The Nianfo in Ōbaku Zen: a Look at the Teachings of the Three Founding Masters

To the Edo-period Japanese Zen monks, one of the most striking aspects of the obaku school was the practice of reciting the Buddha’s name (nianfo 念仏) within their teaching and training practices. For an accurate assessment of the obaku school’s true stance on the practice of the nianfo, however, it is necessary to investigate the writings and teachings of the school’s founding masters, the very figures who established and codified what came to be seen as standard practice: Yinyuan Longqi 隠元隆琦 (J. Ingen RyØki, 1592-1673), Muan Xingtao 木庵性瑫 (J. Mokuan ShØtØ, 1611-1684), and Jifei Ruyi 即非如一 (J. Sokuhi Nyoitsu, 1616-1671). It was the Japanese reaction to this practice that led to the accusation that the obaku monks were practicing an adulterated form of Zen that was contaminated by Pure Land elements. It remains, however, that much of the misunderstanding regarding nianfo practice can be assigned to the Japanese unfamiliarity with the doctrinal underpinnings of the Ming Buddhist models that the obaku monks brought to Japan. (Mohr 1994: 348, 364) This paper will attempt to clarify the nianfo teachings of these three foundational obaku masters.