Nianfo

Chinese Nianfo carving

The Nianfo (Chinese: 念佛; pinyin: niànfó), alternatively in Japanese as 念仏 (ねんぶつ, nenbutsu), Korean: 염불; RR: yeombul, or in Vietnamese: niệm Phật, is a Buddhist practice central to the East Asian Buddhist tradition of Pure Land Buddhism, though not exclusive to it. In the context of East Asian Pure Land practice, the term nianfo typically refers to the oral repetition of the name of Amitābha through the phrase "Homage to Amitabha Buddha" (Ch: 南無阿彌陀佛, Mandarin: Nāmó Ēmítuófó, Jp: Namu Amida Butsu; from the Sanskrit: Namo'mitābhāya Buddhāya). However, in some contexts, the term nianfo can also refer to other meditative practices, such as various visualizations or the recitations of other phrases or mantras.

The Chinese term nianfo is a translation of Sanskrit buddhānusmṛti (or "recollection of the Buddha"), which is a classic Buddhist mindfulness (smṛti) practice.

Origins

Main article: Buddhānusmṛti

Mindfulness of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) is a practice which can be found in the Early Buddhist Texts as part of the ten recollections. The practice appears in Pali Canon suttas like Anguttara Nikaya (AN) 11.11, AN 11.12 and AN 1.296 as a method that can lead to samādhi and ultimately nirvana. Likewise, Agamas like EA III, 1 (Taisho Vol. II, p. 554a7-b9) also discuss the practice as a method of focusing the mind on the Buddha and his qualities.

Indian Mahayana Buddhism

Andrew Skilton looks to an intermingling of Mahāyāna teachings with Buddhist meditation schools in Kashmir for the rise of Mahāyāna practices related to buddhānusmṛti:

Great innovations undoubtedly arose from the intermingling of early Buddhism and the Mahāyāna in Kashmir. Under the guidance of Sarvāstivādin teachers in the region, a number of influential meditation schools evolved which took as their inspiration the Bodhisattva Maitreya. [...] The Kashmiri meditation schools were undoubtably highly influential in the arising of the buddhānusmṛti practices, concerned with the 'recollection of the Buddha(s)', which were later to become characteristic of Mahāyāna Buddhism and the Tantra.

Buddhānusmṛti directed at other buddhas and bodhisattvas is also advocated in sūtras from this period, for figures such as Akṣobhya and Avalokiteśvara. The practice of buddhānusmṛti for Amitābha became very popular in India. With translations of the aforementioned sūtras as well as instruction from Indian monks, the practice rapidly spread to East Asia.

Hajime Nakamura writes that in the Indian Pure Land sūtras, Mindfulness of the Buddha (Skt. buddhānusmṛti, Ch. nianfo) is the essential practice. These forms of mindfulness are essentially methods of meditating upon Amitābha Buddha. Further, the practice of dedicating one's merit attained through such practices toward rebirth in a Buddha's Pure Land (any Buddha) became a widespread practice as early as second century CE, with the Buddha Amitābha rising in prominence.

Key Mahayana texts

The earliest dated sutra describing the nianfo is the Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra (first century BCE), which is thought to have originated in ancient kingdom of Gandhāra. This sutra does not enumerate any vows of Amitābha or the qualities of his pure land, Sukhāvatī, but rather briefly describes the repetition of the name of Amitābha as a means to enter his realm through meditation.

Bodhisattvas hear about the Buddha Amitabha and call him to mind again and again in this land. Because of this calling to mind, they see the Buddha Amitabha. Having seen him they ask him what dharmas it takes to be born in the realm of the Buddha Amitabha. Then the Buddha Amitabha says to these bodhisattvas: 'If you wish to come and be born in my realm, you must always call me to mind again and again, you must always keep this thought in mind without letting up, and thus you will succeed in coming to be born in my realm.

However, the most frequently cited examples include the 18th vow from the Sutra on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, the 18th vow of the Buddha-to-be states:

設我得佛。十方衆生至心信樂。欲生我國乃至十念。若不生者不取正覺。唯除五逆誹謗正法

If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and call my Name, even ten times, should not be born there, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment. Excluded, however, are those who commit the five gravest offences and abuse the right Dharma.

— Taisho Tripitaka, #360, translation by Hisao Inagaki

And this passage in the Amitabha Sutra:

舍利弗。若有善男子善女人。聞説画像阿彌陀佛。執持名號。若一日。若二日。若三日。若四日。若五日。若六日。若七日。一心不亂。其人臨命終時。阿彌陀佛與諸聖衆。現在其前。是人終時心不顛倒。即得往生阿彌陀佛極樂國土。

Shāriputra, if there is a good man or a good woman who hears spoken ‘Amitābha’ and holds the name, whether for one day, two days, three, four, five days, six days, as long as seven days, with one heart unconfused, when this person approaches the end of life, before him will appear Amitābha and all the assembly of holy ones. When the end comes, his heart is without inversion; in Amitābha’s Land of Ultimate Bliss he will attain rebirth.

— Taisho Tripitaka, #366, translation by Buddhist Text Translation Society

Nianfo in China

Nianfo hall, Baoning Temple

The six Chinese characters of the Nembutsu, resting on a lotus, flanked by Sakyamuni and Amitabha

The nianfo as a meditation-visualization practice versus a verbal recitation with soteriological properties has varied according to time and region where Pure Land Buddhism has been practiced. In most extant Pure Land traditions, mindfully chanting of the name of Amitābha is viewed as allowing one to obtain birth in Amitābha's pure land, Sukhāvatī. It is felt that this act would help to negate vast stores of negative karma that might hinder one's pursuit of buddhahood. Sukhāvatī is a place of refuge where one can become enlightened without being distracted by the sufferings of our existence.

As Buddhism reached China, the Indian Buddhist term buddhānusmṛti (contemplation of the Buddha) was translated as nian-fo (念佛), but the Chinese word nian (念) has multiple connotations:

• To mentally focus on something
• A moment in time
• Reciting the Confucian Classics aloud.

Thus in early Chinese Buddhism, under early teachers such as Tan-luan and Daochuo the nian-fo was described in terms of a meditative practice with recitation as a secondary, inferior practice. However, by the time of Shandao, emphasis shifted primarily to recitation practice. Throughout Chinese Buddhist history, the nian-fo was historically recited alongside practices from other traditions such as Tiantai and Chan as opposed to any strict sectarian delineations. For example, in one tract, "The Meritorious Dharma Gate of the Samādhi Involving Contemplation of the Ocean-like Marks of the Buddha Amitābha" (Chinese: 阿彌陀佛相海三昧功德法門; pinyin: Ēmítuófó xiāng hǎi sānmèi gōngdé fǎmén) Shandao prescribes a specific set of rituals and practices (including samādhi meditation and visualization techniques) for helping dying Buddhist devotees avoid “evil destinies” and procure successful rebirth in the Pure Land.

In another example, Shandao expounded on many dangers that he believed could hinder dying aspirants' rebirths in the Pure Land in his tract, "Correct Mindfulness for Rebirth at the Moment of Death" (Chinese: 臨終往生正念文; pinyin: Línzhōng wǎngshēng zhèngniàn wén), and other similar records from him also reflect a concern regarding various more complicated requirements for rebirth in the Pure Land, including but not limited to recitation of Amitābha's name on one's deathbed specifically.

In modern Chinese practice, it is specifically utilized as a subject of meditation and often practiced while counting with Buddhist prayer beads. The modern Chan revitaliser Nan Huai-Chin taught that the nianfo is to be chanted slowly and the mind emptied out after each repetition. When idle thoughts arise, the nianfo is repeated again to clear them. With constant practice, the mind progressively empties and the meditator attains samādhi.

Nembutsu in Japan

A Nenbutsu Gathering in Kyoto, from the Illustrated Biography of the Monk Ippen and His Disciple Ta'a (Yugyō Shōnin engi-e)

Chinese teachings on the practice of nianfo (Japanese: nembutsu) were adopted into Japanese Buddhism. Early Pure Land practices of the Tendai school relied on meditation practices taught by Chinese patriarch Zhiyi in the Mohe Zhiguan. Later, the Tendai monk Genshin in his Ōjōyōshū elucidated the Pure Land practices, as well as promoting the nembutsu both as a meditative practice and the simple verbal recitation of the name of Amida as a backup method in case one failed to attain enlightenment in this life.

Other schools of Japanese Buddhism, like Sanron and Shingon, also developed their own teachings on the nembutsu. The Shingon monk Kakuban (1095–1143) for example, taught an esoteric nembutsu influenced by Japanese Pure Land and Shingon esoteric Buddhism. Furthermore, during the Later Heian (950–1185), various itinerant ascetics and preachers traveled the country promoting the simple recitation of the nembutsu. These holy people (hiriji) who were also called shōnin, were mostly independent of major Buddhist institutions. The most well known of these figures was Kūya (903–972), who wandered throughout the provinces preaching on nembutsu practice.

An illustration from the Yūzū Nembutsu Engi Emaki which depicts a vision of Amitabha Buddha to a nembutsu reciter of the Yūzū Nembutsu school

By the end of the 12th century, distinctive sects focused exclusively on the practice of nembutsu as a verbal recitation for the purposes of being reborn in the Pure Land arose. These new Pure Land (jodo) schools were part of the New Kamakura Buddhism. They include Honen's (1133–1212) Jodo Shu, Shinran's (1173–1263) Jodo Shinshu and smaller sects like Yūzū Nembutsu and Ippen's Ji-shu. The new Pure Land schools often held that the world had entered the era of the decline of the Dharma (mappō) and that only the Pure land practice of reciting the nembutsu was useful for attaining liberation (after rebirth in the Pure Land). In Jōdo Shinshū, under the leadership of Rennyo (1415-99), the nembutsu was further reinterpreted as an expression of gratitude to Amitābha for his salvation, rather than a means to be reborn in the Pure Land.

These Pure Land schools were extremely popular and influential. Other schools responded with various critiques of their nembutsu practice and with their own similar devotional teachings. One critic was the Kegon monk Myōe, who wrote two critical treatises against Honen's views. His central critique was that exclusive nembutsu practice lacked central Mahayana foundations, like bodhicitta (the mind aimed at awakening for the sake of all beings). Nevertheless, Myōe was also a promoter of simply reciting the Mantra of Light as a way to attain rebirth in Sukhavati. Similarly, the Yogacara figure Jōkei (1155–1213) responded to the widespread popularity of the nembutsu practice by promoting a similar series of simple devotional practices which relied on the other power of a Buddha, though he preferred to focus on Maitreya or Shakyamuni Buddha instead of Amitabha as the main object of devotion.

"Taiko Nembutsu" (nembutsu accompanied by drumming) practiced in Hakushima, Japan

The critiques became so heated that a temporary "nembutsu-ban" occured in Kyoto c. 1207 where Hōnen and his followers were banned from the city and forced into exile. This occurred when the leaders of older schools of Buddhism persuaded the civil authorities to prohibit the newer practices including the recitation of Namu Amida Butsu. The ban was lifted in 1211.

Later in Japanese history, the nembutsu would also become popular in Japanese Zen, influenced by the rise of the Ōbaku lineage, introduced by Ingen in the 17th century, who followed a Chinese Chan-Pure Land dual cultivation tradition.

In Vietnamese Buddhism

Verses for reciting the Buddha's name by Venerable Thích Trí Tịnh engraved on stone and erected in the grounds of Vạn Đức Pagoda in Thủ Đức, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Vietnamese Buddhism is an eclectic tradition which draws from all strains of Chinese Buddhism, including Chan and Pure Land. As such, the practice of "Niệm Phật" (the Vietnamese term for nianfo) is a common feature of modern Vietnamese Buddhist practice. The phrase "Nam mô A-di-đà Phật" or "Nam mô A Mi Đà" is often chanted in Vietnamese temples by monks and laypeople alike.

The nianfo method is often combined with Thiền meditation (i.e. zazen). Indeed, according to Thích Thiên-Ân, "at present the popular method of practice is meditation during recitation and recitation during meditation - meditation and recitation being one and the same for Vietnamese Buddhists". This Chan Nianfo dual practice is known as "union of Zen and Pure-Land recitation".

Thích Quảng Đức, a South Vietnamese Mahāyāna monk who famously burned himself to death in an act of protest against the anti-Buddhist policies of the Catholic President Ngô Đình Diệm, said the nianfo as his last words immediately before death. He sat in the lotus position, rotated a string of wooden prayer beads, and recited the words "Nam mô A-di-đà Phật" before striking the match and dropping it on himself, continuing to recite Amitabha's name as he burned.

Phrases used in recitation

Sanskrit

Namo Amitābhāya Buddhāya in the Siddhaṃ script

The Sanskrit phrase used in India is not mentioned originally in the bodies of the two main Pure Land sutras. It appears in the opening of the extant Sanskrit Infinite Life Sutra, as well as the later composition, the Contemplation Sutra, although it is a reverse rendering from Chinese, as the following:

namo'mitābhāya buddhāya (IPA: [n̪ɐmoːɐmɪt̪ɑːbʱɑːjɐbud̪̚.d̪ʱɑːjɐ] )

The apostrophe and omission of the first "A" in "Amitābha" comes from normal Sanskrit sandhi transformation, and implies that the first "A" is omitted. A more accessible rendering without sandhi might be:

Namo Amitābhāya Buddhāya

A literal English translation would be "Bow for the sake of Amitābha Buddha" or "Homage to Amitābha Buddha".

Nianfo in East Asia

Japanese itinerant monk Kūya reciting the nembutsu, each of the Chinese characters represented by a small figure of Amida emerging from his mouth

As the practice of nianfo spread from India to various other regions, the original pronunciation changed to fit various local languages.

Language	As written	Romanization	IPA
Sanskrit	नमोऽमिताभाय बुद्धाय नमोऽमितयुसे बुद्धाय	Namo'mitābhāya Buddhāya	[n̪ɐmoːɐmɪt̪ɑːbʱɑːjɐbud̪̚.d̪ʱɑːjɐ] [n̪ɐmoːɐmɪt̪ɑːjʊʂeːbud̪̚.d̪ʱɑːjɐ]
Chinese	Traditional: 南無阿彌陀佛 Simplified: 南无阿弥陀佛	Mandarin: Nāmó Ēmítuófó Cantonese: naa1 mo4 o1 mei4 to4 fat6	[nä˥˥ mu̯ɔ˧˥ ˀɤ˥˥ mi˧˥ tʰu̯ɔ˧˥ fu̯ɔ˧˥] [naː˥˥ mɔː˨˩ ɔː˥˥ mei̯˨˩ tʰɔː˨˩ fɐt̚˨]
Japanese	Kanji: 南無阿弥陀仏 Hiragana: なむ あみだ ぶつ	Namu Amida Butsu	[na̠mɯ̟ᵝ a̠mʲida̠bɯ̟ᵝt͡sɨᵝ]
Korean	Hanja: 南無阿彌陀佛 Hangul: 나무아미타불	Namu Amita Bul	[na̠mua̠mitʰa̠buɭ]
Vietnamese	Chữ Hán: 南無阿彌陀佛 Quốc ngữ: Nam mô A-di-đà Phật	Nam mô A-di-đà Phật	[naːm˧˧ mo˧˧ ʔaː˧˧ zi˧˧ ʔɗaː˨˩ fət̚˧˨ʔ]

In China, the practice of nianfo was codified with the establishment of the separate Pure Land school of Buddhism. The most common form of this is the six syllable nianfo; some shorten it into Ēmítuófó/Āmítuófó. In the Japanese Jodo Shinshu sect, it is often shortened to na man da bu.

Variations and alternate names

Alternate Sanskrit phrases

While almost unknown, and unused outside of the original Sanskrit, the texts provide a recitation of Amitābha's alternate aspect of Amitāyus as:

namo'mitāyuṣe buddhāya (Namo Amitāyuṣe Buddhāya)

A literal translation of this version would be "Namo Buddha of Infinite Life". Other translations may also be: "I pay homage to the Enlightened One immeasurable" or "I turn to rely on the Enlightened One immeasurable".

The Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra contains twelve epithets of Amitābha Buddha. Vasubandhu's Treatise on Birth in the Pure Land (Wang-sheng-lun) references these lights of Amitābha. Their recitation was also taught by Chinese Pure Land figures like Shandao. The twelve names are:

1. Tathāgato 'mitābha - The Tathāgata (Amitābha)
2. Amitaprabhaḥ - Immeasurable Splendor
3. Amitaprabhāso - Unbounded Splendor
4. Asamāptaprabhaḥ - Unending Splendor
5. Saṃgataprabhaḥ - Radiance with rays like a cluster of jewels
6. Prabhāśikhotsṛṣṭaprabhaḥ - Lord of Ineffable Splendor
7. Sādivyamaṇiprabhaḥ - Lord with Unobstructed Splendor
8. Apratihataraśmirāgaprabhaḥ - Lord of Immeasurable Splendor
9. Rājanīyaprabhaḥ - Lord with Inconceivable Splendor
10. Premaṇīyaprabhaḥ - Lord of Supreme Splendor
11. Pramodanīyaprabhaḥ - Lord of Loveable Splendor
12. Saṃgamanīyaprabha - Lord of Delightful Splendor
13. Upoṣaṇīyaprabhaḥ - Lord with Congenial Splendor
14. Nibandhanīyaprabhaḥ - Lord with Unfading Splendor
15. Ativīryaprabhaḥ - Lord with Unbreakable Splendor
16. Atulyaprabhaḥ - Lord with Incomparable Splendor
17. Abhibhūyanarendrāmūnnayendraprabhaḥ - Lord who surpasses even the splendor of the kings (The term with the question mark indicates uncertainty in the reading)
18. Śrāntasaṃcayendusūryajihmīkaraṇaprabhaḥ - Lord surpassing the splendor of the moon and the gathering of stars

In an East Asian Buddhist context the term nianfo or nembutsu generally refers to the recitation of Amitabha Buddha's name. Technically speaking however, the literally term means "Buddha Recollection" and hence can apply to the recitation of any Buddha's name, such as reciting "Namo Shakyamuni Buddha" or "Namo Mahavairocana Buddha" etc. In these cases, the term nianfo is often prefigured by the name of that Buddha. For example, the Japanese term Shaka Nembutsu refers to the recitation of Namo Shakyamuni Buddha.

Esoteric phrases

In Esoteric Buddhist traditions, there are various mantras associated with Amitabha and their recitation would be considered a type of Buddha mindfulness or nianfo. Shingon Buddhism makes use of the following mantra of Amitabha which is found in The Nine Grades of Rebirth Amita Samādhi Dhāraṇī Sūtra (九品往生阿彌陀三摩地集陀羅尼經, Taisho no. 933):

oṃ amṛta teje hara hūṃ

In Tibetan Buddhism, the main mantra is:

oṃ amideva hrīḥ

The Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Dharani (往生淨土神咒) is another Amitabha Sanskrit passage that is used in East Asian Buddhism. It is:

namo amitābhāya tathāgatāya tadyathā amṛtadbhave amṛtasaṃbhave amṛtavikrānte amṛtavikrānta gāmine gagana kīrtakare svāhā

East Asian Nianfo variants

In the Jodo Shinshu tradition in Japan, variant forms of the nianfo have been used since its inception. The founder, Shinran, used a nine-character Kujimyōgō (九字名号) in the Shoshinge and the Sanamidabutsuge (讃阿弥陀佛偈) hymns:

南無不可思議光如来

Na mu fu ka shi gi kō nyo rai

"I take refuge in the Buddha of Inconceivable Light!"

Further, the "restorer" of Jodo Shinshu, Rennyo, frequently inscribed the nianfo for followers using a 10-character Jūjimyōgō (十字名号):

帰命尽十方無碍光如来
Ki myō jin jip-pō mu ge kō nyo rai

"I take refuge in the Tathagata of Unobstructed Light Suffusing the Ten Directions".

The latter was originally popularized by Shinran's descendant (and Rennyo's ancestor), Kakunyo, but its use was greatly expanded by Rennyo.

Bibliography

• Baskind, James (2008). The Nianfo in Obaku Zen: A Look at the Teachings of the Three Founding Masters, Japanese Religions 33 (1-2),19-34
• Buswell, Robert Jr; Lopez, Donald S. Jr., eds. (2013). Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691157863.
• Grumbach, Lisa (2005). "Nenbutsu and Meditation: Problems with the Categories of Contemplation, Devotion, Meditation, and Faith", Pacific World, Third Series, 7, 91–105.
• Inagaki Hisao, trans., Stewart, Harold (2003). The Three Pure Land Sutras, 2nd ed., Berkeley, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. ISBN 1-886439-18-4
• Jones, Charles B. (2001). Toward a Typology of Nien-fo: A Study in Methods of Buddha-Invocation in Chinese Pure Land Buddhism, Pacific World, Third Series, 3, 219–239.
• Keenan, John P. (1989). Nien-Fo (Buddha-Anusmrti): The Shifting Structure of Remembrance, Pacific World, New Series 5, 40-52
• Li-Ying, Kuo (1995), La récitation des noms de "buddha" en Chine et au Japon. T'oung Pao, Second Series 81 (4/5), 230-268
• Payne, Richard K. (2005). "Seeing Buddhas, Hearing Buddhas: Cognitive Significance of Nenbutsu as Visualization and as Recitation", Pacific World, Third Series, 7, 110-141

External links

• The Nian Fo according to the Jodo Shu tradition
• The Tannisho
• The Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life