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Buddha in a box: The materiality of recitation in contemporary chinese buddhism
Abstract
Buddha-recitation devices (nianfo ji 念佛機) use modern technology to reproduce the name of the Buddha endlessly, offering this function in the form of portable plastic boxes akin to small radios or iPods. These devices raise key questions for our understanding of contemporary Buddhism: Why is a specialized device necessary? How is the device shaped by earlier traditions of recitation and sound? The Buddha-recitation device uses packaging and ornamentation to establish its status as a religious object, thereby sanctifying the ordinary function of producing sound. Although this mechanized recitation appears to replace that of human voice, analysis of miracle tales, personal testimonials, and doctrinal discussions shows that these devices more closely emulate the sacred sounds spontaneously produced in the environment of the western paradise where Buddhists aspire to be reborn.
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“Authenticity is not just an issue in Wuhouci, but also more broadly among Buddhist consumers in urban China (Heller 2014).”
From The Aesthetics of In/Authenticity: Buddhism, Commodification, and Ethnoreligious Belonging in a Sino-Tibetan Contact Zone (2021) · cites this paper as Heller 2014
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Brox, T. (2021) · Numen · doi:10.1163/15685276-12341639 · Cited by 6
Metadata
- Authors
- Heller, N.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Corresponding author
- Heller, Natasha
- ORCID
- Heller, Natasha
- Venue
- Material Religion
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2014-09
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 294-314
- ISSN
- 1743-2200 (ISSN-L)
- 1751-8342
- OpenAlex
- W2318883071
- Cited by
- 23
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 13
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Material Religion (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Indian and Buddhist Studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Media, Religion, Digital Communication
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Study and Philosophy of Religion
- Keywords
- nianfo, materiality of religion, sacred objects, rebirth, miracle narratives
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