What I’m about to say won’t end the debate over whether chanting or sutra reciting is meditation, yet I am going to once again say that in every way it is as much meditation as anything is, including silent sitting. Silent sitting and all the permutations of mindfulness practice are mostly a Western phenomena. Silent meditation is not now nor has it ever been a primary practice for Buddhists. Even today the most common form of practice is sutra chanting. This is not a Japanese thing. This is a Buddhist thing.