East Asian transformations of monasticism

This chapter presents a survey of the growth and transformation of Buddhist monasticism in East Asia. It primarily focuses on select aspects of monastic life and practice that developed in medieval China. It briefly reviews the main sources and recent studies on the subject, and highlights the major periods in the development of monasticism in medieval China. The chapter presents the textual foundation for Buddhist monasticism and surveys the scholastic tradition of Vinaya literature that developed during the early medieval period. It explains the textual and ritual practices of Buddhist monasticism, as they developed during the so-called transformation period. Finally, the chapter focuses on the rise of the ordination platform, various practices centered on Buddhist texts, and the shift from veneration of the Buddha’s relics to the rise of the Chan tradition of flesh-body.