Fazhao

Fazhao (Chinese: 法照; pinyin: Fǎzhào, J. Hōshō; 746–838), also known as Zhulin Fazhao (竹林法照) and Śramaṇa Fazhao of Nanyue, was a Chinese monk during the Tang dynasty, known for his teachings on Pure Land Buddhism and nianfo (recitation of Buddha Amitābha's name). He was honored by Chinese emperor Daizong with the title "National Teacher of the Bamboo Grove temple of the Central Terrace [of the Wutai Mountains]" and was later honored as a patriarch of the Pure Land tradition in China.

In 765, Master Fazhao left Mount Lu and became a disciple of the renowned Pure Land monk Chengyuan(承遠） (712–802). According to the Nanyue Mituo si Chengyuan Heshang bei (Stele of the Mituo Temple at Nanyue), Master Fazhao had a vision during meditation. He saw himself before Amitābha Buddha, alongside an elderly monk identified as Chengyuan, who instructed him to convey a message to his former homeland. This experience profoundly affected Master Fazhao, leading him to Mount Heng (Hunan), where the vision's scenery matched his meditative insight. Moved by the realization, he accepted Chengyuan as his spiritual mentor and aspired to become his successor. A Dunhuang manuscript (P.2066) records that he spent ninety days each summer engaged in pratyutpanna nianfo practice. During one such practice session, he witnessed a golden bridge extending to Sukhāvatī, where he encountered Amitābha. The Buddha smiled and entrusted Master Fazhao with a profound Dharma teaching, instructing him to disseminate the five tempo nianfo method across the world to benefit countless beings. This marked Master Fazhao’s second major spiritual experience, reinforcing the sacred nature of nianfo as a universal practice in the western Pure Land. He also became known as Wuhui Fashi, or “Dharma Master Five-Tempo”. Fazhao's teaching was deeply respected by the emperors Daizong and Dezong, both of whom invited him to teach at court, the first time Pure Land teaching was introduced to the imperial court. Fazhao was even granted the ‘national teacher’ (guoshi 國師) title by Emperor Daizong 代宗 (r. 762–779), indicating his popularity among the elites. He was the first Pure Land master to receive this title.

Master Fazhao's work significantly contributed to the mainstream acceptance and propagation of the Pure Land Buddhism during the Tang dynasty.

Nianfo (Buddha Recitation) Like previous Pure Land masters, Master Fazhao emphasized the practice of nianfo (recollection of the Buddha, mindfulness of the Buddha) as the supreme practice. In his Ritual Manual he writes:In accordance with the temperaments of the sentient beings, the Tathāgata establishes whether the teaching is profound or brief, all leading them to reality. And for the people who have attained such a true stage of the unborn, nobody can compare with them. Indeed, the meditative absorption of buddha recollection (nianfo samadhi, 念佛三昧) is the true, unsurpassable, profound, and marvelous meditation gate. Based on forty-eight vows and reciting the name Amitābha, the King of the Dharma conducts the Buddha-work and vows to save sentient beings...The Mahāvaipulya Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra states: “For Bodhisattvas, even all Buddhas, they must rely on the remembrance of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha to attain the three virtuous states and the supreme perfect enlightenment respectively.”

Master Fazhao developed a new and unique method of devotional practice known as the “five-tempo recitation of the Buddha’s name” (Wuhui Nianfo 五會念佛).

Master Fazhao's chant style was extremely influential, not just on Wutai mountain's traditions, but on East Asian Buddhist music and chanting in general. Fazhao's influenced also reached Japan through the Tendai school. One of the early Tendai masters, Ennin, studied Master Fazhao's five tone nianfo during his trip to China and Mt. Wutai.

Master Fazhao and other traditions Beyond promoting Pure Land Buddhism, Master Fazhao also integrated Pure Land teachings with Chinese Buddhist ideas of the Tiantai, Chan, and Huayan schools, thereby aligning Pure Land beliefs with the broader intellectual currents of Chinese Buddhism at the time. His efforts in spreading Pure Land teachings earned him the title “latter-day Shandao” (善導後身) among his contemporaries. Fazhao's teaching may also have been influenced by Zhanran's Tiantai lineage.

Master Fazhao's teaching criticizes the radical Chan of Shenhui's southern school, as Cimin Huiri does, for their rejection of classic Buddhist practices like reciting sutras, buddha contemplation, nianfo, and cultivating good deeds. However, he also taught that meditation on the Buddha could lead to the formless realization (literally: non-recollection, 無念) of the Dharma nature that the Chan schools were seeking, which is not outside our own heart-mind. Thus, Fazhao writes: Those who wholeheartedly contemplate the Buddha, will be able to enter deep meditation. Sitting with an upright mind during the first watch of the night. the West (Sukhāvatī) will appear before the meditator. Contemplate the Buddha without any object of contemplation, this is the thusness. If one realizes this meaning, it is called the pearl of the Dharma-nature. The Pure Land is in our minds, but the foolish seek it from outside. The precious mirror is in the mind, if one does not realize it, one will lead a futile life. Buddhas are within our minds, it is you who does not seek it by yourself. Do not waste any time, practice with diligence and seek it within. In one of his hymns, Fazhao also states that Chan meditation and nianfo practice have the same ultimate intent:There is nonduality in the Tathāgata’s teachings, but sentient beings always have discrimination. Practicing meditation with an aim to purify the mind, reciting the name of the Buddha with a wish to welcome the Buddha with a transformation body. One is like traveling on a mountain with a vehicle, the other is like traveling in a river with a boat. Mountains high and rivers low are different in height, but the merits and principles in achievement are exactly the same.

While the focus of these works is the vocal recitation of the Buddha's name and other praises, they also discuss Buddha contemplation (guanfo), the practice of meditative visualization of the Buddha Amitabha.