History, Legend, and Ritual: Lamp-Offering Narratives in Medieval Chinese Buddhist Literature
Dear Friends of the Center for Buddhist Studies,
Please join us on Wednesday, December 3 at 4 pm (Arizona Time) in S225 at Environment and Natural Resources 2 Building (ENR2) for the next lecture of the Ōbaku Ingen/Lingyin/Puyin Lecture Series! This is a hybrid in-person/online event, cosponsored by the Department of East Asian Studies.
Time: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm (Arizona Time), December 3, 2025
Location: S225, ENR2 (Environment & Natural Resources Phase 2)
1064 E Lowell St, Tucson, AZ 85719
Suggested parking: Sixth Street Garage (1119 E 6th St, Tucson, AZ 85719)
Talk title: History, Legend, and Ritual: Lamp-Offering Narratives in Medieval Chinese Buddhist Literature
Speaker: Dr. Huaiyu Chen (Professor of Buddhism and Chinese Religions, Arizona State University)
Abstract: This lecture examines lamp-offering narratives in medieval Chinese Buddhist literature through a comparative study of the lamp-offering liturgies in Dunhuang manuscripts and the stone-lamp inscriptions from the Central Plains. Both textual and material sources reveal the integration of history, legend, and ritual in shaping Buddhist devotional culture. Dunhuang manuscripts emphasize the Jataka tradition of Buddhist narrative on the ascetic practice centered on self-immolation and arm-burning as acts of lamp-offering, connecting these legendary deeds to the figure of the Dipamkara Buddha and establishing a cosmologically expansive vision that includes sacred mountains, local deities, and the three thousand great thousand worlds. In contrast, the stone-lamp inscriptional narratives focus primarily on Shakyamuni Buddha, often representing the Buddha’s dharmakāya through the topmost “mani pearl” or “wish-fulfilling jewel,” and reflect the long-standing tradition of everlasting lamps as monumental, permanent devotional objects. Dunhuang lamp-offering rituals were temporary, led by secular patrons such as local military governors, and emphasized top-down merit dedication, while stone-lamp rituals were anchored in monastery infrastructure, led by monks, and often dedicated merit to imperial authorities. By tracing these historical, legendary, and ritual dimensions, this study illuminates how lamp-offering narratives and practices mediated local and imperial Buddhist identities, reflected regional sociopolitical structures, and embodied the enduring interplay between narrative, material culture, and devotional ritual.
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