Modes of Transmission in Contemporary Zen Chanting
Michaela Mross
Department of Religious Studies, Stanford University
Wednesday, 26 April 2023
2:00–2:30 pm
Abstract: Western literature on Japanese Zen Buddhism rarely mentions any sounds or music and thus suggests that the life in Zen temples and monasteries is rather silent. When visiting a Japanese Zen temple, however, one encounters a rich sounding world. Throughout the day, various percussion instruments are played to signal the beginning or end of activities, and clerics chants sutras to the accompaniment of a mokugyo (wooden fish) or to the energetic playing of drums. At special occasions, clerics perform highly musical rituals, during which they sing texts with elaborate melodies.
This talk examines how Sōtō Zen monks have transmitted the art of chanting from one generation to the next. In contemporary Sōtō Zen, oral transmission is still the most important way to teach a disciple how to vocalize sacred texts and play musical instruments. But this traditional mode of transmission is nowadays supplemented by sound and video recordings that capture the performance of highly skilled ritual specialists. Additionally, students used voice recorders to record their teacher’s performances and later use these as practice tools. Moreover, teachers publish new ritual manuals with detailed information about the performance and alternative styles of musical notations. I will show how these new modes of transmission support the traditional way of oral transmission, which still remains vital.
About the presenter: Michaela Mross is assistant professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University. She specializes in Japanese Buddhism, with a particular emphasis on Sōtō Zen, rituals, and sacred music. She has written numerous publications on Buddhist rituals and chant, including the monograph Memory, Music, Manuscripts: The Ritual Dynamics of Kōshiki in Japanese Sōtō Zen (University of Hawaii Press, 2022). She is currently working on a book on Buddhist hymns and lay Buddhist choirs in contemporary Zen Buddhism. This project will showcase how music played a vital role in the modernization of Japanese Sōtō Zen Buddhism in the last 70 years.