On the evening of October 12 local time, a prayer concert featuring Chinese Buddhist chanting music was held at the David Geffen Hall of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York City, the United States.
The Chinese Buddhist Chanting Music Concert was performed by nearly 100 Buddhist masters from Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, Daxiangguo Temple in Kaifeng, Yonghe Temple in Beijing, Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou and Zongfo Temple in Xishuangbanna. The 13 performances of the concert included chorus “Prayers”, sutra chanting of three branches of Buddhism in China, Buddhist chanting chorus “Buddhist Bell Gatha”, kungfu performance “Kungfu Chan in Heaven and Earth”, Buddhist chanting performance “White Horse Carrying Sutras”, Buddhist chanting chorus “Cluster of Clouds”, performance “Yunlin Tea”, Buddhist chanting chorus “Avatamsaka Alphabets”, Buddhist chanting chorus “Song of the Triple Gem”, Buddhist chanting performance “Red Drifting Clouds”, kungfu performance “Miraculous Shaolin Kungfu Weapons”, Buddhist chanting chorus “The Heart Sutra”, and Buddhist chanting chorus “Namo Amitabha Buddha”.
Buddhist chanting emerged as a result of the integration of Buddhist culture and the Chinese traditional culture. Buddhist chanting is a symbol of the localization of Buddhism in China and is specially used to sing praise of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in Buddhist services and activities. As a self-contained and unique musical form with profound connotation, it is claimed to be a perfect example of the integration of Buddhism and the local art culture.
The concert was co-organized by the Chinese Buddhist Chanting Music Ensemble and the China Buddhist Association (US), co-sponsored by the American Buddhist Confederation, and undertaken by Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou and Fa-Wang Shi (Fa-Wang Temple, China Buddhist Association) in New York. It was an important part of the China-Canada-US Buddhist Forum.
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Audience at the concert
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