Chapter 3 Section 3 The ritual instruments and costumes of Sinicized Buddhism

From the perspective of Sinicized Buddhism, broadly speaking, the following items can all be called instruments: (1) All kinds of interior decoration appliances in temples, especially in halls, such as buildings [beds], banners [fans], etc. (2) All kinds of worship utensils in front of the Buddha statue, such as incense burners, candlesticks, vases, etc. (3) All kinds of utensils used by monks in prayer, practice, offering, and puja, such as bells, chimes (qingqing), bells, etc. (4) Tools for monks' practice, such as beads, Zen sticks, etc. They can also be collectively referred to as Buddhist utensils, Buddhist utensils, and props.

In a narrow sense, ritual utensils specifically refer to small worship utensils placed in front of Buddha statues.Tantra has special requirements for such utensils, and has its own set of systematic utensils in this regard, and it is "not enough for outsiders".This book basically does not involve the whole system of Tantra, but only briefly introduces some common ones. What is described in this book is mainly common and commonly used instruments in a broad sense. The costumes of Sinicized Buddhism are unique, and can be roughly divided into two categories: "statue costumes" and "monk costumes".This book mainly focuses on monks' costumes.