1054 richard k. payne
drawn more on those practices than on the solemn rites.^15 At the same
time, of course, some awareness of the character of the solemn rites
could have also been integrated into tantric ritual practices.
Despite their appropriation into different religious contexts, the basic
structures of Vedic ritual practice have remained relatively constant.
Interiorization of ritual by all forms of tantra, and its integration into
conceptions of the Buddhist path and goal, has resulted in the adop-
tion, adaptation, or substitution of ritual contents. Ritual structures,
however, have remained largely constant. More broadly, however, the
ritual culture of medieval Indian Buddhism was imported into East
Asia and spread throughout the region. Its penumbral effects included
the appropriation of East Asian elements and its appropriation into
other religious traditions.
(^15) The predominance of research on Vedic rituals seems to have focused on the
śrauta rites. If this hypothesis is to be pursued, more work on the gṛhya rites will be
useful.