Ethnographic description of a nianfo group practice

The group practice of nianfo is not unique to DDM; in fact, other more Pure Land oriented groups in Taiwan also follow a similar process.²⁶³

On March 17, 2012 I attended my first nianfo group practice at the DDM main monastery in Jinshan. From then on I occasionally attended the practice at other DDM branches.

During the fall term of 2013/2014, I attended the DDM Anhe branch (安和分院) on a weekly basis. In order to illustrate nianfo practice as practiced at DDM, this section provides a “thick description”²⁶⁴ of nianfo group practice at DDM Anhe branch. The section below gives an account of the typical process of the practice at the DDM Anhe branch (安和分院) based specifically on my observations from November 11, 2013.

262 See Appendix: Interview Guojing, pp. 128-129, but also http://elc.ddm.org.tw/.

263 See Charles B. Jones, “Buddha One: A One-Day-Buddha-Recitation Retreat in Contemporary Taiwan”, in Richard K. Payne and Kenneth T. Tanaka, ed., Approaching the Land of Bliss, (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press 2004), pp. 264-280.

264 Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures.

The group practice is held regularly every Tuesday evening, in a modern office building in a business district of Taipei City. Visitors take the lift to the tenth floor. When the door opens, friendly volunteers, mostly middle-aged women, some in their thirties, welcome the visitor. They fold their hands in front of their chest in the fashion of a traditional Buddhist greeting. There are separate entrances for the sexes as well as separate seating areas in the Chan hall for men and women. The volunteers gently direct visitors to their assigned entrance. At each entrance to the Chan hall is a place to remove shoes. Some participants put on their haiqing (海青), the Chinese Buddhist black ritual robe, others just enter the hall in their regular street wear.

After entering the hall, one bows to the five Buddha statues in the front of the hall. Inside there are more volunteers waiting, both male and female, who lead the participants to their respective seat. Here the participant does three prostrations to the Buddha statues and takes a seat facing the center of the room. People wearing a haiqing sit in the front rows, while those wearing street wear sit behind. Those in the first two rows, wear a stole above their haiqing. The fragrance of Chinese incense, the dim light and the Buddha statues create a solemn and peaceful atmosphere.

There are about two hundred people in the room. Most sit on the floor on meditation mats, a few people, mostly elderly sit at the sides and in the back of the hall on simple chairs. There is a corridor in the center of the hall that is left empty. It stretches from the Buddha statues to the back of the room. Men and women on each side of the corridor face each other. Most participants are middle aged and older; however, almost three quarters of them are female, so there is some overflow from the women’s side of the room to the

men’s side. Even so, the sexes remain segregated. Many regular participants sit in the front, they attend the ritual as a part of their Pure Land practice. Of those in the back, some have recently lost family members. They partake in the ritual to gain merit, which they then transfer to their deceased.

The sound of a drum, on the stroke of seven, signifies the beginning. Two nuns enter the room and bow to the statues. One takes a seat in the first row; the other one stands in front to lead the ritual. She welcomes the visitors, and then proceeds by explaining the meaning of the ritual. Her explanations are read from a paper, they are excerpts of Sheng Yen’s writings. On this particular day it is a short excerpt from the Introduction into Buddhism (佛教入門).²⁶⁵ Following this, the participants rise, bow to each other, then they face the Buddha statues in the front for three prostrations. The chanting begins. It starts with a praise of the Buddha Amitabha (讚佛偈), a short repentance (拜懺), the three refuges (三皈依), and a vow to be born in Amitabha’s Western Pure Land and to transfer the acquired merit (回向偈). Next the assembly turns back to face each other and begins to recite monophonically praise the Buddha Amitabha (南無阿彌陀佛).

Accompanied by the sound of a wooden fish and a bell they begin to circumambulate (繞 佛). Since there are many people in the room, and the space is limited, the participants move in a serpentine fashion among the sitting mats. After a while, the first part of the chant is dropped, people only very slowly chant Amitabha Buddha (阿彌陀佛). With each step they chant one syllable, the whole assembly of two hundred people thereby moves in complete concord. Finally, everyone stops back at their seats and sits down,

265 Shengyan fashi, Fojiao rumen (Taibei: Fagu wenhua, 2002).

again facing each other. Now the speed rises slowly but surely, until after over twenty minutes it gets so fast, that one can hardly differentiate between the different syllables.

Suddenly, with three blows of the wooden fish, everyone stops and continues to chant silently in his mind. Ten to fifteen minutes later the silent recitation is over. After a short period where everyone massages him or herself, everyone rises, and some people, those who recently lost family members, kneel down at the corridor in the center of the hall.

They take refuge to the Buddha, the dharma, and to the sangha to transfer their acquired merit to the deceased. The leading nun concludes then the ritual, she reads aloud the names of the deceased, everyone transfers merit to them and, as was the case at the time, to the victims of typhoon Hayan, which had struck the Philippines. Then she makes some announcements and after two hours, at nine o’clock sharp, the ritual is over. Everyone collectively tidies up the Chan hall and leaves.

4.3. Conclusion

Even before the establishment of DDM, nianfo constituted a significant part of the

religious practice at Nung Chan temple. The Merit and Wisdom Chanting Society and the Prajna Meditation Society are the two big societies, which existed prior to the

establishment of DDM. With the establishment of Dharma Drum Mountain, Sheng Yen’s attention turned from his work as a Chan master to the field of education. By doing so he intended to realize his ambitious goal of Establishing a Pure Land on Earth. Scott Pacey writes:

“The notion in the “Protection of the Spiritual Environment” and the “Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign” is that the problems and conflicts faced by humanity on international, social and individual levels all have their origin in the mind. By purifying peoples thoughts and actions, society itself will become purified.”²⁶⁶

The means to implement this goal are academic programs, public outreach campaigns, and the promotion of formal Buddhist practice. The target audience for this endeavor consists not only of Buddhists, but also the general Taiwanese public.

Nianfo at DDM represents one means to realize DDM’s final goal of the establishment of the Pure Land on earth. It serves as one form of formal Buddhist practice, together with Chan meditation, Buddhist precepts and others. However is very popular with the Buddhist laity and therefore nianfo retreats attract a significant high attendance.

In addition to Pure Land nianfo DDM offers nianfochan practice. Practicing the former, the practitioner aims to achieve rebirth in the western Pure Land, while the latter is practiced as a form of Chan meditation. Additionally, the End-of-Life Chanting Group provides end of life care and assists family members in chanting for their deceased. Its free of charge services further are an occasion to spread DDM’s version of orthodox Buddhism and to promote the establishment of a Pure land on Earth.

Sheng Yen’s concepts to promote the creation of a Pure Land are rooted in Buddhist doctrine, like the Vimalakirti sutra, but phrased in a secular language with references to issues in contemporary society, like environmental pollution, to reach a wide Buddhist as well as non-Buddhist audience. The idea of educating the population through

266 Pacey, “A Buddhism for the Human World,“ 453.

ideological/pedagogical campaigns is rooted in the Confucian tradition. Through these campaigns Sheng Yen intended to make Buddhists’ practice and values more attractive to a wider audience. These practices are then to be utilized in order to purify one’s mind and thereby purifying society.