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Pure Land
Buddhism (zh.
净土宗,
pinyin jing4tu3zong1), also known as Amidism, is a
branch of mainstream
Mahayana Buddhism and presently the most popular school of
Buddhism in
Asia. It is based upon the
Pure Land Sutra (sa.
sukhavati-vyuha) first brought to
China circa 150, which describes Amitabha (Infinite-Light), later
personified as Buddha Amitabha. This concept, personified or otherwise, can
be translated variously but is usually shortened to "Amituo" or "Amitofo" in
Chinese, "Amida" in Japanese and "Amito" in Korean.
The school first became prominent with the founding of a
monastery upon the top of
Mount Lu by
Hui-yuan in
402. It spread throughout China quickly and was systematized by
Shan-tao (613-681).
The philosophy spread to
Japan and slowly grew in prominence.
Honen Shonin (1133-1212)
established Pure Land Buddhism as an independent sect in
Japan, known as "Jodo Shu". Today Pure Land is the dominant form of
Buddhism in Japan.
Contemporary Pure Land traditions see the Buddha Amitabha
preaching the
Dharma in his buddha-field (sa.
buddhakchetra), called the "Pure Land" (zh.
净土,
pinyin jing4tu3,
jp. jodo) or "Western heaven" (zh.
西天), a
region offering respite from
karmic transmigration. In such traditions, entering the Pure Land is
popularly perceived as equivalent to the attainment of
nirvana.
In fact, the main idea behind Pure Land Buddhism is that
Nirvana is no longer practical nor possible to attain in our present
aeon. Instead, devotion to
Amitabha will gain one enough karmic merit to go to the Pure Land
(reminiscent of
Heaven) from which Nirvana will be easier to attain, because in this
paradise there are no negative experiences so no new negative
karma is created. Existing negative karma would disappear.
Some Pure Land Buddhists have taught that, in order to be
reborn in Amida's Western Paradise, the devotee should chant or repeat a
mantra or
prayer to Amida as often as possible to increase a proper and sincere
state of mind. This fairly simple form of worship has contributed greatly to
its popularity.
External links
-
Jodo Shu official website
-
The Pure Land Tradition (includes scriptures)
-
Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (log in with userID "guest")
Sources
- Eitel, Ernest J. Hand-Book of
Chinese Buddhism, being a Sanskrit-Chinese Dictionary with Vocabularies of
Buddhist Terms in Pali, Singhalese, Siamese, Burmese, Tibetan, Mongolian
and Japanese (Second Edition). New Delhi, Madras: Asian Educational
Services. 1992.
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