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A Study on the World of the Dead through FaYuanZhuLin-JiSiPian
The Journal of Chinese Cultural Studies
2017, (38),
pp.239-262
DOI :10.18212/cccs.2017..38.010
Publisher : The Society For Chinese Cultural Studies
Research Area : Chinese Culture
DOI :10.18212/cccs.2017..38.010
Publisher : The Society For Chinese Cultural Studies
Research Area : Chinese Culture
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<法苑珠林⋅祭祀篇> emphasizes the importance of the ceremony through Uranbunjae (fifteenth day of the seventh moon by the lunar calendar). It is the celebration for dead ancestors that may be in pain in Hell by showing gratitude for their benevolence so that they could reach salvation. This is completed with a logic that the virtue made by offering celebration can extinguish the sin of the dead and relieve them from Hell. This is now settled as 49jae in order to pass away the dead to a better place and let them in peace. As seen in the similarity of the after life stories in MuLian Saving His Mother(目連救母) is that the dead are judged by his sin and the severity of the sin leads to different destination. It is the popular perspective. The afterlife in fantasy novels containing Buddhism portrays the happenings of 49 days the soul experiences. Additionally 49 day funeral is a ceremony of the living for the dead to have a better afterlife. It is not49 day only a religious ceremony but also the time for the remnant to get used to the loss and prepare for the farewell. Also that this view of the afterlife leads people to become comtemplative and to reflect is not to be overlooked. Afterlife stories are a extension of temporal life. Through 49 days of journey the good and bad unvails and by the story of being dragged to hell shows us the difficultness of the good even though it is highly recommended. The temporal life and the after one is clearly the world with different time and space. However the stories of the afterlife can be seen as a want and a projection of the life we live to be more fair and just.
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