thing constructed and generated by language. Its in-
vocation therefore brings forth not an individual bud-
dha, but the totality or essence of what is real
(dharmadhatu).
Tantric meditation blends the themes and instru-
ments of ritual, sound, and language, combining them
with the ideas of serenity and insight, all in a process
rooted in a conviction that deities can be made man-
ifest before or assimilated into the meditator. This is
then not only meditation of speech, but also medita-
tion of visual imagery; yet it is also a technique for
inviting holy, ideal beings to come, as guests, before
the meditator, and then gradually share their identity
with that of the meditator. Additionally, this identity
is usually reduced to the emptiness of all things, which
is, paradoxically, what is ultimately real, stable, and
foundational.
Other uses of the word
Belief in the transformative power of word and sylla-
ble is not limited to Tantra. A different sort of invo-
cation is found in the practice of calling on or calling
out the name of the Buddha Amitabha. Indian notions
of the sacred name found fertile ground in East Asia,
where they tended to cluster around the cult of this
buddha in particular, whose invocation has become
synonymous with Buddhist devotionalism.
In China, where the East Asian tradition has its
roots, one may chant either the name of the Buddha
Amitabha or the equivalent of the Sanskrit expression
“homage to the Buddha Amitabha” (namo ’mitabhaya
buddhaya; Chinese, namo Amito-fo), which has been
turned into a sacred name or “the Name.” The recita-
tion is conceived as devotion or devotional surrender,
but can also be conceived as meditation embedded inMEDITATIONA twelfth-century statue of the Buddha seated in meditation position, at Polonnaruva, Sri Lanka. (Sri Lankan, 1153–1186.) The Art
Archive/British Museum/The Art Archive. Reproduced by permission.