Buddhism's Materialism in the Brashier Hell Scrolls

I. Two Incompatible Ends?

Two apparently contrary ideas exist in the (largely Buddhist) Chinese discourse on death and passage through the ten hells. On the one hand, there is the biting assertion that at the time of death, nothing material matters any longer, as no wealth or goods can save the dying, nor can any of it be of use to the dead. As we say in the west, naked one comes into the world, naked one goes out. On the other hand, there is the prolific practice of making all kinds of offerings to the dead, a great many of which are very much material, and are very definitely meant to be made available for the use of the deceased during their stays in hell. 

From the very beginning, it should be noted that these two ideas can be characterized as representing a more rarefied and philosophical Buddhist discourse, and the less clear-cut realm of Chinese 'popular religion,' respectively. While such a characterization may not be entirely misplaced, it also draws a sharper line between the two than may actually exist. Indeed, the efficacy of offerings to the dead is affirmed in more philosophical texts, and it would be misguided to say that the understanding that one's material goods must be left behind is absent from the 'popular' discourse. Rather than dismissing these two seemingly opposed notions as an instance of disconnection between the religious thought of the literati and the populace, a rough conceptual linkage between these two incompatible ends may be demonstrated. 

The benefit of such a demonstration is primarily a familiarization with the particular question of materiality in the Buddhist-influenced Chinese hells; the question itself is not really etically resolvable. While certain emic considerations may be able to unify the two ends (see section IV below), without recourse to such explanations the best that can be done is to show that the two are not treated as mutually exclusive. The two ideas do not exist as separate, conflicting entities, but as ends on a spectrum of belief and practice, relatively distant from one another, but nonetheless connected.