This research project concerns the formation of Buddhist deity-invoking ritual practices in medieval China, focusing primarily on 7th–10th-century manuscripts and cave murals that have been discovered in the region of Dunhuang, supplemented with analysis of contemporaneous liturgical manuals and stele inscriptions. Up to now, studies of this topic have typically investigated rituals within the frameworks of distinct Buddhist traditions. I aim to challenge these firmly established scholarly narratives by demonstrating that Dunhuang liturgical materials attest to the formation of a highly syncretic ritual praxis that was adaptable to various doctrinal, social, and geographical contexts. Specifically, the project will explore: 1) the patterns of formation and coalescence of distinct Buddhist ritual practices; 2) the development of the deity-invoking altar as a universal, multi-purpose ritual structure that dominated much of the regional religious landscape of medieval China; 3) the emergence of lay-oriented iconography and its use as a practical aid in the performance of a broad spectrum of rituals; and 4) the changing dynamics of interactions between secular and monastic communities in the context of the wholesale secularization of Buddhism in medieval China.