Nichiren Buddhism in the Contemporary Jazz Improvisation of Herbie Hancock & Wayne Shorter

Abstract

This essay explains how Nichiren Buddhist philosophy and practice of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) in Japan inspired the contemporary jazz improvisation of musical legends Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. The essay concludes with the jazz aesthetics of spontaneous musical improvisation formulated by Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter based on the Nichiren Buddhist theory and practice of “value creation” by tapping our Buddha nature as the source of infinite creative possibilities.

Keywords

• jazz
• improvisation
• aesthetics
• nihilism
• value creation
• aesthetic value
• beauty
• novelty
• variations
• spontaneity
• extemporaneity
• japanese philosophy
• buddha nature
• unlimited possibilities
• multiple new perspectives
• nichiren buddhism
• lotus sutra
• soka gakkai international
• tendai buddhism