Nianfo
Nianfo is a Buddhist practice central to East Asian Buddhism. The Chinese term nianfo is a translation of Sanskrit Buddhānusmṛti|, a classic Buddhist mindfulness 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". It can also refer to that phrase itself, in which case it may also be called the nianfo, or "The Name".
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 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 11.11, 11.12, and 1.296 as a method that can lead to samādhi and ultimately nirvana. Agamas like EA III, 1 also discuss the practice as a method of focusing the mind on the Buddha and his qualities which can lead directly to attaining nirvana.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.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 is the essential practice and consists of meditating upon Amitābha Buddha. 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 is the Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra, 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.And this passage in the Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra :
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.
Lastly, one passage from the Sutra on the Contemplation of Amitāyus was also particularly influential on East Asian Pure Land authors. This passage says that even sentient beings who commit the "five grave offenses" and other very evil acts can be reborn in the Pure Land. 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.In the Sanskrit editions, phrases related to nianfo in the Sukhāvatīvyūha include "producing a thought directed toward a vision of Amitabha" and "hearing the name". The shorter sutra speaks of hearing the name and "keeping it in mind". The Sanskrit edition of the longer sutra also speaks of "remembering with a faithful mind" and "obtaining even as little as one moment of a serene thought about the Tathagata".
There are a few other influential sources on East Asian nianfo practice, including the Teaching of Manjusri 700 Line Prajñāpāramitā Sutra, Vasubandhu's Discourse on the Pure Land, the "Chapter on Purifying a Buddha-land" in the Dà zhìdù lùn , and the "easy path" chapter in Nagarjuna's *Dasabhumikavibhāsā''.
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. 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 became 念, 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".In China, nianfo became an important "dharma-gate", taught by numerous traditions and Buddhist masters. 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.
Nianfo was also taught by the founder of Tiantai Buddhism, patriarch Zhiyi. In his Mohe Zhiguan, Zhiyi taught a practice he named Constantly Walking Samadhi, in which one walks in a ritualized manner while visualizing Amitabha and reciting his name for up to 90 days.
The Chinese Pure Land tradition
Early Chinese Pure Land figures like Tanluan and Daochuo 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. 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" are no longer effective. As such, the only truly effective way to attain Buddhahood is to practice nianfo and rely on the "other power" of Amitabha. Like Tanluan, Daochuo recommended a simple practice of meditating on Amitabha's name. He also introduced the practice of counting one's nianfo contemplations with the beads of a mala.
While these early Chinese Pure Land authors taught nianfo as mostly a mental "holding of the name", Shandao interpreted nianfo to refer to the oral recitation of Amitabha's name. For Shandao, the nianfo of "orally holding Amitāyus's name" was Pure Land Buddhism's main practice. All other practices were merely auxiliary. These auxiliaries include visualization of Amitabha and his Pure Land, worshiping Amitabha, praising him, and making offerings to him. Over time, the term niànfó came to refer to Amitabha's name itself.
While Shandao taught these auxiliary practices, he also held that reciting Amitabha's name ten times was sufficient for rebirth in Sukhavati. Nevertheless, the Pure Land tradition considered constant lifelong practice useful, since one could improve one's stage of rebirth in the Pure Land and thus attain Buddhahood faster once there. Shandao also practiced visualizations taught in the Amitayus Contemplation Sutra and taught this method of Buddha recollection to his disciples.
The recitation of the nianfo was particularly critical for the dying and quickly became a major deathbed practice in Chinese Buddhism. For example, in The Meritorious Dharma Gate of the Samādhi Involving Contemplation of the Ocean-like Marks of the Buddha Amitābha, Shandao prescribes a specific set of rituals and practices to help dying Buddhist devotees avoid bad rebirths and attain rebirth in the Pure Land. He also taught of the many dangers that could hinder a dying aspirant's rebirth in the Pure Land in his Correct Mindfulness for Rebirth at the Moment of Death. These sources reflect a traditional Chinese concern about various more complicated requirements for rebirth in the Pure Land, which include but are not limited to the recitation of Amitābha's name on one's deathbed.
The well-known form of the nianfo was standardized by a later Pure Land patriarch, Fazhao. Fazhao also promoted the melodic "five stage nianfo" method, and taught nianfo at the imperial court. This method involves five different ways of chanting the nianfo phrase: in a slow sonorous way, slow but rising in pitch, moderate tempo, gradually accelerating in tempo, and chanting only Amituofo very rapidly.
Later Chinese Pure Land patriarchs were known for their syncretism of nianfo recitation with Chan meditation. The "dual path of Chan and Pure Land cultivation" is an important feature of Chinese Buddhism, which often combines nianfo with Chan Buddhist meditation. Figures considered Pure Land patriarchs who also combined nianfo with Chan include Yongming Yanshou and Yunqi Zhuhong. Zhuhong was a learned figure who argued that the goal of Pure Land nianfo practice was "nianfo samādhi", a "single, unperturbed mind" focused on Amitabha Buddha in which one realizes that the Buddha is one's own pure and empty mind. According to Zhuhong:
To contemplate the Buddha is to contemplate the mind. Birth there does not entail birth away from here. Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings are all of one substance; the middle stream does not abide on the two banks.Zhuhong taught that one could attain these realizations even through simple nianfo methods, though he taught simple and complex methods according to his student's needs.