The Dining Hall of the Tang Dynasty Temple

Abstract

The present paper concerns the institution of the Buddhist temple’s dining hall during the Tang dynasty through documents recorded by Vinaya teachers of the period. In past research, the existence of the dining hall in the Tang dynasty, which influenced Chan Buddhism in the Song and Yuan dynasties, has been mentioned, but there is no specific research on the topic. This article refers to material from three masters who lived in different times — Daoxuan （596-667）, Yixun （635-713）, and Jingxiao （?-927）— and concludes as follows: The canteen of the Tang Dynasty set up a large number of beds （床座）, their size being about 62.2 cm or 24.88 cms height. Orientation toward the east was thought to be important. Monks sat on these beds one by one, meditating and eating. Of course, these speculations are based only on litrary sources. Perhaps there were also other systems of temple canteens in the Tang Dynasty.