Jieba Explained

P:jièbā
W:chieh4-pa1
J:gaai3-baa1
L:precept scars

Jieba (Chinese: 戒疤[1]) is an ordination practice where ritual burn scars are received by Buddhist monks of traditions within Han Chinese Buddhism such as Pure Land and Chan Buddhism, including some specific temples such as that of Shaolin monks.[2] [3] This practice is part of the ceremony for receiving the bodhisattva vows as fully ordained monastics.[4]

Procedure

One method of creating the marks is achieved by placing an incense-like stick of Artemisia vulgaris called a onto the top of the head and burning the moxa for several minutes, causing moxibustion burns on the scalp, a process that creates the scars.[5] Moxa is used over regular incense to lessen the pain that is caused by the scarring process. The practice is potentially dangerous, and can result in temporary injury including infection, blood poisoning, impaired eye sight, and swelling, as well as potentially permanent injuries including blindness.

Religious significance

The number of jieba scars that a monk will receive ranges from three to twelve,[6] though historically as many as eighteen have been used. The meaning of the jieba varies, with some definitions being refuge in the three jewels, or alternatively symbolizing the three Buddhist characteristics of discipline, concentration, and wisdom, especially when these marks are made in multiples of three.

The justification for the jieba ceremony is often taken from sutras, including the sixteenth precept of the Fànwǎng jīng which discusses Bodhisattva renunciation practices that include "the burning of one's body" as being an ultimate act in the quest for enlightenment, and that if one is not prepared to follow these practices then they cannot become a monk.[7]

Laypeople will sometimes receive jieba on their forearms after taking the Bodhisattva Precepts as a sign of sacrifice and dedication during a Buddhist initiation ritual.[8]

History

The practice dates back to at least the Chinese Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), and the earliest known recorded description of jieba comes from around the year 1280 in a biography of a monk named Zhide (1235–1322) in a document called Ming gaoseng zhuan (Biographies of Eminent Monks compiled under the Ming).

One origin that has been suggested is that the practice began as a means of identifying monks after the issuance of ordination certificates was suspended by the Yongzheng Emperor during the mid 18th century,[9] after which the practice was ubiquitous for Chan Buddhist monks during the remainder of the 18th century.

The practice itself may be an apocryphal concept to Chan Buddhism, as there is evidence that the existence of moxibustion in China predates both Buddhist usage and the authorship of the Brahmajāla Sūtra (also called the Fànwǎng jīng in Chinese) or the Śūraṅgama Sūtra (also called the Shouleng'yan jing in Chinese), both themselves apocryphal texts which in part discuss and justify such practices as moxibustion and jieba.[10]

In December 1983, the Buddhist Association of China, the official Chinese government body that oversees Buddhism in China, decreed that jieba was "a ritual practice which was not of Buddhist origin, and since it was damaging to the health was to be abolished forthwith."

This ritual is still practiced in Taiwan in the triple platform ordinations. The offering of incense on the body occurs the night before receiving the bodhisattva vows. It is not mandatory but three is a common choice among monastics. In Vietnam it is called Lễ Tấn Hương and is also more common than the Chinese variant.

Similar practices

Ceremonial branding is an integral part of religious initiation in most Vaishnava sects. References to this practice can be traced in texts such as Narad Panchratra, Vaikhnasagama, Skanda Purana, etc.[11] This practice is still in vogue among Madhava sect Brahmins of Karnataka in India.[12]

Popular culture

The character Krillin from the Dragon Ball media franchise is a monk that has six jieba on his forehead.[13] [14] In Jet Li's first film, the 1982 Chinese film The Shaolin Temple, his character Jue Yuan has jieba on his head. Many movies that portray monks with jieba scars during the Tang and Song dynasties are considered anachronistic, as there is no evidence of the practice in use prior to the Yuan dynasty.

Notes and References

  1. Book: 當代臺灣本土大眾文化. 第一冊, 雙源匯流與互動開展精選集 . 元華文創 . 2020 . 978-957-711-090-9 . Chu ban . Tai bei shi . Chinese . Collection of contemporary local and mass culture in Taiwan . 1204255254 . 每當有僧尼的傳戒大典舉行時,最後壓軸的,就是在新受戒者的光頭上燒「戒疤」 . 2022-08-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220831164424/https://www.worldcat.org/title/1204255254 . 2022-08-31 . live . When a monk or nun's ordination ceremony is held, the final part of the ceremony is to burn the "precept scar" on the bald head of the new ordained..
  2. Shaolin Summit to Feature Legendary Monks, Temple's Abbot, Noted Author, Psychologist and Other Experts to Discuss Zen Philosophy, Martial Arts, Holistic Healing . May 13, 2011 . August 30, 2022 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210227165727/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna43024582 . February 27, 2021 . NBC News.
  3. News: October 10, 2017 . L'Abate Venerabile Shi Yanfan e il produttore Adrian Paul a Cinecittà . . live . August 30, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211023200800/https://news.cinecitta.com/IT/it-it/news/55/71207/l-abate-venerabile-shi-yanfan-e-il-produttore-adrian-paul-a-cinecitta.aspx . October 23, 2021.
  4. Book: Birnbaum, Raoul . Religion in China today . 2003 . Cambridge University Press . 0-521-53823-8 . Overmyer . Daniel L. . New York . 123 . Buddhist China at the Century's Turn . 52547679 . 2022-08-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220831164424/https://www.worldcat.org/title/52547679 . 2022-08-31 . live.
  5. Web site: October 23, 2020 . 和尚从什么时候开始烧"戒疤"？电视剧中的和尚骗了观众很多年 . When did the monks start burning "jieba"? The monks on TV series have cheated the audience for many years. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220831164451/https://www.toutiao.com/article/6885238407228817931/ . August 31, 2022 . August 30, 2022 . Toutiao.com.
  6. Web site: Peiyun . Li . December 10, 2016 . 揭密：和尚的頭上為什麼有六個戒疤？ . Revealed: Why are there six scars on the monk's head? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220831164423/https://www.chinatimes.com/hottopic/20161210002798-260809?chdtv . August 31, 2022 . August 30, 2022 . . Chinese.
  7. Web site: Thanh . Minh . 2000 . The Brahma Net Sutra . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110611151922/http://www.ymba.org/bns/bnstext.htm#m1 . June 11, 2011 . 10 December 2012 . New York: Sutra Translation Committee of the United States and Canada.
  8. Book: Chandler, Stuart . Establishing a Pure Land on earth : the Foguang Buddhist perspective on modernization and globalization . . 2004 . 978-0-8248-6240-4 . Honolulu . 147 . 875895218 . 2022-08-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220831164425/https://www.worldcat.org/title/875895218 . 2022-08-31 . live.
  9. Book: Welch, Holmes . The practice of Chinese Buddhism, 1900-1950 . 1973 . Harvard University Press . 0-674-69700-6 . Cambridge . 39088631 . 2022-08-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220831164425/https://www.worldcat.org/title/39088631 . 2022-08-31 . live.
  10. Benn . James A. . 1998-05-01 . Where Text Meets Flesh: Burning the Body as an Apocryphal Practice in Chinese Buddhism . live . History of Religions . 37 . 4 . 295–322 . 10.1086/463512 . 161838135 . 0018-2710 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220831164426/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/463512 . 2022-08-31 . 2022-08-31.
  11. Web site: Tapta Mudra Dharana . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140419011436/http://www.uttaradimath.org/web/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=638&Itemid=225 . 2014-04-19 . 2014-06-09 . Uttaradi Math.
  12. Web site: Udupi, July 11, DHNS . 2013-05-21 . 'Tapta Mudra Dharana' ceremony held . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220831164426/https://www.deccanherald.com/content/175434/tapta-mudra-dharana-ceremony-held.html . 2022-08-31 . 2014-06-09 . Deccanherald.com.
  13. News: Strode . Will . January 6, 2017 . Dragon Ball Z: 15 Things You Need to Know About Krillin . . live . August 21, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220821035801/https://www.cbr.com/dragon-ball-z-15-things-you-need-to-know-about-krillin/ . August 21, 2022.
  14. Book: Padula, Derek . Dragon Ball culture. Volume 3, Battle . 2015 . 978-0-9831205-0-6 . United States . 907773248 . 2022-08-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220831164426/https://www.worldcat.org/title/907773248 . 2022-08-31 . live.

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