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Buddhist music is music created for or inspired by Buddhism and part of Buddhist art.

Chanting

The chanting 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
• Repetition of the name of Amitabha in Pure Land Buddhism.
• Repetitious chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and excerpts of the Lotus Sutra within Nichiren Buddhism.
• Shomyo in Japanese Tendai and Shingon Buddhism.
• Japanese chanted poetry shigin (詩吟).
• Throat singing in Tibetan Buddhist 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.

Dhamma music in Myanmar

Myanmar is home to a broad genre of contemporary Buddhist music called dhamma thachin (ဓမ္မသီချင်း) or dhamma tay (ဓမ္မတေး, lit. 'Dhamma songs'), composed in the twentieth to twenty-first centuries.^[1] These songs draw on religious themes, and are commonly broadcast in Buddhist monasteries, and during religious festivals and donation feasts.^[1] Popular recording artists of this genre include Soe Sandar Tun and Mandalay Thein Zaw.^[1] From a lyrical perspective, this genre can be subdivided into songs that extol the Buddha and Buddhism, and songs that exhort listeners to follow Buddhist teachings.^[1] Some compositions use traditional Burmese instruments and vocal stylings associated with the Mahāgīta, a genre of Burmese classical music.^[1]

Honkyoku in Japan

Honkyoku (本曲) are the pieces of shakuhachi or hocchiku 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 of the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism 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.

Greater China

Li Na, a famous Chinese singer who became a nun in 1997, produced many popular Buddhist music albums under her new name Master Chang Sheng (释昌圣). Influential C-pop singers like Faye Wong and Chyi Yu (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.^[2]

The musicians involved were:

• Tina Turner
• Dechen Shak-Dagsay

Notable Buddhist musicians

• Ven. Bibiladeniye Mahanama Thero^[3][4][5][6]
• Ani Choying Dolma^{[citation needed]}
• David Bowie
• Kinko Kurosawa^{[citation needed]}
• Imee Ooi^{[citation needed]}
• Eliane Radigue^{[citation needed]}
• Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra^{[citation needed]}
• Adam Yauch^[7]
• Duncan Sheik
• Sergiu Celibidache^[8]
• Premasiri Khemadasa^{[citation needed]}
• Dinesh Subasinghe^{[citation needed]}
• Victor Ratnayake^{[citation needed]}
• Alan Dawa Dolma
• Leonard Cohen^[9]
• Michael Jordan Touchdown Pass^[10]
• Kanho Yakushiji^[11]
• Tan Dun^[12]
• David Earl (composer)^[13]
• Timothy Lissimore^[14]
• Justin Merritt^[15]
• John Cage^[16]

See also

• Karuna Nadee

References