View source for Buddhist music

{{buddhism}}
'''Buddhist music''' is music created for or inspired by [[Buddhism]] and part of [[Buddhist art]].

==Honkyoku==
[[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 [[Honkyoku#Kinko_Ryū|Kinko-Ryu Honkyoku]].

==Chanting==
The [[Buddhist chant|chanting]] of mantras used in or inspired by Buddhism, including many genres in many cultures:
   
*[[repetition (music)|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).
*[[Overtone singing|Throat singing]] in [[Tibetan Buddhism|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.

== Notable Buddhist musicians ==
[[File:This is image of his.JPG|thumb| [[Bibiladeniye Mahanama]] - Sri Lankan Buddhist Monk, Spiritual Music Composer]]
* Ven.[[Bibiladeniye Mahanama]] Thero<ref name="MB1">{{cite web |url=http://www.mawbima.lk/thumb/epaper-images/30651.jpg |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-04-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722113455/http://www.mawbima.lk/thumb/epaper-images/30651.jpg |archive-date=2015-07-22 }}]. (in [[Sinhala language|Sinhalese]])</ref><ref name="CYT">{{cite web |url=http://www.ceylontoday.lk/thumb/epaper-images/28929.jpg |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-04-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923224442/http://www.ceylontoday.lk/thumb/epaper-images/28929.jpg |archive-date=2015-09-23 }}]. (in [[English language|English]])</ref><ref name="LB1">http://www.lakbima.lk/oldpapers/daliylakbima/2014/April/last_06_04_14/ridma.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424172914/http://www.lakbima.lk/oldpapers/daliylakbima/2014/April/last_06_04_14/ridma.pdf |date=2014-04-24 }}]. (in [[Sinhala language|Sinhalese]])</ref><ref name="ADA">http://epaper.ada.lk/images/flippingbook/2014/03/31/17.jpg]. (in [[Sinhala language|Sinhalese]])</ref>
* [[Ani Choying Dolma]]{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}
* [[Kinko Kurosawa]]{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}
* [[Imee Ooi]]{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}
* [[Eliane Radigue]]{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}
* [[Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra]]{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}
* [[Adam Yauch]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Buddhism In America|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,987164,00.html|publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=April 25, 2013|date=October 13, 1997}}</ref>
* [[Sergiu Celibidache]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://musictales.club/article/transcendental-experience-behind-classical-orchestras-conducted-sergiu-celibidache |title=The transcendental experience behind classical orchestras conducted by Sergiu Celibidache |access-date=2021-03-30}}</ref>
* [[Premasiri Khemadasa]]{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}
* [[Dinesh Subasinghe]]]{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
* [[Victor Ratnayake]]{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}
* [[Alan Dawa Dolma]]
* [[Leonard Cohen]]<ref> {{cite web| title="Leonard Cohen Outs Himself As A Pseudo-Buddhist" on AllanShowlater.com |url=https://allanshowalter.com/2020/07/12/leonard-cohen-outs-himself-as-a-pseudo-buddhist/ |access-date=March 31, 2021}}</ref>
* [[Michael Jordan Touchdown Pass]]<ref>{{cite news|title= Michael Jordan Touchdown Pass Interview|url=https://www.whrb.org/archive/michael-jordan-touchdown-pass-interview|access-date = March 5, 2020|date = April 6, 2017}}</ref>
* [[Kanho Yakushiji]] <ref> {{cite web| title= Japanese Monastics Share Ancient Buddhist Sutras Through Modern Music| url=https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/japanese-monastics-share-ancient-buddhist-sutras-through-modern-music|access-date= March 31, 2021}} </ref>
* [[Tan Dun]] <ref> {{cite web| title=Four Buddhist Composers| url=https://urthona.com/2020/02/18/four-buddhist-composers/ |access-date=March 31, 2021 }}</ref>
* [[David Earl (composer)]] <ref> {{cite web| title=Four Buddhist Composers| url=https://urthona.com/2020/02/18/four-buddhist-composers/ |access-date=March 31, 2021 }}</ref>
* [[Timothy Lissimore]] <ref> {{cite web| title=Four Buddhist Composers| url=https://urthona.com/2020/02/18/four-buddhist-composers/ |access-date=March 31, 2021 }}</ref>
* [[Justin Merritt]] <ref> {{cite web| title=Four Buddhist Composers| url=https://urthona.com/2020/02/18/four-buddhist-composers/ |access-date=March 31, 2021 }}</ref>
* [[John Cage]] <ref>{{cite book |last= Larson |first=Kay |date=2012 |title=Where the heart beats : John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the inner life of artists |url=http://link.bu.edu/portal/Where-the-heart-beats--John-Cage-Zen-Buddhism/1E42T6mL7as/ |location=New York |publisher= Penguin Press  |isbn=9781594203404}}</ref>

== Greater China ==
[[Li Na (singer)|Li Na]], a famous Chinese singer who became a [[Bhikkhuni|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]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Beyond Singing: The Journey |url=http://www.beyondsinging.com/english/home/detail/article/76366/0/beyond---the-journy/ |publisher=Beyond Singing |access-date=2009-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091105052230/http://www.beyondsinging.com/english/home/detail/article/76366/0/beyond---the-journy/ |archive-date=2009-11-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The musicians involved were: 
* [[Tina Turner]]
* [[Dechen Shak-Dagsay]]

== See also ==

* [[Karuna Nadee]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Religious_music}}
{{Buddhism topics}}

[[Category:Buddhist music| ]]
[[Category:Religious music]]

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