BuddhistRoad Paper 2.9 "Chan Practice, Summer Retreat, and Winter Retreat of Uyghur Buddhists as Seen from Old Uyghur Practitioner Inscriptions"

Like pilgrims, Uyghur Buddhist practitioners also left inscriptions at various Buddhist sites during the 10th to the 14th centuries; for the most part, these have been ignored or mistaken for pilgrim inscriptions. Since the practices and general life of Uyghur monks are still not clear, due to a lack of written records, the practitioner inscriptions, though fragmentary and rare, contain highly valuable data. These inscriptions provide evidence of the practice of Chan Buddhism (Chin. chanzong 禪宗) and the annual monastic retreat of the Uyghur Buddhists. In addition to a summer retreat, some Uyghur monks also participated in a winter retreat, just like the monks in Dunhuang (敦煌). However, many Uyghur monks did not last for the full three months required by Buddhist teaching.

Chinese Translation

與巡禮者一樣，10至14世紀的回鶻佛教修行者也會在修行場所留下題記。但此前的研究常將修行者留下的題記誤當作巡禮題記。由於有關回鶻僧人修行和日常生活的文獻資料相當匱乏，這些修行題記實際上提供了極有價值的史料。回鶻佛教修行者的記錄證明了他們進行禪修的事實，並透露他們每年舉行結夏安居活動的信息。尤其是，有題記顯示，一些回鶻佛教徒與同時期的敦煌佛教徒一樣，還會舉行冬安居活動。當然，很多回鶻佛教徒的結夏安居活動實際上達不到教法所規定的三個月時間。