Conclusion
Festivals and celebrations are manifested by multimedia, such as texts, images, ritual performance, and material items. Students should think about the relationships among these different media and make sense of how the festivals and celebrations are mediated. How are different media in Buddhism invented, created, and reinvented? What different social and cultural functions do these multimedia play in bringing rituals and performances alive and binding participants together? How do these festivals and celebrations create and enhance cultural and religious identity? How does the globalization movement shape the development of Buddhist communities by festivals and celebrations? How to understand things, actions, and words as the tangible and intangible presence in Buddhist festival and celebration performances bringing up senses, consciousness, rationality, emotion, symbols, and semiosis? There are many questions remaining to be answered. Students are encouraged to find their own answers by reading, visualizing, and observing these festivals and celebrations.
Further readings:
John Kieschnick, The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture. Princeton University Press, 2003.
Donald K. Swearer, Becoming the Buddha: The Ritual of Image Consecration in Thailand. Princeton University Press, 2004.
Author Biography
Huaiyu Chen is an associate professor of religious studies at the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies, with a joint appointment at the School of International Letters and Cultures. He has also held several visiting positions in North America, Europe, and Asia, such as a membership of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton in 2011-2012, a Spalding Visiting Fellowship at Clare Hall of Cambridge University in 2014-2015, and a visiting professorship at Beijing Normal University in June-July 2015.______________________
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