Traditional Chinese music influenced by Zen Buddhism
Zen is a school of Buddhism in China. Its doctrine focuses on an enlightened mind, becoming a Buddha after sudden enlightenment, natural Buddhist nature, and relief. Zen highlights inwardness and sudden enlightenment, holding that for those who pursue Buddhism, they can perfect the self the perception of matters with the mind, and it is believed that and become Buddha so long as they enlighten their minds and insights. Therefore, the characteristic of Zen musical thoughts is the mind is very important for feeling music.
The thunder of silence in Zen upholds listening to the thunders from silence by means of the force of the mind, and to silence with the mind. Baiyin Zen master asked Buddhist monks to listen to the sound of a hand. That is the reason. According to Zen, nature is unlimited in depth and broadness with profound conception. So long as one listens attentively, he or she can enter the spiritual realm beyond the constraints of knowledge and interests. The music influenced by Zen pursues such Zen realms as, "Everything is silent, only the sounds of bells can be heard.”
Zen music and Confucian music share a lot of similarities, both taking fairness, peace, simplicity and elegance, and grandeur as their basic principle. Confucianism advocates music based on rituals, holding that music should serve rituals, and music be subordinated to politics. The Zen masters also take music as a sharp weapon to carry forward from Buddhism. Zen upholds that if one can apprehend original nature, he or she can reach enlightenment. This kind of transcendent attitude towards life was suitable for those ancient scholars who suffered from career setbacks and became disappointed in reality.
Ancient scholars pursued quiet minds, trying to escape fetters for the pursuit of the freedom of spirit and creation, who objectively promoted the development of traditional music, and freed it from the constraints of practical value, and made it focus on the thoughts and feelings of the creators. For instance, the gugin is a kind of traditional music art with the greatest traditional Chinese characteristics. For a long time, it was considered an instrument for self-cultivation. In performance, its focus was placed on the self-centered feeling of the performer.
Zen believes that musicians, in the creation process, either imagine themselves as the components of their works, or drink heavily to let their minds wander frely, with a purpose of hifting subiecive thoughts and feelings into the object to reach wo-way communication between the subject and the object. Zen calls the inwardness as assimilation of object and self. For the assimilation of object and self, or neglect of object and self, the final goal is to reach the realm free from vulgarity. In short, Zen highlights the role of mind, and music creation cannot go with the mind. Zen music theory has a quite far-reaching influence on the principal spirit of traditional Chinese music.
Ancient Confucianism, Taoism, and Zen held the outlook on nature, in other words, harmony between man and nature, which has a profound infuence on China's traditional music culture. From that perspective, it is thought that music creation is based on the mutual communication between objects and the lf and the exchange between the mind and obiects. The said outlook therfore, has become the highest aesthetic standard or ancient Chinese music. To have an in-depth understanding of the enchantment of Chinese national music,it is necessary to have a good understanding and appreciation of the connotations of ancient Chinese music cultrue.
