| Princeton Readings in Religions | |
| Note on Transliteration | |
| Contents by Tradition | |
| Contents by Chronology | |
| Contributors | |
| Introduction | 3 |
| 1 | Deities and Ancestors in Early Oracle Inscriptions | 41 |
| 2 | Laozi: Ancient Philosopher, Master of Immortality, and God | 52 |
| 3 | The Lives and Teachings of the Divine Lord of Zitong | 64 |
| 4 | City Gods and Their Magistrates | 72 |
| 5 | The Earliest Tales of the Bodhisattva Guanshiyin | 82 |
| 6 | A Sutra Promoting the White-robed Guanyin as Giver of Sons | 97 |
| 7 | Zhu Xi on Spirit Beings | 106 |
| 8 | The Inner Cultivation Tradition of Early Daoism | 123 |
| 9 | Body Gods and Inner Vision: The Scripture of the Yellow Court | 149 |
| 10 | An Early Poem of Mystical Excursion | 156 |
| 11 | Declarations of the Perfected | 166 |
| 12 | Seduction Songs of One of the Perfected | 180 |
| 13 | Answering a Summons | 188 |
| 14 | Visions of Manjusri on Mount Wutai | 203 |
| 15 | Ny Dan the Manchu Shamaness | 223 |
| 16 | Teachings of a Spirit Medium | 229 |
| 17 | Spellbinding | 241 |
| 18 | Record of the Feng and Shan Sacrifices | 251 |
| 19 | The Scripture on the Production of Buddha Images | 261 |
| 20 | The Purification Ritual of the Luminous Perfected | 268 |
| 21 | Saving the Burning-Mouth Hungry Ghost | 278 |
| 22 | The Law of the Spirits | 284 |
| 23 | Shrines to Local Former Worthies | 293 |
| 24 | Daoist Ritual in Contemporary Southeast China | 306 |
| 25 | Calling on Souls and Dealing with Spirits: Three Lahu Ritual Texts | 327 |
| 26 | A Funeral Chant of the Yi Nationality | 337 |
| 27 | Abridged Codes of Master Lu for the Daoist Community | 347 |
| 28 | The Scripture in Forty-two Sections | 360 |
| 29 | The Scripture on Perfect Wisdom for Humane Kings Who Wish to Protect Their States | 372 |
| 30 | The Buddhism of the Cultured Elite | 381 |
| 31 | Buddhist Ritual and the State | 390 |
| 32 | Biography of a Buddhist Layman | 397 |
| 33 | The Book of Good Deeds: A Scripture of the Ne People | 405 |
| 34 | Supernatural Retribution and Human Destiny | 423 |
| 35 | Stories from an Illustrated Explanation of the Tract of the Most Exalted on Action and Response | 437 |
| 36 | Record of Occultists | 446 |
| 37 | Imperial Guest Ritual | 471 |
| Index | 489 |
