"Mani" Ritual Of Tibetan Buddhism

The "Mani" ceremony is a ritual activity of Tibetan Buddhism that specializes in Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.People make their wishes in the ritual by the power of “the Sixth Mantra” of Avalokitesvara,so it is called "Mani" Ritual.A skyid "Mani" ritual has been established since the late 18 th century by ngag dbang stobs ldan,the first king of gnas bzhi.It has a history of more than 240 years.In A skyid,villagers are pinning their hopes on the "Mani" Ritual,whether it’s for good harvests in agriculture or good reincarnation in samsara.During the ritual,the villagers make wishes and enrich their inner world by devoting themselves to spiritual practice,which is of practical significance for improving and strengthening the relationship between themselves.This paper is a study on mdzod dge A skyid "Mani" ritual which is based on the theories and methods of the religion and anthropology.The author has made a deeply research on the practical programs of the ritual,symbols,ritual taboos and the transformations of character’s role after repeatedly field investigations literature method and interview method.Finally,the complete procedure and overall appearance of the ceremony were recorded in the form of graphics.This paper has found that "Mani",as the most solemn local religious ritual,is not only an ancient religious ritual of Tibetan in the cultural sense,but also has a positive practical significance,especially for the spiritual and emotional function of local villagers and the construction of a harmonious community.This paper is divided into six parts: the first chapter introduces the cultural origin of "Mani" belief;the founder of A skyid "Mani" ritual and the environment of its generation and development;the belief of ritual participation.The second chapter mainly describes the "Mani" ritual of monks and laymen: the specific procedures of the "Mani" ritual,the characteristics of the collective Ritual and the individual Ritual;ritual blessings to agriculture and the gifts of farmers.The third chapter discusses the taboos of both the monks and the vulgarians in the ritual.This paper focuses on the taboos in food,dress,place,speech and gender during the ritual.The fourth chapter is the study of the transformation of the roles between the secular and the sacred in the "Mani" ritual.As a kind of rites,“Mani” ritual includes the stage of separation,the stage of threshold and the stage of convergence.In these three stages,the roles of human beings are constantly changing between the sacred and the secular.The fifth chapter studies the symbols in the ritual of "Mani" from four aspects: the symbol of object,behavior,language and color.This series of ritual objects,as ritual symbols,each of them has its own unique symbolic meaning and constitutes a complete set of "Mani" ritual.The sixth chapter analyzes the change of "Mani" ritual and its reasons.,the social function of the ritual and the author’s own summary.