the Buddha or keeping him in mind (Buddhanusmrti).
To that extent, it does not explicitly denote verbal ac-
tivity. But since chanting sacred syllables or names of-
ten accompanied meditation, the practice of intoning
the Buddha’s name coalesced with the idea of keeping
him in mind. Over the centuries there emerged two
primary views of nenbutsuchanting: One treated it as
an aid to visualizing the Buddha, which was consid-
ered a practice leading to enlightenment; the other
treated it as an act resulting in birth in Amida’s Pure
Land paradise. The two, however, often overlapped.
In Japan, the verbal practice eventually overshadowed
visualization, so that nenbutsucame to mean invok-
ing Amida’s name without necessarily meditating on
him, though mental awareness of the Buddha was al-
ways considered one aspect of saying his name.
See also:Buddhanusmrti (Recollection of the Bud-
dha); Chanting and Liturgy; Pure Land Schools
Bibliography
Andrews, Allan A. “Pure Land Buddhist Hermeneutics: Honen’s
Interpretation of Nembutsu.” Journal of the International As-
sociation of Buddhist Studies10, no. 2 (1987): 7–25.
Fujiwara, Ryosetsu. The Way to Nirvana: The Concept of the
Nembutsu in Shan-tao’s Pure Land Buddhism.Tokyo: Ky-
oiku Shincho Sha, 1974.
Hori, Ichiro. “Nembutsu as Folk Religion.” In Folk Religion
in Japan: Continuity and Change,ed. Joseph M. Kitagawa
and Alan L. Miller. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1968.
Pas, Julian. Visions of Sukhavatl: Shan-tao’s Commentary on the
Kuan Wu-Liang-Shou-Fo Ching.Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1995.
JAMESC. DOBBINSNEO-CONFUCIANISM. SeeConfucianism and
Buddhism
NEPAL
Like most of the Himalayan region, the valley called
Nepal was a frontier zone until the modern state’s cre-
ation in 1769. The area absorbed and interpreted In-
dic cultural influences from the south and, later, from
the Tibetan region to the north. This entry will discuss
the history of the early Indic traditions in the Kath-
mandu valley, the Tibetan Buddhist lineages originat-
ing from the Tibetan plateau, the Newar-supported
MAHAYANA traditions, and the recently imported
THERAVADAtradition.Early Buddhism in the Licchavi era
The earliest historical records of the central Himalayan
region—more than two hundred Sanskrit inscriptions
made by kings of a ruling dynasty who referred to
themselves by the name Licchavi—are found in the
Nepal valley beginning in 464 C.E. These inscriptions
indicate that Hindu temple institutions existed along-
side Buddhist monastic traditions in a harmonious
relationship confirmed by the Chinese pilgrim XUAN-
ZANGaround 640 C.E. This relationship has endured
up to the present day. The Licchavi inscriptions reveal
connections between the Nepal valley and the tradi-
tions of monasticism and patronage that originated
across the Gangetic plain from the time of the Bud-
dha. There are references in the inscriptions to MONKS
and NUNSfrom over a dozen discrete san ̇ghas residing
in land-owning viharas (monasteries) and enjoying the
support of prominent local merchants and caravan
leaders. The most frequently mentioned san ̇gha is that
of the MAHASAMGHIKA SCHOOL.
These early monasteries were centers of a predom-
inantly Mahayana culture, with the inscriptions pro-
viding only a few hints of Vajrayana practice. Monastic
precincts reveal verses of praise addressed to S ́akya-
muni and other buddhas, as well as shrines to the
celestial bodhisattvas Manjus ́r, Vajrapani, Samanta-
bhadra, and—most frequently—Avalokites ́vara. Do-
nations ofSTUPAs, in several instances by nuns, are also
mentioned. Nepal’s earliest monasteries charged
monks with maintaining law and civic order in settle-
ments built on lands donated to them, a custom that
is unattested in Indian sources. Examples of similar du-
ties are also found in the records of the residents (man-
dalis) of contemporaneous Hindu temples.Tibetan monasticism across the
Himalayan highlands
Tibetan texts recount how great Indian sages came up
through the Nepal valley to establish Buddhist tradi-
tions on the Tibetan plateau. Later legends describe
their subduing demons and establishing communities
of devotees. Although the history of these first Hi-
malayan monasteries remains obscure, some may have
been established by the great siddha PADMASAMBHAVA
(ca. late eighth century) or his disciples. Texts com-
posed to recount the lives of ATISHA(982–1054) andNEO-CONFUCIANISM