while recognizing the confinement of the colonial
state. Likewise, Korean Buddhists also separated na-
tion from state. At the same time, the Japanese colo-
nial state did not entirely deny the development of
ethnic nationalism, as long as the nation-state was not
threatened. After 1930 the Japanese regime even par-
ticipated in the creation of national identity for Kore-
ans. For the efficient operation of the nation-state, the
Japanese colonial government felt that it needed to cre-
ate homogeneous national subjects, even as it treated
Koreans as second-class citizens.
Asian Buddhists forged their religious identity and
redefined the role of Buddhism in response to West-
ern modernity and the concept of the nation-state.
Buddhists adopted social tactics and nationalist stances
in order to prove the utility of the religion, so that the
status of Buddhism in society would be improved. The
accommodations they reached with colonial powers,
however, account for the Buddhists’ insensitivity to,
and occasional collaborations with, imperial war, so-
cial injustice, and military occupation.
See also:Christianity and Buddhism; Colonialism and
Buddhism; Shinto(Honji Suijaku) and Buddhism
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Press, 1971.PORIPARKNENBUTSU (CHINESE, NIANFO;
KOREAN, YO ̆MBUL)Nenbutsu,also transcribed as nembutsu(Chinese, ni-
anfo; Korean, yo ̆mbul), is the religious practice in PURE
LANDBUDDHISMof chanting or invoking the name of
the Buddha Amida (Sanskrit, AMITABHAor Amitayus;
Chinese, Amituo). There are many buddhas whose
names can be chanted, but in practice, nenbutsutypi-
cally refers to chanting Amida’s name. In Japan, the
practice consists of reciting the six-character formula
Namu Amida Butsu (Chinese, Namo Amituo fo),
“Homage to Amida Buddha.” This invocation can be
spoken once or repeatedly. Commonly it is intoned as
a melodic chant, but can also be uttered in ordinary
intonation. It is sometimes used as an ancillary prac-
tice in meditative trance or visualization, but more fre-
quently it is performed as an independent and
self-contained practice. Buddhist liturgy, especially of
the Pure Land tradition, typically contains sections or
interludes of nenbutsuchanting.
Religious chanting, which was common in Bud-
dhism from an ancient period, no doubt influenced
the development of the nenbutsu.But another influ-
ence was the practice of reflecting or meditating on the
Buddha. In fact, nenbutsuliterally means thinking onNENBUTSU(CHINESE, NIANFO; KOREAN,YO ̆MBUL)