龍華會是十六世紀末創立的俗家佛教運動，直至今日尚存於中國大陸和臺灣。這運動特別引人注目的原因是幾個世紀以來它所產生的大量文本，透過這些文本我們得以詳細檢視它的成員的許多觀點。這些文本的共同關鍵特徵就是對於適當的祭祀和儀式的強烈關注，這多半是受了十六世紀初期一位俗家佛教作者羅清（1442–1527）的影響。在羅清的《五部六冊》一書中，明白的將大部分的俗家佛教科儀貶斥為無用且無意義的活動。在晚明所有的宗教運動中，龍華會是唯一全力致力於矯正羅清的批評的教派，因此，它也以的拒絕祭祀祖先和燃燒紙錢等驚世駭俗的堅持而廣為人知。此外，他們很認真的看待吃素一事。這些觀點使他們處於在地宗教組織之外，也讓信徒們很難參加社區生活。龍華會的前兩位會長殷╱應繼南（1527/1540–1582）和姚文宇（1578–1646）以他們的嚴苛生活方式聞名，其中又以 姚文宇的儀式執行留下了特別細節清楚的記錄。這種記錄很典型的將他描繪成一個不必靠神奇的科儀，就能以個人的神能施行神聖及邪惡力量的人。他們也強調他嚴肅執行主要用來表達信徒虔誠的龍華會儀式。這種對於科儀的懷疑態度也為後來的信徒所接受，他們因此偶有因自己的信仰而引來的麻煩。

The Dragon Flower Gathering (Longhuahui 龍華會) is a lay Buddhist religious movement that was founded during the late sixteenth century and has continued to exist until today, both on the Chinese mainland and in Taiwan. This movement is particularly noteworthy for the sizeable amount of texts that it has produced over the centuries, which allow us to investigate many of its members’ viewpoints in considerable detail. One key characteristic of these works is a strong interest in proper worship and ritual, a perspective that is highly indebted to the lay Buddhist author of the early sixteenth century, Luo Qing 羅清 (1442–1527), who in his Five Parts in Six Volumes (Wubu liuce 五部六冊) explicitly disparaged most lay Buddhist rituals as useless and meaningless activities. Of all late Ming religious movements, the Dragon Flower Gathering is the only one to fully address Luo Qing’s criticisms, causing it to become widely known for its astonishing rejection of ancestor worship and the burning of paper money. In addition it took the vegetarian lifestyle very seriously. These views situated the movement largely outside of local ritual frameworks, making it difficult for members to participate in communal life. The Dragon Flower Gathering’s first two patriarchs, Yin (or Ying) Ji’nan 殷╱應繼南 (1527/1540–1582) and Yao Wenyu 姚文宇 (1578–1646), gained renown for their strict lifestyles, with Yao’s ritual practice being documented in particular detail. Such accounts typically portray him as impressing demonic and divine forces by the power of his charisma, and not by magical rituals. They also stress his practice of sober Dragon Flower Gathering rites, which are mainly directed at expressing the believer’s devotion. This skeptical attitude towards ritual was shared by subsequent generations of followers, who sometimes got into trouble because of their beliefs.