. esoteric buddhist elements in daoist ritual manuals 535
as investigating the nature of Buddhist-Daoist cross-pollination dur-
ing this period is the development of a sufficiently robust and nuanced
theoretical framework for characterizing the result of this process.^22
important aspects that are central to the performance of thunder rituals; most nota-
bly, the use of ritually submitted written petitions (zhang ) as the primary mode
of communication with supernatural beings, and the priest’s possession of ritually
transmitted spirit-registers (lu ) that provide him with the authority to command
the various supernatural forces addressed within the ritual. A specific discussion of
the bureaucratic aspects of thunder rituals and other Song dynasty ritual systems can
be found in Hymes 2002, esp. 147–205. For a general overview of the bureaucratic
foundation of Daoist ritual, see Nickerson 1996.
(^22) As Bokenkamp 1990, 119 has flatly stated, “The Daoist appropriation of Buddhist
ideas goes beyond simple influence or passive borrowing.” The development of such
a methodology is, of course, an ongoing enterprise. The model with which the major-
ity of scholars will be most familiar is the famous “pyramid” metaphor articulated by
Zürcher 1980, 146. Since Zürcher’s seminal article, and particularly in recent years,
several scholars have offered new approaches. Campany 2003 has called attention
to many of the unspoken assumptions inherent in the metaphorical language used
to describe the relationships between the different “religions” in medieval Chinese
culture. Davis 2001 has applied the concept of a “syncretic field” to his analysis of
Song dynasty ritual practices. Orzech 2002, pointing out the reductionist tendencies
inherent in the notion of “syncretism,” has characterized Buddho-Daoist interactions
as processes of metaphoric translation. Bokenkamp 2004 has seen in Six Dynasties
Lingbao Daoism an active effort to “subvert and supplant” Buddhism. Most recently,
Mollier 2008 has shown that, occasionally, Daoist scriptures were consciously pro-
duced in an effort to “mirror” popular scriptures in the Buddhist canon. Such avenues
of inquiry have added a great deal of nuance to the more simplistic notions of “influ-
ence” and “syncretism” that prevailed in earlier scholarly discourse.