Page 287 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

2,48 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM A-L

chanhui

repentance; confession

Chanhui literally means "repenting wrongdoing and begging forgiveness." The
term, which is also used in Buddhism, derives from Sanskrit k~amayati, mean-
ing to seek forbearance for one' s errors. Rites had existed in China since early
times to cure disease through confession of one's misdeeds, but emphasis on
repentance grew with the expansion of Buddhism. The relevant Taoist rites
were influenced by the corresponding Buddhist ones, in which the Buddhas
and bodhisattvas of the ten directions were invited to the ritual site, sutras
were intoned, one's wrongdoings were named, and a vow was taken to act
according to the teachings.
Around the fifth century, the idea developed in the *Lingbao *zhai (Retreat)
rituals that atonement through physical ascesis could afford salvation for
both oneself and one's ancestors. An example is contained in the chapter on
the Yellow Register Retreat (*huanglu zhai) of the *Wushang biyao (Supreme
Secret Essentials,j. 54; Lagerwey 1981b, 143-45), which describes how to ask the
Celestial Worthies (tianzun X ~~) of the ten directions to pardon the spirits
suffering in the underworld. Significantly, the text indicates that one should
perform multiple prostrations. The practice of repentance by performing
thousands of prostrations continued in later times. According to j. 24 of Zhou
Side's )tfJ ,W'1~ (1359-1451) Shangqing lingbao jidu dachengjinshu .L H~: mw fIf it
*nx:~. (Golden Writings on the Great Achievement of Deliverance by the
Numinous Treasure of Highest Clarity; in *Zangwai daoshu), people commit
various kinds of wrongs, and receive retribution for them in the underworld.
To release the bonds of this wrongdoing, repentance is performed in every
direction.
In present-day Taiwan, during the rite of the Land of the Way (*daochang),
homage is first paid to the ten directions; then repentance is conducted simul-
taneously for both the person who has commissioned the ritual and the high
priest (gaogong r€E J)]; see * daozhang).
MARUYAMA Hiroshi

III Ofuchi Ninji 1983, 227-28, 277
* Chaotian baochan