[Society] Buddhist music and online Buddhist chants

The booming development of Buddhism in Taiwan has led to the emergence of various new ways of spreading Buddhism, including the appearance of "Buddhist music" and various online Buddhist chants for free download in the past decade.
However, what exactly is Buddhist music? Is it directly related to Buddhist chants?
In the face of the developed online Buddhist chant information,
what attitude should we adopt?

■ Gao Yuwen (高煜玟)

The development of Buddhism in Taiwan is a booming one that is obvious to all. In response to the increasing demand for Buddhist beliefs, the ways to spread the Dharma have become livelier and more diverse than ever before. Buddhist music has been said to be one of the most common and well-known methods. However, from light music to R&B rhythms, there are so many different types of Buddhist music. What is the scope of Buddhist music? Is Buddhist music equivalent to Buddhist chants?

The sacredness of music is an important distinction

Lin Ku-fang (林谷芳), director of the Graduate Institute of Arts at Fo Guang University, remarked: "Buddhist chanting is both a form of ritual and sacred act. However, the scope of Buddhist music is broader, including many popular Buddhist music, in addition to artistic music created with Buddhist connotations or themes." In other words, Buddhist chanting and rituals complement each other and are inseparable. Therefore, singing Buddhist chanting must have specific rituals and occasions (such as Buddhist temples). Because Buddhist music lacks the sacredness of religious rituals such as Buddhist chanting, Buddhist music is not restricted to a specific time and space. In addition, the ultimate goal of Buddhist chanting is to practice. Therefore, it does not have a performative nature. Furthermore, in terms of musical expression, it does not seek complexity and splendor. Although it is chanted by everyone, Buddhist chanting is different from a chorus of music, so it does not require the effect of harmony. More importantly, in addition to the guidance of the public on the beat given by the instruments, Buddhist chanting, which does not seek the beauty of melody, naturally will not have instrumental accompaniments.

However, none of the above limitations exist in Buddhist music. The commonality between Buddhist music and Buddhist chants is that they can inspire people to feel joy in the Dharma and seek the truth.

Goodness should be the only motivation

We can say that if the Buddhist spirit and connotation can be expressed in an appropriate musical form without provoking the listeners' emotions, it can be considered Buddhist music. Buddhist music is in line with the Buddhist teachings if, firstly, the motivation behind the creation of Buddhist music is to help people get closer to the Dharma; and, secondly this motivation is accurately reflected in its creation, so that people can feel the spirit of Buddhism and be moved after listening to it.

Thanks to the spread and popularity of the Internet today, the sound of Buddhist chants of the temples or various Buddhist music is now easily available on the Internet. If you type "Buddhist music download" on the search page, hundreds of thousands of related data will appear, ranging from famous venerable elders to previously unheard mantras. As long as you are willing, there are countless sources for downloading Buddhist music at the touch of a finger.

Apart from the disadvantage of randomly downloading anything from the Internet that may contain computer viruses, downloading Buddhist chanting sounds from the Internet does indeed make it possible to be exposed to various "similar Dharmas." The director of Dharma Drum Mountain Department of Dharma Service, Venerable Guo Kae (果慨法師), pointed out that "just like learning Chan meditation, it is best to learn from a wise master---not a famous master, per se, but one you know who genuinely possesses experience and lineage. Once you have a little understanding, then you can go and learn from a wise master. The same is true for downloading from the Internet, especially now that there are too many things on the Internet that we don't know for sure."

After all, the Internet is just a tool, and it is the users themselves who decide how to use items downloaded from the Internet. If the users do not use  tools such as the sound files of Buddhist chants to assist in their practice, they are still technically just ordinary music. Therefore, the dean of the Luminary Buddhist Institute, Venerable Wu Yin (悟因法師), and Venerable Guo Kae, both emphasized that the most correct attitude to use these convenient tools is to cultivate correct knowledge as well as continuously cultivate one's devotion to the Path through these tools.


Buddhist Chanting — Awakening Our Innate Buddha-Nature through Sound

[Ethnic Chapter] Exploring the Diverse and Harmonious Culture of Buddhist Chanting

Ethnic Series BOX: What You Should Know about Chinese Buddhist Chanting

[Society] Buddhist music and online Buddhist chants

[Practical Guide] Q&As of Buddhist Chanting

Practical Box: Tips for Buddhist Chanting 


Resource: Issue 298 of Humanity Magazine, Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation
Translation: Christina
Editing: Keith Brown, YKL