Religious prayers are usually considered to involve spirituality and to be ritualistic. However, in a bid to inspire the younger generation by using a different and less traditional approach, on 17 July an innovative prayer competition was held by South Korea’s largest Buddhist organization, the Jogye Order, at a temple in Seoul. More than 300 nuns and monks of the Mahayana tradition participated in the event, using traditional musical instruments such as drums, wooden fish and bells. Much to the surprise of the audience, however, they chanted the numerous Buddhist discourses in a rap and hip-hop style. Many in the audience also followed along with a traditional style of chanting.
Participants at the competition. From: Screen shot from AFP video
Antonia Blumberg of the Huffington Post reports that the South Korean rapping nuns may have been inspired by their Christian counterparts from the late 1990s who were known as the “Sisters Act.” In her article, Blumberg also refers to a quote given by Venerable Hye-Kang, a participant in the competition, to the news agency AFP: “Alternative performance was aimed at attracting a more youthful following . . . to take an interest in Buddhism and the message of its prayers.”
Participant beating the drum. From: Screen shot from AFP video
Venerable Yin-Mook, a senior member of the Jogye Order and one of the judges of the event, told AFP that efforts were needed to make Buddhist scripture more accessible to a younger audience. “Many Buddhist prayers are written in ancient words many people are not familiar with, so we asked participants to write prayers in plain, easy-to-understand language. We wanted to let people, especially young people and children, know yumbul [chanting of Buddhist prayers and sutras] can be more interesting and easier to practice than they think,” he said.
The participants also chanted the Heart Sutra, a popular discourse in Mahayana Buddhism. Three nuns sang the sutra, beating on traditional drums and other instruments while using their own lyrics to promote love and harmony.
The nuns and monks were competing for a prize of 3 million won (US$2,900).