BUDDHA-NATURE. SeeTathagatagarbha
BUDDHANUSMRTI (RECOLLECTION OF
THE BUDDHA)
Buddhanusmrti(recollection of the Buddha) is the first
of a set of up to ten anusmrtis(acts of recollection or
calling to mind) that are used for both meditative and
liturgical purposes. The full set of ten anusmrtiscom-
prises Buddha, dharma, san ̇gha, morality, liberality,
deities, respiration, death, parts of the body, and peace.
Buddhist practitioners focus their minds on these sub-
jects by reciting a set text or formula listing their salient
qualities. The recollection of the Buddha was the most
important anusmrti,eventually becoming an indepen-
dent practice.
Initially the relevant formula comprised the so-
called ten epithets or titles of the Buddha, in that prac-
titioners were instructed to recall that the Buddha was
indeed worthy, correctly and fully awakened, perfected
in knowledge and conduct, blessed, knower of the
world, supreme, trainer of humans amenable to train-
ing, teacher of gods and humankind, Buddha, and
lord. This credal rehearsal of the Buddha’s qualities was
held by authorities like BUDDHAGHOSA(fifth century
C.E.) to purify the mind of defilements and prepare it
for advanced meditation. However, other benefits were
also ascribed to the practice, so that buddhanusmrti
was, for example, thought useful for apotropaic pur-
poses, for warding off fear and danger, as well as for
generating merit.
At some stage buddhanusmrtiwas augmented to in-
clude the calling to mind not only of the Buddha’s
virtues but also his physical appearance. Iconography
probably influenced this process, which by the second
century C.E. had given rise to the Mahayanist pratyut-
pannasamadhi,a full-fledged visualization of the spir-
itual and physical qualities of any buddha of the
present age, not just Gautama. This meditation incor-
porated the earlier form of buddhanusmrti,whose text
remained the nucleus of the mental operations re-
quired, even though its recitation was eventually short-
ened to the invocation of the buddha’s name. In
Chinese Buddhism, consequently, buddhanusmrtiis
known as nianfo,in which the element nianrefers both
to thinking about the buddha (fo) and reciting him, or
rather his name. Nianfocame primarily to refer to in-
vocation of the name of AMITABHA, on account of the
importance of that buddha’s cult in East Asia. The
words Namu amituo fo(hail to the Buddha Amitabha)
have accordingly become a prime liturgical and ritual
formula for Chinese Buddhists, who have used them
in communal worship, in personal devotions, even as
a Buddhist greeting when answering the telephone.
Similar developments have occurred in Korea and
Japan. Even Buddhists who are not devotees of
Amitabha have been deeply influenced by this prac-
tice, one example of this being the invocation of the
DAIMOKU, or the sacred title of the LOTUSSUTRA(SAD-
DHARMAPUNDARIKA-SUTRA), by followers of the
NICHIREN SCHOOL.
The persistence of buddhanusmrtiand its derivatives
testifies to the central importance in Buddhism of the
relationship between those who seek salvation and the
awakened teacher who shows them the PATH, and it
reflects the belief that focusing the mind on the qual-
ities of the awakened one helps aspirants to liberation
move closer toward realizing those qualities them-
selves. The latter notion is explicitly developed in MA-
HAYANABuddhism, and even more so in VAJRAYANA,
where it informs the tantric practice of “deity yoga.”See also:Buddha(s); Chanting and Liturgy; Nenbutsu
(Chinese, Nianfo; Korean, Yo ̆mbul)Bibliography
Conze, Edward. Buddhist Meditation.Allen and Unwin: Lon-
don, 1956.
Harrison, Paul. “Commemoration and Identification in Bud-
dhanusmrti.” In In the Mirror of Memory: Reflections on
Mindfulness and Remembrance in Indian and Tibetan Bud-
dhism,ed. Janet Gyatso. Albany: State University of New
York Press, 1992.PAULHARRISONBUDDHAVACANA (WORD OF
THE BUDDHA)The term buddhavacana(word of the Buddha) is the
designation used by Buddhists to describe the contents
of the Buddhist CANON, the Tripitaka. By designating
the Tripitaka the “word of the Buddha,” Buddhism
identifies its scriptures with the dharma of the Buddha
and thereby makes an important claim about the au-
thority and authenticity of the canon. While employ-
ing this term to support the authority of the scriptures,
however, Buddhists have explained the meaning ofBUDDHAVACANA(WORD OF THEBUDDHA)