The role of singing in Buddhism

When you go to a Buddhist temple, you may meet people who sing. All the schools of Buddhism have sung some liturgy, although the content of the songs varies widely. Practice can make newcomers uncomfortable. We could come from a religious tradition where a standard text is recited or sung during a worship service, but we often don't sing. Furthermore, in the West many of us have come to think of the liturgy as a useless vestige of a previous time, more superstitious.

If you observe a Buddhist singing service, you may see people bowing or playing gong and drums. Priests can make offerings of incense, food and flowers to a figure on an altar. Singing can be in a foreign language, even when everyone present speaks English. This may seem very strange if you are aware that Buddhism is a non-theistic religious practice. A singing service may seem as theistic as a Catholic mass unless you understand the practice.

Songs and lighting
However, once you understand what is going on, come and see that Buddhist liturgies are not meant to worship a god but to help us achieve enlightenment. In Buddhism, enlightenment (bodhi) is defined as awakening from one's delusions, especially the delusions of the ego and a separate self. This awakening is not intellectual, but rather a change in the way we experience and perceive.

Singing is a method of cultivating awareness, a tool to help you wake up.

Types of Buddhist chants
There are several types of texts sung as part of Buddhist liturgies. Here are a few:

Chanting can be all or part of a sutra (also called sutta). A sutra is a sermon from the Buddha or one of the disciples of the Buddha. However, a large number of sutras from Mahayana Buddhism were composed after the life of the Buddha. (See also "Buddhist scriptures: an overview" for further explanation.)
Chanting can be a mantra, a short sequence of words or syllables, often sung repeatedly, which is believed to have transformative power. An example of a mantra is om mani padme hum, associated with Tibetan Buddhism. Singing a mantra with awareness can be a form of meditation.
A dharani is something like a mantra, although it is usually longer. The Dharani are said to contain the essence of a teaching, and the repetitive chanting of a Dharani can evoke a beneficial power, such as protection or healing. Singing a dharani also subtly influences the singer's mind. Dharans are usually sung in Sanskrit (or in some approximation of how Sanskrit sounds). Sometimes syllables don't have a definite meaning; it is the sound that counts.

A gatha is a short verse to sing, sing or recite. In the West, gathas have often been translated into the language of the singers. Unlike mantras and dharans, what the gathas say is more important than they seem.
Some songs are exclusive to particular Buddhism schools. Nianfo (Chinese) or Nembutsu (Japanese) is the practice of chanting the name of the Buddha Amitabha, a practice found only in the different forms of Buddhism of the Pure Land. Nichiren Buddhism is associated with Daimoku, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, which is an expression of faith in the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren Buddhists also sing Gongyo, consisting of passages from the Lotus Sutra, as part of their daily formal liturgy.

How to sing
If you don't know Buddhism, the best advice is to listen carefully to what everyone else is doing and do it. Put your voice in unison with most of the other singers (no group is completely in unison), copy the volume of the people around you and start singing.

Singing as part of a group service is something you are all doing together, so don't just listen to the singing of yourself. Listen to everyone at once. Be part of one big voice.

You will probably be given the written text of the chanting liturgy, with foreign words in English transliteration. (If not, listen until you notice.) Treat your songbook with respect. Pay attention to how others keep their singing books and try to copy them.

Translation or original language?
As Buddhism moves westward, some of the traditional liturgies are sung in English or other European languages. But you may find that a significant amount of liturgy is still sung in an Asian language, even by non-ethnic Asian Westerners who don't speak the Asian language. Because?

For mantras and dharans, the sound of singing is just as important, sometimes more important than the meanings. In some traditions, sounds are said to be manifestations of the true nature of reality. If sung with great attention and awareness, mantras and dharans can become a powerful group meditation.

Sutras are another question, and sometimes the question of whether to sing a translation or not causes some contention. Singing a sutra in our language helps us internalize its teaching in a way that simple reading cannot. But some groups prefer to use Asian languages, partly for the effect of sound and partly for maintaining a bond with Dharma brothers and sisters around the world.

If singing seems insignificant to you at first, keep an open mind towards doors that may open. Many senior students and teachers say that the thing they found most boring and silly when they first started practicing was exactly what triggered their first awakening experience.