Nianfo (, ; , ) is a Buddhist practice central to East Asian Buddhism. The Chinese term nianfo is a translation of Sanskrit (), a classic Buddhist mindfulness (smṛti) practice.
Nianfo focused on the Buddha Amitābha is also the most important practice in Pure Land Buddhism. In the context of East Asian Pure Land practice, nianfo typically refers to the oral repetition of the name of Amitābha through the phrase "Homage to Amitabha Buddha" (; from Sanskrit Namo'mitābhāya Buddhāya). It can also refer to that phrase itself, in which case it may also be called the nianfo, or "The Name" (Japanese: ).
In most extant Pure Land traditions, faithfully reciting the name of Amitābha is mainly seen as a way to obtain birth in Amitābha's pure land of Sukhāvatī () through the Buddha's "other power". It is felt that reciting the nianfo can negate vast stores of negative karma as well as channel the power of the Buddha's compassionate vow to save all beings. Sukhāvatī is a place of peace and refuge. There, one can hear the Dharma directly from the Buddha and attain Buddhahood without being distracted by the sufferings of samsara.
In some contexts, the term nianfo can also refer to other meditative practices, such as various visualizations or the recitations of other phrases, dharanis, or mantras associated with Pure Land Buddhism, the Buddha Amitābha and his attendant bodhisattvas.
Origins
Mindfulness of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) is a practice 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, 11.12, and 1.296 as a method that can lead to samādhi and ultimately nirvana. 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 which can lead directly to attaining nirvana.Harrison, Paul M. Buddhanusmrti in the pratyutpanna-Buddha-sammukhavasthita-samadhi-sutra. Journal of Indian Philosophy 6 (1):35-57 (1978).
Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism
Indian Mahāyāna teachings developed the early Buddhist practices of buddhānusmṛti in more visionary directions. Some scholars like Andrew Skilton argue that Kashmiri Sarvāstivādin meditation masters influenced the development of more complex Mahayana meditations on the Buddhas.Skilton, Andrew. A Concise History of Buddhism. 2004. p. 162
A key feature of Mahāyāna buddhānusmṛti is that it was not restricted to Shakyamuni Buddha but could also be directed at other Buddhas, like Akṣobhya, Maitreya, and Amitābha Buddha. Groups of Mahāyāna sutras were composed based on these figures. With translations of these sūtras as well as the spread of Buddhism out of India, the practice of Mahāyāna buddhānusmṛti rapidly spread to Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia.
Hajime Nakamura writes that in the Indian Pure Land sūtras, Mindfulness of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) is the essential practice and consists of meditating upon Amitābha Buddha.Nakamura, Hajime. Indian Buddhism: A Survey with Bibliographical Notes. 1999. p. 205 Further, the practice of dedicating one's merit attained through such practices toward rebirth in a Buddha's pure buddha-field () became widespread as early as the 2nd century CE, with the Buddha Amitābha rising in prominence as a Buddha who had created a perfectly pure and easily accessible buddha-field.
Key Mahāyāna texts for East Asian Buddhism
The earliest dated sutra translated into Chinese that describes Amitabha-focused nianfo (buddhānusmṛti) is the Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra (1st 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.
Among the most frequently cited examples in East Asian Pure Land Buddhism is found in the Sutra on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life where Amitabha's vows are enumerated. The 18th, 19th and 20th vows state:18. If, when I attain buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten directions who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and think of me even ten times should not be born there, may I not attain perfect enlightenment. Excluded, however, are those who commit the five grave offenses and abuse the Right Dharma.
19. If, when I attain buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten directions who awaken aspiration for enlightenment, do various meritorious deeds, and sincerely desire to be born in my land, should not, at their death, see me appear before them surrounded by a multitude of sages, may I not attain perfect enlightenment.
20. If, when I attain buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten directions who, having heard my Name, concentrate their thoughts on my land, plant roots of virtue, and sincerely transfer their merits toward my land with a desire to be born there should not eventually fulfill their aspiration, may I not attain perfect enlightenment.Jones (2021), p. 6.And this passage in the Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra (Taisho no. 366): Lastly, one passage from the Sutra on the Contemplation of Amitāyus (Taishō 365) was also particularly influential on East Asian Pure Land authors (Amitāyus is an alternative name for Amitābha). This passage says that even sentient beings who commit the "five grave offenses" (which include killing one's parents) and other very evil acts can be reborn in the Pure Land (though in the lowest stage of birth). It also explains how one's assurance of birth in the Pure Land may be attained before death:When he is about to die, he may meet a good teacher, who consoles him in various ways...but he is too tormented by pain to do so. The good teacher then advises him, "If you cannot concentrate on the Buddha then you should say instead, 'Homage to Amitāyus Buddha. In this way, he sincerely and continuously says, "Homage to Amitāyus Buddha" ten times.... When he comes to die, he sees before him a golden lotus flower like the disk of the sun, and in an instant he is born within a lotus bud in the Land of Utmost Bliss.Jones (2021), p. 10-11. In the Sanskrit editions, phrases related to nianfo in the Sukhāvatīvyūha include "producing a thought directed toward a vision of Amitabha" (cittam utpādayanty amitābhasya...darśanāya) and "hearing the name" (buddhanāmaṣravaṇena).Schopen, Gregory. Figments And Fragments Of Mahayana Buddhism In India: More Collected Papers, p. 172. 2005, Univ of Hawaii Pr, Studies in Buddhist Traditions. The shorter sutra speaks of hearing the name and "keeping it in mind" (manasikara).Gomez, Luis O. The Land of Bliss, The Paradise of the Buddha of Measureless Light: Sanskrit and Chinese Versions of the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sutras, p. 19. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1996. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824850012 The Sanskrit edition of the longer sutra also speaks of "remembering [the Buddha] with a faithful mind" (prasannacittā māmanusmareyuḥ) and "obtaining even as little as one moment of a serene thought about the Tathagata" (hīnādhimuktikā bhaviṣyanti ye 'ntaśaekacittaprasādamapi tasmiṃstathāgate).Gomez, Luis O. The Land of Bliss, The Paradise of the Buddha of Measureless Light: Sanskrit and Chinese Versions of the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sutras, p. 108. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1996. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824850012
There are a few other influential sources on East Asian nianfo practice, including the Teaching of Manjusri 700 Line Prajñāpāramitā Sutra (Mañjuśrīparivartāparaparyāyā Saptaśatikāprajñāpāramitā), Vasubandhu's Discourse on the Pure Land (), the "Chapter on Purifying a Buddha-land" in the Dà zhìdù lùn (Great Prajñāpāramitā Commentary), and the "easy path" chapter in Nagarjuna's *Dasabhumikavibhāsā (, T.1521).Legittimo, Elsa. (2012). Buddhānusmṛti between Worship and Meditation: Early currents of the Chinese Ekottarika-āgama. 10.5167/uzh-64421.Matsumoto, David (trans.). Jodoron: Discourse on the Sutra of Eternal Life and Gatha of Aspiration to be Born in the Pure Land. Composed by Bodhisattva Vasubandhu, translated into Chinese by Bodhiruci of the Latter Wei Dynasty.Arya Nagarjuna, Kumarajiva, Bhikshu Dharmamitra. Nagarjuna on the Mindfulness of the Buddha, p. 33. 2019, Kalavinka Press.Williams, Paul; Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 2008, p. 211.
These various Mahayana sources were particularly important for the East Asian Pure Land Buddhist tradition, which is the set of beliefs and practices centered around the idea that all beings, even the most ordinary people, can attain birth in the Pure Land through the power of Amitābha Buddha. This tradition centered its practices on the nianfo.Jones (2021), p. 12. These sources were also influential on other Chinese traditions that practiced nianfo, including Chan and Tiantai.
Nianfo in China
In Chinese translations of Buddhist Mahayana sources, the most common character for smṛti ("mindfulness", "recollection") became (niàn), and thus recollection of the Buddha became niànfó. The character 念 generally means to think, recall, contemplate, mentally focus, or even "long for". But the term is ambiguous and can also mean to recite texts aloud so as to memorize them as well as meaning "a moment in time".Jones (2021), pp. 33, 48, 150
In China, nianfo became an important "dharma-gate" (fǎmén ), taught by numerous traditions and Buddhist masters.Jones, Charles B. (2019) Chinese Pure Land Buddhism, Understanding a Tradition of Practice, pp. 10-12. University of Hawai'i Press / Honolulu. Perhaps one of the earliest well-known Chinese practitioners of nianfo was Huiyuan, who practiced mindfulness of the Buddha as taught in the Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra so as to have a vision of Buddha Amitābha.Williams, Paul (2008). Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations 2nd Edition, p. 243. Routledge.Jones (2019) p. 129.
Nianfo was also taught by the founder of Tiantai Buddhism, patriarch Zhiyi (538–597). In his Mohe Zhiguan, Zhiyi taught a practice he named Constantly Walking Samadhi (chángxíng sānmèi ), in which one walks in a ritualized manner while visualizing Amitabha and reciting his name for up to 90 days.Jones (2021), pp. 17-18.
The Chinese Pure Land tradition
Early Chinese Pure Land figures like Tanluan (476–542) and Daochuo (562–645) promoted nianfo as a way to achieve rebirth in the Pure Land of Amitabha. Tanluan taught that, through nianfo, which included visualizing Amitabha and reciting his name with faith, one could tune into the "other power" of this Buddha, which could purify one's mind and take one to the Pure Land of Sukhavati.Williams, Paul (2008). Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations 2nd Edition, pp. 247-248. Routledge.Foard, James Harlan. The Pure Land Tradition: History and Development, Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing 2006. . p. 110 Tanluan also taught that one could practice nianfo simply by holding Amitabha's name in one's mind as an image of the sound. He argued that Amitabha's name contained the full reality of that Buddha and that one could contemplate the Buddha just by contemplating the name.
The main innovation of Tanluan's student Daochuo was that the world is entering the "last days of the Dharma". In this degenerate era, practices that rely solely on "self-power" (zìlì ) are no longer effective.Jones (2019) pp. 18-19. As such, the only truly effective way to attain Buddhahood is to practice nianfo and rely on the "other power" (tālì ) of Amitabha.Williams, Paul (2008). Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations 2nd Edition, p. 248. Routledge. Like Tanluan, Daochuo recommended a simple practice of meditating on Amitabha's name (rather than focusing on complex visualizations). He also introduced the practice of counting one's nianfo contemplations with the beads of a mala.