Lǐ shèlìtǎ yíshì 禮舍利塔儀式
The Ritual Code for the Veneration of Relic-Stūpas by 弘贊 (Hóngzàn, 編)
About the work
A single-fascicle early-Qīng liturgical manual by Hóngzàn (弘贊, 1612–1686) for the formal worship of śarīra-stūpas. Author signature: Yuèdōng Dǐnghúshān shāmén shì Hóngzàn Zàishēn biān 粵東鼎湖山沙門釋 弘贊在犙 編.
Opening doctrinal frame
The opening doctrinal note covers (i) the etymology of shèlì 舍利 (Skt. śarīra; transliterations shìlìluó 室利羅, shèlìluó 設利羅 — variant Sanskrit registrations); (ii) the canonical taxonomy of relics — bone (white), hair (black), flesh (red); (iii) the doctrinal significance of relics — those of a Buddha cannot be broken when struck (chuíjī bùpò 槌擊不破), those of an arhat shatter on test, indicating the Buddha’s jièdìnghuì xūnxiū 戒定慧熏修 (“perfection by perfumation through the precepts, meditation and wisdom”).
Structural Division
The fascicle gives a complete worship-cycle, opening with yīxīn fèngqǐng 一心奉請 invocations of the śarīra-stūpa; the xiānghuā gòngyǎng 香華供養 (incense-and-flower offerings); a sequence of zàn 讚 (eulogies) drawn from the Běnxíng jīng 本行經 and Shànjiè jīng 善戒經 on the merit of stūpaveneration; and the closing dedication.
Abstract
The Lǐ shèlìtǎ yíshì is part of Hóngzàn’s liturgical-procedural trilogy for Cantonese-Buddhist devotional practice, alongside KR6k0239 Lǐ Fó yíshì (Buddhaveneration) and KR6k0240 Gòng zhūtiān kēyí (offering to the devas). It is a polemically-conscious work: Hóngzàn complains that “in the present time those who do reverence do not consult the canonical institution and contravene the standards; they only know how to call the names but do not know how to praise the virtues” (今時禮敬。罔諳教法。多乖儀則。唯知稱名。不曉讚德), citing the Běnxíng on the superiority of even one four-line zàn over years of material support, as the work’s polemical justification. Composition is bracketed by Hóngzàn’s mature career; notBefore–notAfter are 1660–1686.
Translations and research
No substantial Western-language secondary literature located.
Other points of interest
- The threepart liturgical sequence (KR6k0238 Lǐ shèlìtǎ yíshì, KR6k0239 Lǐ Fó yíshì, KR6k0240 Gòng zhūtiān kēyí) is the principal Dǐnghúshān contribution to Cantonese-Buddhist altar liturgy.
Links
- CBETA online: https://cbetaonline.dila.edu.tw/X1491
- 弘贊 DILA
- Kanseki DB