{"id":4317,"date":"2023-05-25T15:35:27","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T20:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thereligioushistorynerd\/?p=4317"},"modified":"2023-05-26T15:43:12","modified_gmt":"2023-05-26T20:43:12","slug":"tina-turners-buddhism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thereligioushistorynerd\/2023\/05\/tina-turners-buddhism\/","title":{"rendered":"Tina Turner’s Buddhism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Tina Turner (1939-2023) was a force of nature, and her music touched countless people. She also was a Buddhist<\/a>, a practitioner of a tradition called Nichiren, after its Japanese founder. Tributes to the late entertainer include this lovely piece from the Los Angeles Times<\/em> by Jonah Valdez, \u201cHow Tina Turner\u2019s Buddhist faith gave her the strength to leave Ike Turner<\/a>.\u201d I\u2019d like to provide a bit of background into Tina Turner\u2019s Buddhism.<\/p>\n

Buddhism, not unlike Christianity, is made up of many diverse denominations. After Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the 6th century<\/a>, several schools of Buddhism flourished there. Most of these were based on schools that had originated in China. One of these was Tendai<\/a>, from the Chinese Tiantai<\/a>. Tiantai is a rich tradition that is known chiefly for two things. One, it attempts to harmonize all the many Buddhist teachings<\/a> into a coherent whole. And two, Tiantai recognizes the Lotus Sutra (Saddharma Pu\u1e47\u1e0dar\u012bka S\u016btra) as its main scripture.<\/p>\n

Tiantai was established in Japan as Tendai in the 9th century. By the Kamakura period (1185-1333), Tendai was arguably the most dominant school of Buddhism in Japan. Its main temple, Enryaku-ji, was built on Mount Hiei overlooking Kyoto.\u00a0 At its peak Enryaku-ji was a huge complex that could house as many as 20,000 to 25,000 monks. By the 13th century Enryaku-ji served as the primary Buddhist university in Japan. It gave Japan many prominent graduates, including monks who founded other schools. And one of these was Nichiren.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

About Nichiren and Nichiren Buddhism<\/h2>\n Nichiren (1222-1282) was a Tendai priest who came to believe that complex doctrines and rigid monastic practices were making Buddhism unreachable to most people. He proposed a simpler and more direct way to engage with the Buddha\u2019s teachings. His Tendai education had persuaded him that the Lotus Sutra constituted the most perfect presentation of the Buddha\u2019s teachings. The Nichiren school is centered in the Lotus Sutra to this day. Its primary daily practice is the daimoku<\/em>, which is chanting<\/a>\u00a0the phrase\u00a0Nam Myoho Renge Kyo<\/em>, \u201cDevotion to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra.\u201d (Note that you will often find Nichiren\u2019s name given as \u201cNichiren Daishonin.\u201d Daishonin<\/em> is a title, meaning \u201cgreat priest.\u201d It is not a surname, as westerners occasionally assume.)<\/p>\n \u201cIf you recite these words of the daimoku once, then the Buddha nature of all living beings will be summoned and gather around you,\u201d Nichiren wrote. \u00a0Other practices of the Nichiren school include gongyo<\/em>, the chanting of selected passages of the Lotus Sutra in a formal service.<\/p>\n Nichiren taught that each Japanese character<\/em> of the Lotus Sutra is a living Buddha and contains the entirety of the Buddha\u2019s teachings. Further, the written words of the Lotus Sutra are the Buddha\u2019s mind made visible, he said. Devotion to the sutra and faith in the daimoku will enable anyone to actualize the teachings of the Buddha and realize Buddha-hood.<\/p>\n About the Lotus Sutra<\/h2>\n The Lotus Sutra was probably written in India as early as the 1st or 2nd century CE. This means it isn\u2019t quite old enough to be the words of the historical Buddha, and we don\u2019t know who wrote it. This is true of several significant Buddhist scriptures, which don\u2019t rest their claim to authority on being the Word of God but rather on the wisdom they convey to succeeding generations. The most popular translation of the Lotus Sutra into Chinese was by Kumarajiva<\/a>, completed in 406.<\/p>\n The Lotus is best known for its several parables<\/a>. Most of the parables are teachings on upaya<\/em>, \u201cexpedient means.\u201d The expedient means are means for realizing enlightenment. Upaya can be a means of conveying dharma, the teachings, without relying on words and conceptual knowledge. Just about any experience can be upaya if someone is open to it. The text of the sutra is laden with promises that the power of the sutra will enable all to enter Nirvana.<\/p>\n On a personal note \u2014 it really is a gorgeous sutra, full of stunning imagery. Some passages are genuinely inspirational. But in reading it I (eventually) realized that the Lotus Sutra, the published book with words on paper, is not itself the Lotus Sutra. The book only describes the Lotus Sutra.\u00a0 The true Lotus Sutra is something that is actualized by trust and devotion. And I realize this is not a practice that appeals to everybody. As a Zen student my own practice is quite different. But Nichiren\u2019s practices resonate with many people. I understand Nichiren Buddhism today is the second largest school of Buddhism in Japan, after Jodo Shinshu<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tina Turner\u2019s Buddhism<\/h1>\n Tina Turner\u2019s introduction to Buddhism is portrayed in the 1993 film What\u2019s Love Got to Do With It <\/em><\/a>starring Angela Bassett as Tina. My understanding is that this portrayal is accurate. Valerie Bishop, a member of a Nichiren lay organization called Soka Gakkai (today Soka Gakkai International<\/a>, or SGI), met Tina in a recording studio. Bishop taught Tina Turner to chant the daimoku. This 2021 article in La Yoga<\/em> magazine<\/a> by Amy V Dewhurst describes how Tina Turner used the chanting to turn poison into medicine.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more I chanted,\u201d Tina said, \u201cthe more I felt my true self, my inherent Buddha nature, awakening. My life condition kept rising, and I developed a newfound feeling of detachment around my husband. I became so strong inside that eventually our conflicts began to feel like a game, like some sort of karmic test. In the midst of chaos, I felt as if I had been reborn. The brighter my inner light shined, the more my environment improved.\u201d<\/p>\n The chanting showed Tina that she needed to make changes in her life. And it gave her the self-confidence to do it. She left her abusive relationship with Ike Turner and went on to living her life on her own terms. According to Jonah Valdez in the Los Angeles Times<\/em>, she continued her devotional practice of the Lotus Sutra for the rest of her life. Further, \u201cThroughout the last decade of her life, Turner was involved in various interfaith projects, such as the recording of\u00a0a series of spiritual music albums<\/a>\u00a0with the Beyond Music project that combines\u00a0Christian and Buddhist chants<\/a>.\u201d I did not know this and intend to check it out.<\/p>\n Tina Turner died on May 24 from natural causes at the age of 83. May her journey continue for the benefit of all beings.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n ***** ** Tina Turner in 2009, on her 50th Anniversary tour. Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-2.0 license.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ** *****Tina Turner (1939-2023) was a force of nature, and her music touched countless people. She also was a Buddhist, a practitioner of a tradition called Nichiren, after its Japanese founder. Tributes to the late entertainer include this lovely piece from the Los Angeles Times by Jonah Valdez, \u201cHow Tina Turner\u2019s Buddhist faith gave her the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4714,"featured_media":4326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,139],"tags":[88,330,91],"class_list":["post-4317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buddhism","category-religious-art-and-music","tag-buddhism-in-china","tag-buddhism-in-japan","tag-buddhist-scriptures"],"yoast_head":"\nTina Turner's Buddhism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tina Turner (1939-2023) was a force of nature, and her music touched countless people. 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