Buddhist music is music created for or inspired by

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

and part of

Buddhist art Buddhist art is visual art produced in the context of Buddhism. It includes depictions of Gautama Buddha and other Buddhas and bodhisattvas, notable Buddhist figures both historical and mythical, narrative scenes from their lives, mandalas, an ...

Honkyoku

Honkyoku ''Honkyoku'' (本曲, "original pieces") are the pieces of shakuhachi music collected in the 18th century by a Komuso of the Japanese Fuke sect Kinko Kurosawa. It was believed that these pieces were played by the members of the Fuke Sect. The Fuk ...

(本曲) are the pieces of shakuhachi or

hocchiku The , sometimes romanized as or , is a Japanese aerophone, an end-blown bamboo flute, crafted from root sections of bamboo. The bamboo root is cleaned and sanded, resulting in a surface patterned with many small, circular knots where the root ...

music played by wandering Japanese Zen monks called Komuso. Komuso temples were abolished in 1871, but their music, honkyoku, is one of the most popular contemporary music styles in Japan. Komuso played honkyoku for enlightenment and alms as early as the 13th century. In the 18th century, a Komuso named

Kinko Kurosawa was an 18th-century ''komusō'' of the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism. He was commissioned to travel round Japan and collect ''honkyoku'', spiritual ''shakuhachi A is a Japanese and ancient Chinese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of b ...

of the Fuke sect of

Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), an ...

was commissioned to travel throughout Japan and collect these musical pieces. The results of several years of travel and compilation were thirty-six pieces known as the Kinko-Ryu Honkyoku.

Chanting

The

chanting A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of n ...

of mantras used in or inspired by Buddhism, including many genres in many cultures: *Repetition of Pāli chanting of "Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa" *Repetition of Pāli chanting of

Tisarana In Buddhism, refuge or taking refuge refers to a religious practice, which often includes a prayer or recitation performed at the beginning of the day or of a practice session. Since the period of Early Buddhism until present time, all Theravada ...

Repetition Repetition may refer to: * Repetition (rhetorical device), repeating a word within a short space of words *Repetition (bodybuilding), a single cycle of lifting and lowering a weight in strength training *Working title for the 1985 slasher film '' ...

of the name of Amitabha in

Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism (; ja, 浄土仏教, translit=Jōdo bukkyō; , also referred to as Amidism in English,) is a broad branch of Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Buddha's Buddha-field or Pure Land. It is one of the most wid ...

. *Repetitious

of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and excerpts of the

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' ( zh, 妙法蓮華經; sa, सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, translit=Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram, lit=Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, italic=) is one of the most influ ...

within

Nichiren Buddhism Nichiren Buddhism ( ja, 日蓮仏教), also known as Hokkeshū ( ja, 法華宗, meaning ''Lotus Sect'') is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) and is one o ...

. *Shomyo in Japanese

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...

and

Shingon Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Kn ...

Buddhism. *Japanese chanted poetry

shigin is a performance of reciting a Japanese poem or a Chinese poem read in Japanese, each poem ( ''shi'') usually chanted ( ''gin'') by an individual or in a group. Reciting can be done loudly before a large audience, softly to a few friends, or ...

(詩吟). *

Throat singing Throat singing refers to several vocal practices found in different cultures around the world. The most distinctive feature of such vocal practices is to be associated to some type of guttural voice, that contrasts with the most common types of voi ...

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

chants.

Tibetan styles

Tibetan Buddhism is the most widespread religion in Tibet. Musical chanting, most often in Tibetan or Sanskrit, is an integral part of the religion. These chants are complex, often recitations of sacred texts or in celebration of various festivals. Yang chanting, performed without metrical timing, is accompanied by resonant drums and low, sustained syllables. Individual schools such as the Gelug, Nyingma, Sakya and Kagyu, and even individual monasteries, maintain their own chant traditions. Each instrument mimics the sound of an animal, the drums being the footsteps of elephants and the horns mimic bird calls.

Shomyo

Shomyo (声明) is a style of Japanese Buddhist chant; mainly in the Tendai and Shingon sects. There are two styles: ryokyoku and rikkyoku, described as difficult and easy to remember, respectively.

Notable Buddhist musicians

* Ven.

Bibiladeniye Mahanama Bibiladeniye Mahanama Thero is a Buddhist monk of the Theravada Order. The thero is the only Buddhist priest in Asia of the Theravada order to actively engage in the experimentation and the creative exploration of music as a form of aesthetic ex ...

Thero]. (in Sinhala language, Sinhalese)]. (in English language, English)http://www.lakbima.lk/oldpapers/daliylakbima/2014/April/last_06_04_14/ridma.pdf ]. (in Sinhala language, Sinhalese)http://epaper.ada.lk/images/flippingbook/2014/03/31/17.jpg]. (in Sinhala language, Sinhalese) *

Ani Choying Dolma Ani Choying Drolma (born 4 June 1971), also known as Choying Dolma and Ani Choying (''Ani'', "nun", is an honorific), is a Nepalese Buddhist nun of Tibetan origin and musician from the Nagi Gompa nunnery in Nepal. She is known in Nepal and throu ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Imee Ooi Imee Ooi FRSA ( ; ) is a Chinese-Malaysian record producer, composer, and singer who composes and arranges music for classic Buddhist chant, mantra and dharani. She performs her compositions in Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan and Mandarin. In 1997 ...

Eliane Radigue Eliane can refer to: Éliane * Éliane a French feminine given name ** Éliane, the name for Hill A1 in the 1954 battle of Dien Bien Phu taken by Colonel General Nguyễn Hữu An * Pierre Éliane (1955), French singer and Carmelite friar Eliane I ...

Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra The is a professional concert band based in Tokyo, Japan. TKWO has been called Japan's premiere wind ensemble', one of the most influential Japanese wind bands,' and one of the world's leading professional civilian wind bands.' History ...

Adam Yauch Adam Nathaniel Yauch ( ; August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012), better known under the stage name MCA, was an American rapper, bass player, filmmaker and a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys. Besides his musical work, he also directed ...

Duncan Sheik Duncan Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik is known for his 1996 debut single " Barely Breathing", which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He has composed m ...

Sergiu Celibidache Sergiu Celibidache (; 14 August 1996) was a Romanian conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over five decades, including tenures ...

Premasiri Khemadasa Deshamanya Kala Keerthi Dr.Premasiri Khemadasa ( Sinhala: ආචාර්ය ප්‍රේමසිරි කේමදාස ) (25 January 1937 – 24 October 2008) also known as "Khemadasa Master" was a Sri Lankan music composer. Explorin ...

Dinesh Subasinghe Dinesh Subasinghe (born 10 July 1979, Colombo) is a Sri Lankan composer, violinist, and music producer. He composed ''Karuna Nadee'', a Buddhist oratorio, and re-introduced a lost, ancient musical instrument known as the ''ravanahatha'' to Sri ...

] *

Victor Ratnayake Rathnayake Arachchilage Victor ( Sinhala: වික්ටර් රත්නායක; born 18 February 1942), popularly known as Victor Rathnayake, is a Sri Lankan singer, composer, lyricist and a renowned musician. He was the first Sri Lankan ...

Alan Dawa Dolma Alan Dawa Dolma (; ; born on 25 July 1987), known professionally as Alan, is a Tibetan singer and she is known for her signature "Tibetan wail", often incorporated into her music. She is a graduate of the PLA Academy of Art, majoring in vocal m ...

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

* Michael Jordan Touchdown Pass * Kanho Yakushiji *

Tan Dun Tan Dun (, ; born 18 August 1957) is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a dichotomy which has shaped much of his life and ...

David Earl (composer) David Earl (born 1951) is a South African composer and pianist. He was educated at Rondebosch Boys' High School. He made his professional debut at the age of sixteen when he broadcast Bach, Chopin and Chabrier on the SABC. In 1968, he perform ...

* Timothy Lissimore * Justin Merritt * John Cage

Greater China

Li Na Li Na (born 26 February 1982) is a Chinese former professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high WTA ranking of world No. 2 on 17 February 2014. Over the course of her career, Li won nine WTA Tour singles titles including two Grand ...

, a famous Chinese singer who became a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

in 1997, produced many popular Buddhist music albums under her new name Master Chang Sheng (释昌圣). Influential

C-pop C-pop is an abbreviation for Chinese popular music (), a loosely defined musical genre by artists originating from mainland China,Hong Kong and Taiwan (the Greater China region). This also includes countries where Chinese languages are used by ...

singers like

Faye Wong Faye Wong ( zh, 王菲; born Xia Lin on 8 August 1969) is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter. Early in her career she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong. Born in Beijing, she moved to Hong Kong in 1987 and her debut album '' Shirley Wong'' ( ...

and

Chyi Yu Chyi Yu or Qi Yu (; born 17 October 1957) is a Taiwanese singer best known for her 1979 hit, "The Olive Tree" (橄欖樹). She won the 9th Golden Melody Award for Best Female Vocalist Mandarin. She is the elder sister of singer-songwriter Chyi Ch ...

(who released 4 albums featuring Buddhist chants) also helped Buddhist music reach a wider audience.

Beyond Singing

In 2009, the Beyond Singing Project produced an album combining Buddhist chants and Christian

choral music A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

. The musicians involved were: *

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

Dechen Shak-Dagsay Dechen Shak-Dagsay is a modern musician of traditional Tibetan Buddhist mantras expressed in recent lyrical contexts. Life Born in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1959, Shak-Dagsay and her family moved to Switzerland in 1963, where she has resided ever ...

References

{{Buddhism topics Religious music