Pure Land Buddhism

Pure Land Buddhism, sometimes also called Shin Buddhism, is one of the most popular forms of [Page 1036]Buddhism throughout East and Southeast Asia. The beliefs and practices of the Pure Land tradition focus primarily on the person of Amida Buddha (originally venerated in India by the Sanskrit name Amitabha) and the Pure Land he created to refresh those who struggle to attain nirvana. Originally an outgrowth of the Mahayana tradition, Pure Land has achieved varying levels of independence as a tradition across Southeast Asia, most notably in Japan, where it is both an independent Buddhist tradition and the nation's most popular one. By evaluating the simplicity of Pure Land's devotional practices and the inclusiveness of its soteriology, one can better understand this tradition's far-reaching popularity.

According to Pure Land origin narratives, Amitabha, in the form of a monk named Dharmakara, made a series of vows to help end the suffering of all beings. Because of his compassion, Dharmakara succeeded in creating the Land of Bliss, or Sukhavati. Recognizing that attaining nirvana had become difficult in times of war and unrest, Dharmakara intended his Land of Bliss to become a place where seekers could take respite after death and from where nirvana would be attainable. When the sutras containing the stories of Amitabha's exploits and his Land of Bliss reached Han China in the first century CE, the Sanskrit Sukhavati became translated as “The Pure Land.”

Though some scholars believe Pure Land ideas and texts arrived in China as early as 150 CE, the tradition failed to develop formally until a monk named Hui-yuan formed a Pure Land monastery atop Mount Lushan in 402. For his efforts to establish the tradition, later masters of the Pure Land tradition named Hui-yuan Pure Land Buddhism's first patriarch. Hui-yuan's efforts to preserve Pure Land practices and teachings were systematized in the 7th century CE by Shantao and other monks. In the 12th century, Hōnen took Pure Land to Japan and established it as an independent tradition there. Shinran, one of his students, later founded Jōdo Shinshō, or “the True Pure Land School.”

Across South Asia, many practitioners are drawn to Pure Land because of the simplicity of its practice: Though various groups add additional practices, most groups focus on the recitation of the nembutsu, spoken as “Namu-amida-butsu,” or “I take refuge in Amida.” This recitation offers the practitioner an opportunity to clear her mind. Before gaining the mass appeal it currently enjoys, this simplicity and openness prompted people at society's fringes to devote themselves to Amitabha as many other Buddhist traditions deny salvation to all but certain groups of individuals.