The Prohibition of Religious Music in Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist Traditions

At first glimpse, praises of heavenly musicians and monastic chanting experts seem to suggest that music plays an important role and has a wide range of applications in Buddhist traditions. But upon closer examination one would be aware that such a statement is over-generalized and requires careful redefining. Buddhist practices mostly involve singing, reciting, and chanting. Although reciting and chanting are allowed when complied with certain restrictions, singing is absolutely prohibited by Vinaya rules to be performed, taught, or watched by novices, monks, and nuns. Even Buddhist lay men and lay women are advised to guard themselves against musical entertainments. Respective discussions on Buddhist music or Vinaya rules are plentiful, yet few have observed the contradiction between them in which music, depending on its format, has been portrayed as a double-edged sword capable of facilitating or impeding religious practices. John Ross Carter (1983) came very close to this observation when he identified two strands within the Theravāda Buddhist tradition: “an old admonition about restraint of the senses and an appreciation for, a legitimization of, religious music.” But a textual analysis of the historical development of these “conflicting strands” has yet to be written. To fill this gap, this paper explores how music is viewed and positioned in early Buddhist literature, with a specific focus on its interpretation and practice in the Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

Early Buddhist literature holds a controversial attitude towards music. On one hand, heavenly music played by such celestial musicians as Gandharva, Pañcaśikha and Kinnara has been mentioned on many occasions. Such Buddhist monks as Śroṇakoṭīkarṇa, Bhadr...

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...milar to the transmission of folk songs. This tradition has survived in enormous collected mgur writings and the practice of mgur singing is still alive in Tibet today.

Another renovation in Tibetan Buddhism is the invention of monastic drama performances. In Vinaya, monks and nuns are prohibited from watching or performing dramas after those in the group of six have disgraced the monastic community at public musical shows. But in Tibetan monasteries, dramas are regularly performed by monks at religious festivals.

In sum, singing is strictly distinguished from reciting or chanting in early Buddhist literature and their roles in Buddhist practices differ greatly. During the spread of Buddhist music from India to China and Tibet, indigenized interpretation of Vinaya rules concerning music-making allow inclusion of religious practices with greater musicality.