of practicing austerities,
the Buddha-to-be accepted a bowlful of rice and milk
from a laywoman named Sujata. Sujata presented the
gift to the buddha because she mistook him for a tree
spirit whose succor she had sought in conceiving a son.
Although one might be tempted to discriminate between
the folk elements and the more orthodox components
in these two episodes, the early texts portray
all the elements as integral parts within a healthy, sensible,
unitary worldview. In the case of Atiśa, divining
the future, especially when it involves the well-being
of the state, is deemed perfectly consistent with Śakyamuni’s
path to buddhahood. Religious awakening,
politics, and predicting the future (the latter two often
considered to be folk corruptions) are not considered
separate realms. Similarly, rather than distinguishing
between a pure Buddhist intent and a debased folk
practice, the early accounts of Sujata’s offering make
no negative judgment about her devotions. Offerings
to wandering holy men are believed to bring good fortune,
to fulfill a laywoman’s ethical obligations, and to
further the cause of spiritual progress.
The category of folk religion is also murky because,
especially in the premodern period, most Buddhists
have not attempted to enforce clear distinctions between
what is Buddhist and what is not. Definitions of
what counts as Buddhist tend to be inclusive rather
than exclusive. The earliest Buddhist communities absorbed
much from their background, including belief
in the power of holy men; a REBIRTH cosmology that
placed human beings on a vertical continuum with
gods, demigods (asura), animals, hungry ghosts
(preta), and beings in HELLS; a universe animated by
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