本文建基於筆者四年來（2004–2007）於中國廣東省英德市黃花鎮對醮儀的田野調查，文章主要從微觀分析醮儀中上壇（或稱文壇）法事的佛教元素。雖然一般對醮儀的認識是屬道教儀式，筆者從儀式專家的身分認同、儀式本身的科儀分析，以至於壇場的佈置、儀式專家的服飾象徵等方面挑戰了這個觀點，並論證英德醮儀中上壇的佛教背景。筆者並把英德的「佛教」喃嘸，跟香港的喃嘸「道士」比較，以見其差異。比較的結論是，他們一佛一道的表面上差異，不比他們是同類型的地方儀式專家的相同大。在這篇短文中，筆者大膽提出「儀式中的佛教」這個概念作為民間佛教的一個研究方向。筆者選取了以佛教為主體的民間儀式專家作為重點的探究，即廣東西北面英德市的「喃嘸」。他們的身分認同是佛教，甚至自稱作「佛教僧人」。真實上，他們是在家的「和尚」，屬於一種民間佛教，或稱作「普化的佛教」。

This paper is based on fieldwork research conducted over the past four years (2004–07) about jiao 醮 rituals performed in Huanghua, which is located in Yingde, Guangdong province. Our microanalysis of Buddhist elements of the civil altar portion of the jiao ritual in Yingde challenges the conventional view that all jiao rituals are Taoist rites; instead, we propose to use the concept “liturgical Buddhism” to describe these rites. Our argument is built upon the self-identity of the ritual specialists, a microanalysis of the ritual itself, and an examination of the symbols of the costume and altar of ritual specialists in Yingde. We have also compared the ritual specialists in Yingde with those in Hong Kong, due to the fact that both refer to themselves as “Namos.” While the Yingde Namos identify themselves as Buddhists, and the Hong Kong Namos identify themselves as Taoists, our comparison has shown that these local ritual specialists share many common features. The Namos in Yingde consider themselves to be Buddhist monks, but they do not leave the household, and are thus best described as belonging to “popular Buddhism” or “diffused Buddhism.”