Pure Land Buddhism (淨土宗 Ch. Jìngtǔ; Jp. Jōdo) is a major tradition of Mahāyāna Buddhism centered on Buddha Amitābha and the aspiration to be born in his pure buddha-field, Sukhāvatī, where awakening is said to be easy to attain. Pure Land is a "tradition of practice", a "Dharma Gate" (法門 Ch. fǎmén; Jp. hōmon). That is to say, it is one of the many paths for practicing the Mahāyāna Way. The Pure Land gate was not initially a specific school or sect, but a method taught in various traditions, including Tiantai, Huayan, Chan, Vajrayana, etc. This situation continues in many contemporary traditions, especially in Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhism. Some Chinese Buddhists may specialize or focus on this gate, but generally, Pure Land practices are performed alongside repentance, study, and recitation of various Mahāyāna sūtras. Likewise, Pure Land practices are also taught in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism as one practice among many.
That being said, various specifically Pure Land sects and "schools" (宗 Ch. zōng; Jp. shū) have arisen over time. Their practitioners tend to focus on Pure Land practice, building their tradition around it. In this more specific sense then, we can say that the “Pure Land School” (浄土宗 Ch. Jìngtǔ Zōng; Jp. Jōdo Shū) also refers to a family of lineages and schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. They include Jōdo Shū (浄土宗), Jōdo Shinshū (浄土真宗), the recent Shandao Lineage (善導流) of Master Huijing and the Chinese Pure Land lineages and organizations which follow Patriarch Yinguang (印光) like Chin Kung’s Amitābha Buddhist Society. These traditions often follow the teachings of some important Pure Land ancestors, namely Tanluan (476–542), Daochuo (562–645), and especially Shandao (613–81).
This Pure Land School is a conceptual grouping, there is no single organizational “Pure Land School” in the manner of the “Roman Catholic Church.” Instead, the Pure Land Tradition comprises different groups with diverse understandings, practices, and organizations with family resemblances. Thus, it is more akin to a category like “Protestantism,” i.e. an overall religious orientation which includes various groups, organizations, and beliefs.
The following short description of Pure Land was written by the Van Hien Study Group and can be found in the Forewords of their various publications such as ''Taming the Monkey Mind''.
Its teachings are based on compassion, on faith in the compassionate Vows of Amitabha Buddha to welcome and guide all sentient beings to his Pure Land.
It is an easy method, in terms of both goal (rebirth in the Western Pure Land as stepping-stone toward Buddhahood) and form of cultivation (can be practiced anywhere, any time with no special liturgy, accoutrements or guidance).
It is a panacea for the diseases of the mind, unlike other methods or meditations which are directed to specific illnesses (e.g., meditation on the corpse is designed to sever lust, counting the breath is meant to rein in the wandering mind).
It is a democratic method that empowers its adherents, freeing them from arcane metaphysics as well as dependence on teachers and other meditating authority figures.
It is a shortcut that leads the cultivator to escape birth-and-death and attain Buddhahood for himself and, ultimately, other sentient beings (bodhicitta).
To this one can add that what makes the mainstream Pure Land traditions who follow Shandao's lead truly unique is a universalism when it comes to liberation. Thus, Charles Jones explains that Pure Land "offered a chance for non-elite or even morally evil people to attain a goal that was tantamount to the attainment of Buddhahood itself." This means that all beings are able to practice this method and attain Buddhahood through birth in the Pure Land precisely because they rely on Amitabha's power. As Alfred Bloom writes "the Great Sea of Faith transcends age, sex, economics, intellect, religion, morality, mode of enlightenment, number of Nembutsu, or any human distinction that may be invoked as a criteria to evaluate another person's faith."
For Pure Land Buddhists, there is a Buddha called Amitābha (lit. Immeasurable Light, Ch: 阿彌陀佛 Āmítuó, Jp: Amida), also called Amitāyus (Measureless Life) who has manifested a pure buddha-field (basically a whole universe in itself) called Sukhāvatī (“Blissful”) in which there are no difficulties or pain. Instead, one has absolute peace and comfort there. Everything there is designed so beings can listen to and practice Dharma and attain buddhahood as fast as possible. While there are many other buddha-fields, this is the most accessible one for ordinary beings, and so it is the preferred one for regular people. The central practice is to say Amitābha’s name with sincere trust and with the heartfelt wish to be reborn there. This is why entering via the Pure Land door is termed "the easy path" of the Mahayana. As bodhisattva Nagarjuna writes in his Treatise on the Ten Grounds Sutra:
There are innumerable gates to the buddha-dharma. Just as there are difficult and easy paths in this world, going over land is tiring while taking a boat over water is pleasant, just so are the bodhisattva paths.
Even though there are said to be countless buddhas throughout the ten directions, the pure land path of Amitabha is special. Pure Land Buddhism holds that the Buddha of our present era, Shakyamuni Buddha, along with all the Buddhas of the ten directions as well, specifically teach the Pure Land gate of Amitābha to all beings. They do this because Amitābha's buddha-field is the most accessible for ordinary beings. In comparison, entering the other buddha-fields is more difficult and requires more accumulated merit or other special yogic methods not widely accessible to all. Thus, Pure Land is the most universal Dharma gate.
These ideas are found in the three foundational pure land scriptures for East Asian Pure Land Buddhism: the Smaller Sukhāvatī-vyūha (also called Amitābha Sutra), Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra (Sutra of Amitāyus) and the Amitāyus Contemplation Sutra. Buddha Amitābha states in the Larger Sutra that beings may be born in the Pure Land if they “sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me [Amitābha], desire to be born in my land, and think of me even ten times.” Due to this universal accessibility, Amitābha is considered special and supremely important in Pure Land and is the main object of worship. Likewise, the practice of being mindful of Amitābha Buddha, especially by reciting the name of Amitābha, is considered the primary practice by the Pure Land schools. This practice was also promoted by the great bodhisattvas Nagarjuna (in his Exposition on the Ten Bhumis) and Vasubandhu (in his Discourse on the Amitāyus Sūtra).
In addition, Pure Land generally accepts all the foundational teachings of Buddhism (four noble truths, basic Buddhist ethics, etc.) and the standard teachings of Mahāyāna Buddhism like the bodhisattva path, bodhicitta, emptiness, and so on.
People will give different reasons for why they believe in a religious or spiritual path. Usually it is based on lived experience and personal faith. The Chinese Pure land masters generally did not do apologetics like Christian theologians. Instead they relied on the authority of the sutras and Indian masters, and on near death / deathbed experiences of Pure land practitioners. They also had transformative visions of Amitābha and his Pure Land, and communicated these experiences to others to instill faith.
Since we are Mahāyāna Buddhists, we believe that there are beings called buddhas who have vast powers to generate worlds. Within the Mahāyāna Buddhist worldview, rebirth is accepted as a basic premise. Over countless lifetimes, beings can develop wisdom and compassion to the point of becoming buddhas. From this perspective, buddhas like Amitābha are the fulfillment of the long path to enlightenment undertaken by certain conscioussnesses. Some have developed such merit, compassion, and wisdom as to have reached a transcendent state, a dimension beyond ours. Since Pure Land Buddhists take the existence of rebirth as a basic axiom in our tradition, I will not discuss this further here. See the Wiki article on rebirth) for some of the reasons Buddhists believe it.
Another perspective one can take on this matter is to argue from the grand cosmic vision of the Mahāyāna. If one accepts the basic axiom that the whole multiverse (the “Dharma Realm”), is infinite (or even so vast as to be immeasurable), then it is likely that somewhere out there there could be a reality of limitless love, wisdom and power. This being we call Amitābha, which means "Limitless Light." Such a being would clearly embrace all and seek to free them as the sutras say. This is a foundational doctrine for Pure Land. In an infinite universe with infinite possibilities, a being who creates a realm of infinite compassion for us is not impossible.
One can also make use of the rational arguments of Buddhist philosophers in favor of emptiness as well as those in favor of the Yogacara mind-only philosophy to increase our credence in the possibility of the existence of a pure land. One could argue that if all things are empty and mind-only as the arguments of the Mahayana traditions help establish, then the existence of buddhas who can create pure lands like Amitabha becomes much more reasonable and possible. As Nagarjuna says, "all things are possible for whom emptiness is possible." That is to say, if all phenomena lack a fixed self-nature, then things which seem utterly strange and impossible to us are indeed possible, because there is no fixed way reality has to be.
The Mahayana view sees all phenomena as lacking a fixed, independent substance (svabhāva). It sees phenomena as "plastic", insubstantial and ontologically open-ended. In other words, phenomena are not inherently fixed, self-existing, and static. Because the nature of reality is emptiness, the boundary between the "objective" world and the "subjective" mind is also just a conceptual construct. Indeed, the entire "objective" reality is actually the collective result of all the psychic forces and projections working deep in our subjective consciousnessesses, which manifest as a common environmental appearance. If we accept that the world we inhabit is essentially a projection of the habitual patterns of all minds living in it, then the physical laws we perceive as hard and fixed are also dependent on mental forces.
Now, a Buddha is a consciousness that has seen through the conventional reality of the world, including all physical phenomena. As such, a Buddha can interact with the causal web of reality at a fundamental level. Since a Buddha has completely purified themselves of all dualistic distortions and karmic imprints, the "world" projected by a Buddha is no longer constrained by the collective ignorance of other sentient beings. This buddha-realm is a place where the conventional conditions of suffering are rewritten, and this is possible because of the radical flexibility and ontological ambiguity of the emptiness of reality. A Pure Land is thus a highly stable, refined projection of a Buddha’s non-conceptual wisdom. In a modern sense, we can think of it like a virtual reality simulation created by the Buddha for us, as long as we realize that our world is also a kind of virtual reality we ourselves are projecting.
However, these kinds of rationalizations are ultimately secondary. The central reason we believe all of this is that a deep trust in the Pure Land Mahāyāna Dharma has been awakened in us after repeatedly hearing and studying the teachings. This faith is not blind but is grounded in having examined and contemplated the Dharma, as well as being grounded in our spiritual practice and experience.
Furthermore, for Mahāyāna, the Buddha is not just a historical person but a trans-historical manifestation of a supreme awakened reality (Dharmakaya). Thus, Mahāyāna is not limited to the teachings of the so-called “historical Buddha” found in sources often called "Early Buddhist Texts" (such a figure is a construct of modern historians anyhow). We follow the Buddha of the Mahāyāna Sutras, which contain a vaster set of teachings, including teachings about the pure lands. We consider these teachings to have been progressively revealed through numerous means by the power of the Buddha and the aid of the bodhisattvas, devas and other beings, and to have been written down after a period of oral transmission. As such, the historical dating of sutra manuscripts, archeological finds and the like is of little religious importance to the Mahāyāna practitioner, since the source of the entire Mahayana canon is the same, the Buddha who transcends history (while also manifesting within it).
As such, belief in the Mahayana and Pure Land teachings is mainly based on faith (sraddha) or trust. Some Western readers may react negatively to the word “faith,” especially if they associate it with Christianity. It is important to understand that Buddhist faith is not the same as belief in a creator deity or blind acceptance of doctrine. Nevertheless, Pure Land Dharma does emphasize faith. In Buddhism, faith is not merely just belief (though it has a component of belief in right view). At its core, the Pure Land view of faith is a kind of inner alignment with the Buddha, a state of being mindful of the Buddha. This attunement manifests as deep trust in and reliance on Amitabha Buddha that becomes the foundation for our practice of the path. As the Avatamsaka Sutra teaches:
Faith is the basis of the Path, the mother of virtues, nourishing and growing all good ways... Faith can assure arrival at enlightenment. (T. Cleary, tr. The Flower Ornament Scripture. Vol. I, p. 331.)
Also, the bodhisattva Arya Nagarjuna writes in his Ratnavali:
In whom there is first the dharma of ascendance, afterward arises the Supreme Good, since after reaching ascendance, one proceeds gradually to the Supreme Good.
Here we maintain that ascendance is happiness (sukha), and the Supreme Good is liberation (moksha). In brief, faith and wisdom are the concise method for attaining them.
Through faith one partakes of the Dharma; through wisdom, one truly understands. Of these two, wisdom is foremost, yet faith is its prerequisite.
Thus, while many Western Buddhists conceive of Buddhism as a religion that does not rely on faith at all, it is clear that at least in Mahayana, faith is a central and necessary element of the path. Those who are interested in the Pure Land path but struggle with the idea of faith should question the very assumptions they have about faith and about Buddhism in general. Usually, Westerners assume that faith based spiritual paths are irrational and reject reason. But this is not the case. Indeed, there are many cases, even mundane ones, in which having faith is a reasonable and pragmatic response to a situation. For example, one can have faith that a lost child will be found, and this faith can support and fuel our efforts to find them. In the Pure Land tradition, we hold that the great matter of life and death is one of these cases. In Agama sutras like the Kālāma Sutta and the Apaṇṇaka Sutta, Shakyamuni presents a type of wager argument which says that, even if someone does not know whether there is life after death or not, they should still make the pragmatic choice to live as if it were true and do good and avoid evil. If it's false, we still lived a good life. If it's true, it is a win win scenario. This is just one example which shows that having faith in certain ideas is not irrational, but pragmatically rational.
Of course, the Pure Land masters saw faith as something more than just a mere belief. It is a powerful mental force that links us to the Buddha and the Dharma. Master Tanluan sees pure faith as something that helps us attain a state of unity (i.e. yoga, ch: 相應 xiāngyìn, "association", "to be bound to") with the Buddha. Thus, faith is central for attaining rebirth in the Pure Land and for liberation.
If all who hear the meritorious Name of Amitåbha merely have faith in it, and take joy in what they have heard, and if for one instant of thought they have utmost sincerity, and if they transfer these merits and desire rebirth, then they shall attain rebirth. - Tanluan, Wu-liang-shou ching feng-tsan
How do we attain faith? Bodhisattva Vasubandhu says in his Discourse on the Pure Land:
How does one contemplate? How does one produce pure faith [信心]? If a good man or woman practices the Five Gates of Mindfulness and if that person's practice is perfected, ultimately that person will obtain birth in the Land of Peace and Bliss and will see Amida Buddha. What are the Five Gates of Mindfulness? The first is the Gate of Worship. The second is the Gate of Praise. The third is the Gate of Aspiration. The fourth is the Gate of Contemplation. The fifth is the Gate of Merit Transference.
How do we attain faith? We worship and praise the Buddha, we say his name, we aspire to be born in the Pure Land and imagine what it would be like, we dedicate our merits, we listen and study the Pure Land Dharma and sutras. In this way, faith naturally arises. Thus, our encounter and engagement with Dharma leads to faith, which leads to further practice in a wholesome feedback loop.
Patriarch Daochuo writes in his Ānlè jí (Anthology of the Land of Bliss, T.1958):
The Path of Sages, one of the two approaches, is difficult to yield enlightenment in this age. Firstly, because we are far removed from the era of the Great Sage [Sakyamuni]. Secondly, due to the profoundness of the Dharma-principle and the limitations of our comprehension. Hence, the Moon Store Sutra of the Great Compilation says: "In the Age of Dharma Decline, billions and billions of sentient beings will engage in the practice of the Way, yet not one will attain it." During the present Age of Dharma Decline, and in this unwholesome world of the Five Turbidities, only the path of the Pure Land provides a clear route to the gateway of enlightenment....Given these teachings of the scriptures, why not forsake the difficult and embrace the Easy Path?
Every Buddhist tradition makes a case for why people should select it from among the rest. The Pure Land case rests on several main reasons, including (1) the difficulty of other paths, (2) the ease of the pure land path (3), the reliance on other power and (4) the decline of the dharma.
From the Pure Land perspective, all paths other than Pure Land are considered to be part of the "path of sages" (Ch: shengdao), which is the "difficult path". The Mahayana sutras are quite clear that the traditional bodhisattva path lasts for thousands of eons (kalpas), during which one undergoes countless rebirths for trillions upon trillions of years. The amount of suffering one will experience in these lives is astronomical. The sutras generally bite the bullet and present this as heroic, while also mentioning how difficult it is and how many pitfalls there are on this path. For myriad lifetimes, one must encounter good teachers, be born in worlds in which the Dharma is alive and well, have proper physical, mental and social conditions to study and practice well, and actually practice correctly for billions of lifetimes.
During this lengthy process, bodhisattvas who have not reached the state of non-retrogression are liable to fall down from the bodhisattva path, losing their gains by becoming non-Buddhists or sravakas on the arhat path. There are numerous accounts of bodhisattva retrogression. This happens to even the most advanced bodhisattvas. Patriarch Daochuo quotes a sutra which explains how Sariputra used to be a bodhisattva eons ago who in one life fell from the path. So, if even the most heroic of beings can fall, what is there to say about regular people like you and me?
Thus, master Daochuo's Ānlè jí exhorts us:
Further, one cannot count the number of bodies one takes on in birth and death in even the span of one kalpa, let alone the burning suffering one would meaninglessly experience over the course of ten thousand kalpas. If one can clearly believe the Buddhist sutras and aspire for birth in the Pure Land, then in accord with the length of their lives, in just one lifetime, they can reach [the Pure Land] and attain non-retrogression, such that one attains the same virtues as one does through those ten thousand kalpas of practice [of the long bodhisattva path]. All Buddhists and others, why do you not weigh this [difference], abandon the difficult, and seek the easy?
That the bodhisattva path is long and difficult was recognized early on by Indian Mahayana, and eventually various approaches were taken to accelerate things. Historically, Vajrayana and Pure Land are the most popular attempts at 'speeding up' the path. From the Pure Land perspective, Vajrayana methods are classified as the among the difficult paths, the path of sages, which is not as accessible to ordinary people as the Pure Land way. This is because Vajrayana requires direct personal access to a wise and enlightened guru who can transmit the specific tantric instructions in person, as well as numerous other requirements many will not be able to achieve. Truly wise gurus are quite scarce in our world. One need merely to look around and closely examine the people who set themselves as gurus. On careful examination, one will see that, while they may be conventionally intelligent, most are pretty ordinary people with some specialized knowledge here and there. Other requirements include: (1) the importance of an unbroken transmission, which runs the risk of being damaged throughout the generations; (2) the requirement of putting into practice complex tantric meditations, which are quite subtle and difficult for many Buddhists to understand and actually practice; (3) the need of having the right "view", which requires either extensive study of complex philosophy or a sharp intellect.
The Pure Land way relies on none of these requirements and is thus much more inclusive of all types of people. This is why, many great Vajrayana masters such as Karma Chagme and Jigme Phunksok also relied on Amitabha Buddha's power and sought birth in the Pure Land. The Pure Land path is therefore called the "easy path" in East Asian Buddhism. All that's really required is to say the Buddha's name with true faith, vowing to be reborn there. This is accessible to all types of people at all times, as Daochuo explains:
Amitabha Buddha’s Pure Land embraces those with capacities from the highest to the lowest; it is accessible to both ordinary and sacred beings. This Land of Infinite Life is the pure realm of Amitabha’s rewards. By virtue of his vows, it accommodates the full range of capabilities, allowing even those with virtues characteristic of ordinary beings to achieve rebirth there.
The key reason why the Pure land path is easy is because it relies on Amitabha's power as the dominant condition for liberation. Other paths rely more on the self-power of individual practitioners as well as other causes and conditions. The Pure Land path considers this as uncertain, while it sees relying on the Buddha's other power as a sure thing.
Master Hōnen says in the Senchakushū:
Because the nenbutsu is easy [to practice], it is open to all [people]. Because the manifold practices are difficult [to master], they are not open to the diverse [human] capacities. However, was it not [the aim of Amida's] Fundamental Vow to abandon the difficult and take up the easy [practices] in order to enable all sentient beings to attain birth in equality? If the Fundamental Vow required to make Buddha images or to build stupas, poor and destitute [people] certainly would have to give up hope for birth. However, the rich and noble people are few and the poor and low people are extremely numerous. If the Fundamental Vow required wisdom and high intelligence, the foolish and dull certainly would have to give up hope for birth... If the Fundamental Vow would have required the various practices [mentioned] above, the people being able to attain birth would be few and those not attaining birth would be numerous. However, Amida Tathagata, when he was the monk Dharmākara long ago, being moved by compassion of equality in order to grasp all [people] comprehensively, did not make the Fundamental Vow for birth by requiring the various practices such as making Buddha statues or building stupas. He made the Fundamental Vow requiring only the one practice of reciting the nenbutsu.
According to master Hōnen, since nembutsu is the easiest and most universal practice, it was specifically selected by Amitābha, whose great compassion seeks to establish a path that is equally accessible for all. In this view, Amitābha understood that most ordinary people are poor, uneducated, morally imperfect, and often forced by circumstances to break precepts—such as farmers who must kill pests or fisherfolk who take life. As such, if freedom from samsara depended solely on difficult and costly practices, most beings would not be liberated. Therefore, Amida, out of great compassion, chose the most accessible practice as a gateway to his pure land, making liberation truly open for all beings rather than a goal for a spiritual elite. The path is therefore the culmination of Mahayana universalism, the pinnacle of the Great Vehicle's intent to save all beings, and the ultimate intent of the Buddha's coming into our world.
Finally, some Pure Land sources also discuss the idea of the Ages of the Dharma, which draws on sutra accounts of how the Buddha's teaching is believed to decline throughout history. Numerous sutras, like the Lotus, the Cakkavatti Sutta and the Candragarbha Sutra, discuss this idea. Pure Land Buddhist masters in China and Japan looked at the sources and determined that by their time they had entered the final age of Dharma decline. At this time, the spiritual capacities of human beings are at a low point and traditional religious practices lose their effectiveness. As such, one could not achieve buddhahood now, but one could practice the Pure Land path to attain birth in a pure land and practice the path there. Whether one accepts the traditional dating of these ages or not, the underlying point is that many practitioners today lack the conditions for intensive meditative or ascetic practice. The Pure Land path offers an alternative for them that is efficacious.
Due to all this, is it any wonder that Mañjuśrī bodhisattva himself, appearing to patriarch Fazhao on Mount Wutai, said:
As to your nianfo practice, at the present time among various practices there is nothing surpassing nianfo. … all dharmas and prajñāpāramitā, the manifestation of deep dhyāna (meditation) and the unexcelled awakening of buddhas all are produced from nianfo. Thus know that nianfo is the king of dharmas. You all should constantly recite the king of unexcelled dharmas and let yourselves not rest. — according to the Guang Qingliang zhuan 廣清涼傳 (Extended Chronicle of Mount Clear and Cool [Mountain])
A pure land, which is called a pure buddhafield (viśuddha-buddhakṣetra) in Indian sources, is the purified field of influence of a buddha’s immeasurable powers, wisdom and activity. For beings, this manifests as a land of unmatched beauty without any difficulties, sufferings, or ugliness. A pure land is also a place beyond the three realms of rebirth (this realm of desire, the realm of divine form and the formless realm) where bodhisattvas can easily progress on the bodhisattva path without any hindrances. It is a place of ease where we can hear the Dharma directly from a Buddha. Because of this, it is not like the Abrahamic concept of heaven, since the goal of the Pure Land aspirant is to become an advanced bodhisattva and eventually a Buddha who is then able to emanate throughout the universe to aid all sentient beings. One can think of the Pure Land like a bodhisattva training school existing on a transcendent dimension where beings learn Dharma and advance on the bodhisattva path.
Furthermore, a pure land is not so much intentionally designed and “created” as it is naturally emanated from the Buddha's wisdom. Indeed, it is not separate from the Buddha's mind. The Buddhabhūmi-sūtra (Buddhaland sutra) even equates pure lands with the Buddha's five wisdoms. As such, we can think of it as a dream we have in Buddha's wisdom mind that appears specifically for our sake, to guide us to awakening.
There are also said to be three types of buddhafields: pure, impure, and mixed. Impure worlds are like our own, filled with suffering, greed, hatred and so on. Buddhas like Shakyamuni are born there to guide beings to nirvana. Generally speaking our world is experienced by regular beings as an impure world. This is why it is called Sahā in Mahāyāna scriptures, which means “the world to be endured”.
However, some sutras (like the Lotus Sutra) also paradoxically claim that our world Sahā is also a “pure land” as well and that the Buddha is always here, teaching and guiding us (even if we do not see him). This being the case, it is important to differentiate impure worlds from the truly pure buddhafield of Sukhāvatī. This is because the purity of our world (which refers to its emptiness and the emptiness of impurity and defilement) is always relative to the purity of the mind of sentient beings (as explained in the Vimalakirti sutra). Since sentient beings' minds are a mix of purity and defilement, this world appears as an impure world where there is suffering for them. This is why merely believing and affirming that "this world is already a pure land" does not invalidate the Pure Land dharma gate, nor does it end suffering here and now. Those who make such claims should look at their own experience of the world and ask themselves if they are truly able to effortlessly see it as completely pure. Even if they have had certain spiritual experiences, if they still do not see this world as totally perfect (not just pretend to see it as such, but truly see it like this without any effort), and if they still experience suffering, then they have not cut all the afflictions keeping them bound to the wheel of rebirth. Thus, for them, this world remains an impure world and therefore the Pure Land gate remains a live option which they should contemplate.
Compared to our world, Sukhāvatī is a pure field for all beings who go there. No matter the state of their minds, whether awakened or not, whether they have done evil or not, they will all effortlessly perceive a pure realm without suffering and receive the same divine bodies of golden light. This is accomplished through the inconceivable power of Amida's vows. Once there, they will also realize non-duality by the Buddha's power and come to know and experience the real meaning of the non-duality of the pure land and the defiled land, and of sentient beings and Buddhas. Thus, it is precisely through a skillful means which is dualistic that the Buddha guides us to non-duality. The Buddha's Pure land gate works by using our own dualistic perspective to lead us to a place where this will be finally dissolved. This is the true wondrous and amazing nature of the Pure Land gate.
As such, the Pure land way is based on a soteriological realism regarding what can be achieved by most ordinary people. Traditional Pure land authors often say that most ordinary people won't achieve the lofty attainments needed to purify the mind in this life so as to see the purity of this world. This means that the Pure Land dharma door is a more accessible path to Buddhahood for the vast majority of people. I encourage the reader to take a real hard look at their capacities, mind and circumstances and then ask "can I really achieve Buddhahood through my own efforts in this life"?
If the answer is in any way in doubt, then the Pure Land gate might be for you. Let's heed the famous poem of master Yongming Yanshou:
Having Chan but lacking the Pure Land, nine out of ten will stray from the path; when the realm of the aggregates appears before them, they will instantly follow it.
Lacking Chan but having the Pure Land, ten thousand out of ten thousand who practice it will go [to rebirth]. Having seen Amitābha, why worry that one might not attain enlightenment?
Having both Chan and Pure Land, one is like a tiger with horns [i.e., doubly capable]. Such a person will be a teacher in the present life, and a buddha or patriarch in future lives.
Lacking both Chan and the Pure Land, it will be the iron beds and bronze pillars [of hell] for ten thousand kalpas and a thousand lives with no one to turn to.
The Amitabha Sutra describes the Pure Land of Amitabha thus:
At that time, the Buddha addressed the Venerable Śāriputra: "In the western direction, beyond a hundred thousand koṭis of buddha-lands, there is a world called Sukhāvatī. In that land there is a buddha called Amita, who is currently abiding, teaching the Dharma. O Śāriputra! For what reason is that land called Sukhāvatī? The sentient beings in that land do not experience any suffering but only experience all kinds of bliss. For that reason, it is called Sukhāvatī. "Further, O Śāriputra, the land of Sukhāvatī has seven railings, seven nets, and seven rows of trees, and all over are the four jewels. Therefore, that land is called Sukhāvatī....
Sukhāvatī (the Land of Bliss) is a realm where the experience of suffering is entirely unknown and only varied forms of joy exist. Amitabha Buddha dwells here now, unceasingly teaching the Dharma. The landscape is structured with sevenfold rows of railings, decorative nets, and jeweled trees, all shimmering with the brilliance of various colored jewels. The ground is composed of pure gold, and the air is filled with the constant, ethereal sound of divine music. Six times throughout the day and night, the sky rains down celestial flowers, which the beings there collect each morning. They then travel across the cosmos to offer these blooms to countless buddhas in other lands. There are also jeweled ponds filled with water possessing eight distinct qualities of purity. The beds of these ponds are lined with golden sand, and their shores are met by stairways of gold, silver, crystal, and lapis lazuli. Above these stand magnificent pavilions encrusted with sapphires, rubies, and cornelian. Within the waters, enormous lotuses as large as cartwheels glow with vibrant hues of blue, yellow, red, and white, each emitting a light that matches its color and a fragrance that is sublime. The entire environment acts as a teacher. Though the land is home to many beautiful birds, they are not animals of karmic birth. They are manifestations of Amitabha himself. These birds, along with the wind that rustles through the jeweled trees and nets, produce harmonious melodies that proclaim Dharma teachings. Upon hearing these sounds, the hearts of the people are naturally moved to remember the three jewels. The trees of the Pure Land also reveal all other pure lands reflected within them as inside a clear mirror. These descriptions are the traditional visions of Sukhāvatī. Whether taken literally or symbolically, their essential meaning is that Sukhāvatī is a place where all conditions support the path to awakening.
In the Pure Land there is no pain, suffering or any wrongdoing. On attaining birth in the Pure Land, our bodies will be of golden splendor and all will be perfect and equally beautiful, without gender. Our bodies will be like the bodies of a buddha. We will constantly receive Dharma teachings through the sounds of the Pure Land and the light of the Buddha. We will also be able to listen to whatever teachings we wish to receive spontaneously. We will feel peace and happiness as we are constantly touched by the light of Amitabha. We will also gain a special samadhi called 'pure emancipation' as well as the wisdom of the non-arising of all dharmas. We will be able to remember all our previous lives, even millions upon millions of eons in the past. We will also possess the divine eye and divine ear, which allows us to see and hear the myriad millions of buddhafields in all directions, as well as all other realms in the universe. We will also be able to know the thoughts of the beings in other far-away realms, including other pure lands, and we will be able to travel anywhere in an instant and come back to the Pure Land as we like. We will also travel to other pure lands and worship and learn from other buddhas. Once in Amida's Pure Land we will have no thoughts of self-attachment and we will be in a state where we cannot regress on the bodhisattva path. We will see the Buddha's light illuminating billions of buddha-fields in all directions. We will also have a lifespan without limit.
An important note: Certain passages in Pure Land texts say that there are no women in the Pure Land. A charitable reading of these statements is that, since we all attain the same luminous bodies in the Pure Land, there is no biological sex or gender. Indeed, if there are no biological women and all beings are born from lotus flowers in transcendent golden bodies, what would be the point of there being biological males? This also helps explain why the traditional depictions of buddhas and bodhisattvas have a sexually ambiguous appearance. If this is indeed the intent of these passages then why are only women singled out? We must understand that in the ancient world, being a woman was much more disadvantageous than it is today. As such, these statements might have been more skillful for women to hear. They would have welcomed the idea that in the pure land, they could transcend the bounds of sex and gender, whereas these statements would not have been particularly important to men.
The main practice is keeping the Buddha in mind (Chinese: 念佛; pinyin: niànfó, Jp: nembutsu), a translation of the Sanskrit Buddhānusmṛti (mindfulness of the buddha, recollection of the buddha, remembering the buddha, etc.). This is a classic Buddhist mindfulness practice which the Mahāyāna sutras expand on. According to the Amitabha Sutra:
"O Śāriputra! One cannot arise in that land by the cause and condition of insignificant wholesome roots of merit. O Śāriputra! Whichever son of good family or daughter of good family will hear the name of Amita Buddha and will firmly bear that name whether for one day, two days, three days, four days, five days, six days, or seven days, single-mindedly and without distraction, at the time of their death, Amita Buddha, together with his noble assembly, will appear before them. At the time of their death, their minds will be undisturbed, and they will attain rebirth in Amita Buddha's land of Sukhāvatī.
In Pure Land Buddhism, buddhānusmṛti (Chinese: nianfo, Japanese: nenbutsu) is praised as a simple, accessible, and effective practice. As patriarch Ouyi Zhixu writes in Essence of the Amitabha Sutra:
The buddhas, with compassion for the multitudes of deluded sentient beings, put forth transformative teachings according to the various potentials of deluded beings. Although these teachings all come from the same source, a variety of skillful means are employed. Among all these means, if we seek the most direct and the most complete, none is as good as seeking birth in the Pure Land through nianfo (reciting the Buddha's name). If we seek the simplest and most reliable among all the methods to nianfo, the best is to develop faith and aspiration [for birth in the Pure Land] and to concentrate on reciting the Buddha’s name.
Japanese Pure Land Master Genshin writes:
Only the practice of the nenbutsu is (both) easy to undertake and results in the realization of a lofty level of attainment (i.e., buddhahood). It should be known that this is the supreme practice. — Ōjōyōshū, chapter 10.
In the broad scope of the Pure Land tradition, nianfo can mean a variety of practices, including imagining a Buddha's body, looking at a physical Buddha image or statue, using the visualization methods taught in the Contemplation Sutra (the first one is contemplating the setting sun), focusing on the name of Amitābha mentally, chanting, or oral recitation of “Namo Amitābha Buddha” (Ch: Namo Amitofo, Jp: Namo Amida Butsu). Whatever the specifics, the key element of nianfo/nembutsu is that it brings the Buddha Amitabha to mind, and this simple practice links us with the awakened mind of Buddhahood, which is already pervading our heart-minds right now. As the Contemplation Sutra states:
All buddha tathāgatas are the embodiment of the Dharma-realm, which for all sentient beings, pervades their thoughts in one's mental visualisation. Therefore, when you visualise the Buddha in your minds, this mind is precisely the thirty-two major marks of a great man and the eighty minor marks. This mind creates the Buddha; this mind is the Buddha. The ocean-like fact that all buddhas are truly omniscient derives its source from one's own mind and thought.
Since the time of ancestor Shandao, oral recitation has been the most popular and widespread method in East Asia. In the Pure Land schools, nianfo is widely considered to be the superior method since it is easy for everyone, and also because it is said to embody the powers and qualities of the Buddha, and even to be the Buddha in sonic form. Thus, when we say the name, Buddhahood itself is made manifest in our minds and lives by the Buddha’s power. The ancients compared it to a magical jewel which purifies a lake when placed into it.
In practice, nianfo entails repeatedly reciting a phrase like “Namo Amitābha Buddha” (Sanskrit: namo'mitābhāya buddhāya, meaning “Homage to Measureless Light Buddha”; Mandarin (pinyin): Nāmó Āmítuófó; Japanese: Namo Amida Butsu). Most Pure Land Buddhists today focus on oral recitation (and often understand the term nianfo as referring to this). It is generally recommended that you learn the practices taught in your sangha. Of course one can also try the different methods taught in popular books like "Buddhism of Wisdom and Faith" and "Taming the Monkey Mind."
Generally speaking, the Pure Land tradition holds that saying the name of the Buddha should be accompanied by true faith (Sanskrit: prasanna-cittā; Chn.: 信心 xìnxīn) in the Buddha, as well as the wish to be reborn in the Pure land to become a Buddha for the sake of all beings (i.e. bodhicitta). This is confirmed by the Larger Pure Land Sutra in which Buddha recommends that beings should “sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and think of me, even ten times”. This is the source for patriarch Shandao’s idea of the “triple mind” and the Japanese Pure Land idea of shinjin (true entrusting). Furthermore, other masters (like Tánluán, Wŏnhyo and Jìxǐng Chèwù) have also emphasized the importance of bodhicitta, the “mind aimed at awakening” for the sake of all beings, when it comes to practicing nianfo.
Master Shandao teaches that true faith is a central cause for birth in the Pure land, which he defines as the threefold mind: the Utmost Sincere Mind, the Profound Mind, The Mind Intent on Transferring Merit and Arousing the Vow. The Utmost Sincere Mind means that one's faith must be completely sincere and authentic, without pretense. The Profound Mind is defined by Shandao as twofold: (1) knowing that you are a deluded and defiled ordinary being who cannot save themselves; and (2) deep faith that Amida Buddha embracesand liberates all beings. True faith therefore contains an element of unwavering confidence that Amitābha's vow can indeed save us, along with a deep humility which accepts our own limitations and inability to attain liberation through our own efforts. Finally the Mind Intent on Transferring Merit and Arousing the Vow means we wholeheartedly aspire to be born in the Pure Land and dedicate all our practice to that goal.
While the above might seem complex, in reality, practicing nembutsu with faith is a simple matter and we should not overthink it. These descriptions of faith are not meant to be intellectual hurdles. According to Hōnen, even a simple, sincere recitation of the name of Amida with trust naturally embodies the three minds:
The threefold mind of faith was designed for even the most ignorant. Those who are not even aware of the name of the threefold mind of faith can also possess the three parts of it without knowing anything about them. Accordingly when one hears that Amida Buddha will certainly receive us into the Pure land through total reliance on him and the single-hearted recitation of his name — if, with deep faith in these words without questioning, one desires to be welcomed by him and recites his name – one will embody the threefold mind of faith naturally because one's heart will be attuned with the threefold mind of faith. — The Promise of Amida Buddha, Hōnen's Path to Bliss, p. 138.
With all this in mind, here is a short general instruction on how to practice a simple form of Buddha name recitation: Sit upright in a quiet place. If you have a home altar, you may sit in front of it. Begin to clearly recite ''Namo Amitabha Buddha'' (or whatever form of the phrase you prefer). You may use a mala to count your recitations or not. If not, place your hands palm to palm in a gesture of respect. Breathe naturally and calmly. Try to recite out loud, otherwise you can whisper or recite quietly in the mind if you are unable to recite out loud. Try to stay focused on the recitation and the sound of the Name. If distracting thoughts come into your mind, acknowledge them and then return your mindfulness to the recitation. You do not have to visualize anything in the mind's eye, but you can if you wish. You can imagine the Buddha, or his golden light for example. If you have a Buddha image or picture in front of you, you can also fix your gaze on that. You can practice for as long as you wish, using a timer or setting a certain number of repetitions to complete with each sitting.
You may also want to add certain prayers or aspirations at the beginning of your session, such as taking refuge in the three jewels ("I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha"), vowing to attain birth in the pure land for the sake of all beings, and so forth. At the end of your session, say a short dedication of merit, like "Through the virtue of ceaselessly calling his Name, may we all be awakened in Buddha's mind together. Sharing the boundless blessing with all beings, may we walk the Holy Path that leads to the Pure Land."
In general, Pure Land masters like Daochuo, Shandao and Hōnen recommended we count our recitations (using a device like prayer beads) and set a daily goal for ourselves so as to deepen our relationship with the Buddha. Hōnen recommended 10,000 daily recitations of the Name to his seriously committed lay disciples as a good place to start. This might seem too much for most people today, so one can set a daily goal according to one's personal capacity. It's important to understand that keeping track of our recitations is not a way to earn liberation, even just one to ten recitations is enough to attain birth in the Pure Land. Nevertheless, we should strive to always been mindful of the Buddha as the masters taught because this purifies past negative karma, expresses our gratitude to Amida and deepens our connection with him. As Master Shandao says: "When sentient beings engage in practice, their mouths constantly recite the Buddha's name, and the Buddha hears it. Their bodies constantly bow in reverence to the Buddha, and the Buddha sees it. Their minds constantly recollect the Buddha, and the Buddha knows it. When sentient beings recollect the Buddha, the Buddha also recollects sentient beings. Their three karmic activities (body, speech, mind) never abandon each other. Hence, this is referred to as the 'condition of affinity.'"
According to Pure Land teaching, the decisive factor for birth in the Pure Land is the sustaining power of Amitābha Buddha’s compassionate vow, not our own meditative attainments or stock of merit. This idea is central to Pure Land Buddhism, and is called by various names, including Other Power (Ch.: 他力, tālì, Jp.: tariki), Vow Power (願力), or Buddha Power (佛力). It is explained by patriarch Shandao as follows: “The ability of ordinary people, both good and bad, to attain birth [in the Pure Land] happens for no other reason than being carried by the karmic power of the great vows of Amitābha Buddha as the dominant karmic condition.”
The Sutra of Amitayus [Immeasurable Life] contains a key passage on the vows of Amitabha Buddha, which are considered to be central to understanding the power that takes us to the Pure Land. A key passage states:
If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and call my Name, even ten times, should not be born there, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment. Excluded, however, are those who commit the five gravest offences and abuse the right Dharma.
This aspect of Amitabha's past vow is particularly important since it shows that even the simplest practice can lead to birth in the Pure Land. The wording of the vow indicates that since Amitabha is indeed now a Buddha, this vow will forever be fulfilled. The nature of the vow is such that it is non-dual with the Buddha's compassionate intent to save all beings. The Sutra of Amitayus’ vow excludes those who commit the five gravest offenses or abuse the Dharma. However, the Contemplation Sūtra says that even such persons can be born if they sincerely turn toward the Buddha with trust and recite the name. Pure Land traditions generally understand this to mean that genuine faith together with the Buddha's power can overcome even the gravest karmic obstacles.
The Sutra of Amitayus also contains numerous passages expounding how Amitabha saves all beings, as with the following verse:
With my divine power I will display great light, Illuminating the worlds without limit, And dispel the darkness of the three defilements; Thus I will deliver all beings from misery.
And the following passage from the Sutra of Immeasurable Life shows how the Buddha's power, here described as a majestic light or radiance, which liberates beings:
The majestic radiance of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life is exalted and supreme; the radiance of other Buddhas cannot compare with it....Sentient beings who encounter this light have the three defilements swept away, and they become soft and gentle in body and mind. They leap and dance with joy, and the good mind arises in them. When those suffering pain and travail in the three evil realms see this light, they all find respite and become free of afflictions. After their lives have ended, they will all gain emancipation. The light of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life is resplendent and brilliantly illuminates the lands of the buddhas throughout the ten quarters; there is no place where it is not heard.
The idea that a Buddha's power can aid and support others has many Indian precedents, like the concepts of anubhāva (Buddha’s influence) and adhiṣṭhāna (Buddha’s sustaining power which always aids bodhisattvas). The basic idea of Buddha’s immeasurable power is even found in the pre-Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions of the Mahāsāṃghika, and as such, the idea goes back to early Buddhism. The Mahāvastu, one of the few surviving Mahāsāṃghika texts, states that "the purity of the Buddha is so great that the worship of the Exalted One is sufficient for the attainment of Nirvāna".
This idea is expanded upon in various Mahayana sutras and treatises. For example, the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra states that "it is through the Buddha's might [anubhava], sustaining power [adhisthana] and grace [parigraha]" that bodhisattvas are able to study the perfection of wisdom.
The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra also states that the abilities of the bodhisattvas are sustained by the Buddha's power:
Further, Mahāmati, whatever Samādhis, psychic faculties, and teachings are exhibited by the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattvas, they are sustained by the twofold sustaining power of all the Buddhas. If, Mahāmati, the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattvas show their eloquence without the Buddhas' sustaining power, the ignorant and simpleminded will also show their eloquence. [But the latter do not.] Why? Because of the sustaining power [on the one hand] and its absence [on the other].
The Tathāgataguhya Sūtra states that any understanding of the Dharma happens through the assistance of the Buddha's power:
It would not be possible otherwise for all sentient beings abiding anywhere to accord with the secrets that the Tathāgata teaches if they did not contain the Tathāgata’s power of assistance and accord with the Tathāgata’s Dharma nature. Furthermore, if one hears, if one speaks, and if one has an understanding about the profound Dharma of the secrets taught by the Tathāgata, then that is all by virtue of the power of the Tathāgata’s assistance.
Similarly, the Dà zhìdù lùn (Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa) states:
The power of the Buddha (buddhabala) is immeasurable (apramāṇa): it is a trifle for him to save the beings of the three-thousandfold world system.
Generally speaking, the Pure Land Buddhist schools consider themselves as following the “easy path” since they primarily rely on the Buddha’s power to attain Buddhahood in the pure land, which is infused into the name of the Buddha. This is contrasted in various Pure Land sources with “the path of sages” or “path of difficult practice”, the other Buddhist paths that tend to focus on “self-power” practices. The easy path is so easy in fact, that the sutras say it is possible to be born in the Pure Land merely by saying Amitābha’s name ten times with a mind of faith. This is because when we say the name we contact Amitabha, and the power of Buddha’s vow (to save all beings in the pure land) begins working through us.
In East Asian Pure Land, there are two main positions on the self-power other-power issue. The first position is that self-power and other-power work together, through a process called “sympathetic resonance” or “stimulus-response” (Ch: gǎnyìng 感應) which is compared to how a plucked string can stimulate another string to vibrate. This view is the mainstream position in mainland Pure Land lineages and traditions (China, Vietnam, etc). This idea of an interlinking of self and other power can be seen in the following passage by Arya Nagarjuna from the Treatise on the Ten Grounds Sutra (chapter 5), which states that on being born in a pure land,
there are beings who, upon seeing a buddha, become immediately able to dwell on the ground of the avaivartika’s [irreversibility] with respect to the attainment of anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi. How is this the case? It is because, when these beings see the body of a buddha, their minds are filled with great delight, joy, and pure happiness. Their minds immediately become focused and acquire a bodhisattva samādhi of this sort. Due to the power of this samādhi, they achieve a penetrating understanding of the true character of all dharmas. They then become able to immediately enter the ground of certainty with respect to the attainment of anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi. Due to their resolute intentions that have persisted during the long night [of previous lifetimes], beings of this sort have planted those roots of goodness whereby, upon seeing a buddha, they enter the stage of certainty. This is because they have taken the mind of great compassion as foremost, because their goodness is sublime and pure, because they have sought to achieve a penetrating understanding of all the dharmas of a buddha, because they have sought to liberate all beings, and because the time has arrived for the perfection of these roots of goodness that they therefore succeed in meeting this buddha. Additionally, it is due to the particular causes and conditions of that buddha’s original vows. ''It is because of the coming together of these two factors that this circumstance is then able to occur.''
Here, Nagarjuna posits that the causes of birth are twofold: the accumulations of merit and wisdom of the bodhisattva and the power of the original vow of the Buddha.
Of course, the power and merit of a Buddha like Amitabha is immeasurable and our own efforts as deluded sentient beings are puny by comparison. Due to this asymmetry in these two powers, Chinese Pure Land patriarchs tended to emphasize the side of relying on other-power. Thus, we can see this shift towards an emphasis on other-power in the writings of masters like Tanluan and Shandao. According to Tanluan, other-power is "the dominant causal condition" (Sanskrit: adhipatipratyaya) for the attainment of complete Buddhahood. According to Tanluan:
On the path of easy practice, one simply aspires to be born in the Pure Land with faith in the Buddha as the cause. Carried by the power of the Buddha's Vow, one quickly attains birth in that Buddha's pure land. Sustained by the Buddha's power, one immediately enters the stage of the rightly settled of the Mahayana.
Tanluan uses various similes to explain how reliance on other-power works:
It is like a pile of firewood accumulated by a hundred men for a hundred years that can be burned in half a day by a bean-sized spark. It is like a lame man boarding a boat and travelling a thousand li in one day. It is like a poor man who finds a great treasure. When he presents it to the king, he is rewarded with emoluments and titles for which other men might work for a lifetime without success. — 略論安樂淨土義 (Brief discussion on the meaning of the Pure Land of Peace and Bliss, T.1957)
This emphasis reaches its strongest expression in some Japanese Pure Land schools, which teach that we should rely solely on Amida Buddha’s Other Power rather than on our own self-power efforts. The position is more common in the Japanese Pure Land schools, especially Jodo-Shinshu. It is described by Honen with the following simile: “even a large boulder, placed on a ship, will be transported to the far shore in due time. This is possible not by the mobility of the stone but by the ability of the ship.” One way to think about why this radical view makes sense is to contemplate the disparity between the oceanic wisdom and vast power of the Buddha and the meagerness of our own wisdom and practice. If we think deeply on this, it is clear that the Buddha's power is much greater and that our efforts are quite miniscule by comparison. Another element here is how our efforts and practices are tainted with grasping at self and other, as well as grasping after concepts and other phenomena. As Shandao says, even our good actions are mixed with self-grasping and calculation, like food mixed with poison. This does not mean good actions are bad. Nevertheless, from the perspective of ultimate liberation, they are still limited if done by ordinary people with self-centered motives. Thus we must rely on the Buddha's power.
Abandoning self-power also does not mean giving up ethical conduct or Pure Land practice, instead, it refers to giving up the notion that we can make ourselves worthy of the Pure Land through our own efforts. Thus, Shinran sees self-powered actions as anything that seeks to be "worthy" of Buddha's power and of birth in the Pure Land by making ourselves more holy. All of these efforts are afflicted with "calculation" (hakarai). This habitual conceptualization taints everything it touches. As such, we should be humble and trust in the Buddha wholeheartedly, since he has already promised to liberate us in the Pure Land just as we are. As Shinran writes:
Other Power is the entrusting of yourself to the Eighteenth among Amida Tathagata’s Vows, the Primal Vow of birth through the nembutsu, which Amida selected and adopted from among all other practices. Since this is the Vow of Tathagata, Honen said: “In Other Power, no working is true working.” “Working” [that is negated] is a term connoting calculation. Since the calculation of the person seeking birth is self-power, it is “working.” Other Power is entrusting ourselves to the Primal Vow and our birth becoming firmly settled; hence it is altogether without one’s own working. Thus, on the one hand, you should not be anxious that Tathagata will not receive you because you do wrong. A foolish being is by nature possessed of blind passions, so you must recognize yourself as a being of karmic evil. On the other hand, you should not think that you deserve to attain birth because you are good. You cannot be born into the true and real fulfilled land through such self-power calculation. I have been taught that with shinjin of self-power a person can attain birth only in the realm of indolence, the borderland, the womb-palace, or the city of doubt. - Letter of Shinran
This perspective leads us to a profound sense of letting go and an almost zen-like path of non-conceptual non-action which parallels the non-apprehension (anupalabdhi) of the Prajñaparamita sutras and the "no-mind" of Zen. Its goal is an effortless practice which is a "non-practice practice" where one recites 'Amitabha' without beliefs, expectations, discriminations or self-conceits. As the great master Ippen says:
The Nembutsu followers abandon wisdom, folly, the knowledge of good and bad, the thought of one’s social position, noble and mean, high and low, the fear of hell, the desire for a land of happiness, and even the aspiration for enlightenment as exhorted by different schools of Buddhism. In short the Nembutsu followers abandon all these. When the Nembutsu is thus recited, it is in perfect accord with the incomparable Original Vow of Amida. When the Nembutsu is recited without interruption with this frame of mind, there is no thought of Buddhahood or self-hood, not to say anything about the presence of an argumentative mood; the world of good and bad is no more than the Land of Purity itself and beside this there is nothing for which we cherish a desire or from which we turn away. The universe, with all its beings, sentient and non-sentient, with blowing winds and roaring waves, is no other than the Nembutsu.
The issue of self-power and other-power is one of the biggest debates in Pure Land Buddhism and it remains a topic that causes much disagreement. It is possible to view both approaches (sympathetic resonance and relying on exclusive other-power) as complementary. That is to say, one can maintain that our self-powered practices, even if tainted, create an unfailing connection with the Buddha's vow-power, while also accepting that our practice is still a mere trifle in comparison to the Buddha's oceanic power, which still does the true heavy lifting.
As a beginner though (and perhaps even as a long time practitioner) one does not have to decide on a specific position on the matter of self-power and other-power. After all, we are relying on the Buddha not on our own mind and its imperfect views. As such, one can also remain agnostic on the issue, having faith that the Buddha will carry us to the Pure Land. As Yuan Hongdao says in the Xīfāng hélùn (fascicle five), the Buddha's power is an inconceivable mystery that cannot be confined to concepts like "self-power" and "other-power" (or "both" and "neither"). We will not fully understand how it all works until we attain Buddhahood ourselves. For now, trust and recitation are enough.
Pure Land is sometimes compared to theistic religions because it emphasizes faith, a "higher power" beyond the self, and a postmortem destination. However, Pure Land is firmly grounded in Mahāyāna Buddhist teachings and differs from theism in important ways.
Being a Mahāyāna tradition means that it does not posit a personal creator God as the ultimate. Amitābha is not the creator or designer of the universe. Amitābha did not plan, shape or control human history, its kingdoms and events. Amitābha did not die for our sins or forgive our sins. Furthermore, the Dharmakaya, the Ultimate Reality in Mahayana, transcends any kind of personal being with intention. None of the Christian conceptions of sin, redemption and justification are found in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Amitābha does not demand submission from us nor punishes us for disobeying him. Amitābha does not get angry if we worship or have devotion for other deities. Amitābha does not stand in judgment of our actions, nor does he control karmic effects (as the Hindu God does) according to Brahmasutra 3.2.38).
The pure land is not a goal reached for its own sake like the Abrahamic Heaven, or Krishna's paradise etc. In the Pure Land we will hear the Dharma and eventually become Buddhas who will then manifest throughout many worlds to help all beings. We don't seek to be eternally with a “God” in their realm, we seek to hear the Dharma directly from the Buddha so as to become bodhisattvas and eventually buddhas ourselves for the sake of all living beings. As such, the central aspiration is different for Mahāyāna (which stresses bodhicitta, not submission to God's will). This is also why Pure Land does not conflict at all with the Mahāyāna ideal of the bodhisattva who vows to be born in samsara to help all beings. We see birth in a buddhafield as a means to becoming a buddha, not as a blessed destination you remain in eternally for its own sake.
Yet another difference with classic theism is that in Mahāyāna, the true “Buddha” is not outside ourselves, not a separate being from ourselves. Mahāyāna has a distinctive understanding of non-duality based on emptiness and the two truths, which is different from the usual theistic model of a separate Creator and creation. As such, our relationship to our "higher power" is different than that of theists, and it is based on bodhicitta. It is also based on an understanding of buddha-nature and other Buddhist teachings, not on the theologies of other faiths.
Furthermore, it is true that some scriptures say the Buddha merely teaches Dharma while we must walk the path to liberation by following it. However as other scriptures show, the Buddha's power is a major supportive force which contributes to our spiritual advancement in significant ways. Just as a mother nurtures and guides her children, the Buddha’s awakened activity sustains us on the path. The Mahāyāna sutras contain numerous instances of the Buddha's power directly influencing the minds of his disciples in amazing ways. As we saw above, sutras like the Prajñaparamita state that the Buddha's disciples teach and practice "through the Buddha's power" (buddhānubhāva). There is also a Mahāyāna idea that holds that the Buddha can transfer his vast stock of merit (puṇya-pariṇāmanā) to help sentient beings. As such, the Pure Land teaching is based on orthodox Mahāyāna teachings.
The Pure Land sutras promote other practices which are supportive of nianfo, such as reciting the Mahayana sutras, cultivating good deeds and keeping the Buddhist ethical precepts. This indicates that Indian Pure Land saw various practices as complementary to buddha-mindfulness. For example, the Sutra of Immeasurable Life says:
Anyone who sincerely desires birth in the Land of Peace and Bliss is able to attain purity of wisdom and supremacy in virtue. You should not follow the urges of passions, break the precepts, or fall behind others in the practice of the Way.
And the Contemplation Sutra states:
Those who wish to be born in the land should cultivate the three merits: First, have filial piety towards parents, serve your teachers and elders, cultivate a compassionate mind and refrain from killing, and cultivate the ten wholesome deeds. Second, take refuge in the triple gem, complete all the precepts, and do not violate deportment rules. Third, arouse bodhicitta, have deep faith in cause and effect, read and recite the Mahāyāna sūtras, and encourage others to advance in practice.
While Pure Land Buddhist traditions tend to focus on the practice of recitative nianfo, most undertake other classic Mahayana practices like taking refuge and precepts, reciting and studying sutras and dharanis, monasticism, and other forms of meditation (such as Buddha visualization). The way various Pure Land Buddhists relate to these secondary practices differ however.
First, it is important to differentiate between two categories of "secondary" practices. Ancestor Shandao distinguished between practices directly related to Amitābha (the primary practices, 正行 zhèngxíng) and all other Buddhist practices (miscellaneous, záxíng 雜行). The primary practices include oral recitation as the primary act (zhèngyè 正業), which is the most direct means for birth in Sukhavati, plus four supporting practices: Recitation of the Pure Land sutras, meditative visualization of Amitābha, worshiping and bowing to Amitābha, singing praises and making offerings to Amitābha. This category could also include the “Five Mindful Practices” taught by Vasubandhu’s Discourse on the Pure Land and reiterated by Shandao: 1) worship Amitābha reverentially with a concentrated mind and make offerings; (2) praise the glory of Amitābha and his Pure Land; (3) concentrate, contemplate and think of Amitābha and the noble beings of the Pure Land; (4) aspire to be born in the Pure Land with a sincere heart; and (5) concentrate on and rejoice in your good deeds and the good deeds done by all beings and dedicate the merit of all good deeds towards birth in the Pure Land. For Shandao, all other Buddhist practices aside from the primary ones listed above are "miscellaneous practices". These include formally taking precepts, ascetic practices, making merit in various ways, and other forms of meditation.
In mainland Pure Land traditions (in China, Vietnam etc), it is very common for Pure Land Buddhists to undertake many different practices alongside nianfo recitation, including Supporting practices and Miscellaneous practices. Some temples might focus on Pure Land practice, but in many others, Pure Land practice is part of an array of different Dharma gates and rituals, such as Chan practice, repentance rites, other rituals, and recitation of different sutras and dharanis. The same is true for some Japanese traditions, like Tendai and Shingon.
Japanese Pure Land Buddhist schools who follow the lead of Hōnen (1133–1212) on the other hand are more exclusively focused on the main Pure Land practices while discouraging engagement with “mixed practice” that makes use of many miscellaneous practices. This is because, following Patriarch Daochuo, they hold that the main Pure Land practices rely on the Buddha's Other Power, and this makes them much more effective than all other practices. Furthermore, according to Daochuo, we currently live in the age of Dharma decline and as such, only Pure Land is an effective method while the other paths which rely on self-power are ineffective for most people.
Nevertheless, Hōnen held that our relationship to secondary practices was defined by our relationship with our nembutsu practice. If you are firmly and faithfully established in nembutsu practice, then you may reintroduce other auxiliary Pure Land practices as taught by Shandao to support one's nembutsu (see Senchakushū chapter 12), as well as "different good practices helpful to the nembutsu". On this topic, Hōnen says:
If one has the heart of the nembutsu then going about daily activities, engaging in various other practices like making offerings or meditating, and getting involved in social welfare activities is something one should do. However, if these activities become the center of one's life and the nembutsu auxiliary, then one should re-prioritize one's life. (Tsuneni osei rarekeru okotoba, SHZ., 493)
As such, for the Japanese Pure Land school (Jodo-shu), the idea of selecting the nembutsu does not mean one completely rejects and excludes all other Buddhist practices. Rather, it is a matter of focusing and prioritizing nembutsu. Initially, one focuses solely on nembutsu and sets everything aside. Once one's faith in this practice is solid, one can then take up other practices as supports (as long as they do not become our main focus).
One of the great virtues of Pure Land practice is its adaptability to lay life. Unlike practices that require extended periods of stillness or solitude, nianfo can be practiced anywhere and at any time. One can nianfo while commuting, washing dishes, walking, waiting, exercising, working, etc. Saying the holy name of Amitābha does not require altars, tools, specific environments or anything in particular.
One popular method for busy people is called the ten recitation method, a simple, convenient way to practice nianfo. We begin when we wake up. Sit up straight and clearly recite Namo Amitabha Buddha ten times with a calm and focused mind, listening to the words carefully. We will repeat this nine more times throughout the day like so:
recite on waking up
before and after breakfast [or brushing your teeth],
before starting work [or some other morning activity like study, heading out to school etc],
before and after lunch,
before and after dinner,
before brushing your teeth for the night, and
before going to bed.
If done completely we will have chanted Amitabha's name one hundred times a day. One should also remember that the quality of recitation, with sincerity, faith, and genuine aspirations, matters more than sheer quantity. A few minutes of wholehearted faithful recitation can be quite effective. One can also create one's own schedule by adding whatever times are convenient for you, increasing the number of recitations if you wish, and so on.
One can also recite throughout the day whenever you deem it necessary. For example, when angry or sad, think of Amida and say nianfo. When stressed or afraid, say nianfo. When feeling greatful and happy, think of Amida and the Pure Land. One can use nianfo at any moment by silently thinking it. Master Shoku taught a similar kind of easy method:
When we covet material treasure, let us turn this desire into that for the seven treasures of the Pure Land. When we crave for some particular food, let us imagine all kinds of dainties procurable in the Pure Land. When we desire fine clothes, let us turn our minds to the divine raiments in the Pure Land. When we are affected with heat and cold, let our hearts dwell on the climate of that Land. When we long for a recreation, let us fancy a stroll with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. When we hear music on earth, let us apply our minds to the celestial music in that Land. When we see flowers, let us conceive those made of the seven treasures in the Land of Amida. When we see the sun, let us figure before our eyes the moonlike face of Buddha. In this way, whenever we enjoy anything pleasurable in this life, let us practise the Nembutsu, thinking of all the enjoyments in the Pure Land; and whenever we experience anything painful, let us also practise the Nembutsu, thinking of the eight pains suffer able in the three evil paths of existence. Let us thus practise the Nembutsu all the time each according to his own capabilities.
Another easy method is to listen to recorded nianfo chanting during commutes, work etc, or listening to the sutras on audiobook format which can be easily found on youtube and other sites. This is a way of keeping the mind connected to the Dharma even when formal practice is not possible.
There are various reasons we should be ethical and diligent in our practice rather than embrace mindless action hoping we will be reborn with merely a few nianfo recitations. One reason put forth by some Chinese authors is that even if an immoral and lazy person can gain birth in the Pure Land through little practice, they are still going to be born in the lowest lotus grade of the Pure Land where they spend twelve eons waiting until they are purified. Higher grade rebirths do not have to wait this long to see the Buddha and practice to attain Buddhahood. The Sutra of Immeasurable Life outlines three main grades of rebirth, from those who have practiced deeply to those who only recite at the last moment. The higher levels see the Buddha immediately, while the lowest may spend many eons inside a closed lotus bud before they can see the Buddha and receive teachings. This means that although birth is assured, the speed of one’s progress to buddhahood in the Pure Land still depends on one’s practice now. At death, those who practiced will also experience visions of the Buddha, according to the sutras. As Mahayanists, we want to attain Buddhahood as soon as possible so we can get down to business saving all sentient beings.
Thus, Master Sheng Yen says:
The more good circumstances and merit we have, the higher will be our lotus-ranking, the greater our lotus-blossom will be in the Western Land of Utmost Bliss, and the earlier we can return to the Sahā world to save living beings far and wide. (quoted in Jones, ''Chinese Pure Land Buddhism'', 2019)
Another reason for engaging in practice here and now even if birth is assured is that reciting the Buddha's name leads to supernatural protection from the buddhas. As the Amitabha Sutra states:
"O Śāriputra! What do you think? Why is this sūtra called 'Protected by All Buddhas?' O Śāriputra! Whichever son of good family or daughter of good family who will hear this sūtra, take up, and bear it, or who will hear the name of those buddhas, those sons of good family or daughters of good family will all be protected by those buddhas together, and they will all attain non-retrogression from anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.
Pure Land practice also purifies bad karma from past deeds, as master Huaigan, Shandao's disciple, writes:
Present sincere nianfo is the good deed of the mind; reciting the Buddha's name is the good deed of speech; joining palms in reverence is the good deed of the body. These three good deeds can eradicate the heavy evils of eighty billion kalpas of birth and death.
It is also said by the Pure Land tradition that that disease can be healed and one’s lifespan extended through nianfo practice. This might be partly due to the purification of bad karma. Nianfo is thus conducive to well-being here and now.
Another present benefit is beneficial states of meditation (dhyana, samadhi), which can be very peaceful states of mind, often sought for their own sake. Most Westerners come to Buddhism seeking peace of mind, relaxation, joy, gratitute, and psychological regulation. Pure Land practices can have the same results as other forms of Buddhist meditation and more!
Extensive Pure Land practice has also led some Pure Land practitioners to have visions of Amitābha Buddha and the bodhisattvas through deep states of nianfo samadhi. Masters like Huiyuan practiced according to the Pratyutpanna-samādhi-sūtra, which teaches how we can have visions of the Buddha in this life and receive instructions and teachings from him. Furthermore, some masters even experienced miraculous events through their practice. All of these can be transformative and inspiring experiences.
There are also other good reasons for practicing. The sutras speak of how nianfo practice can lead to great joy and happiness and can alleviate suffering in this life. For example, the Larger Sutra of Amitayus says:
Sentient beings who encounter [the Light of Amida Buddha] have the three defilements swept away, and they become soft and gentle in body and mind. They leap and dance with joy, and the good mind arises in them. (Three Pure Land Sutras, Volume II: The Larger Sutra, p. 36-37)
Regular nianfo also gradually reduces greed, hatred, and delusion, because the mind is continually turned toward awakened qualities. Thus, ethics and compassion become more natural as one’s practice deepens.
Finally, it must be said that if one truly has faith in the Buddha (an important element for birth), one will also wish to follow his teachings here and now out of love and gratitude, and not merely wait until birth in the Pure Land. One will also admire and wish to be like the Buddha, which means being ethical, compassionate and so on. On the other hand, someone who thinks they "can cheat the system" (or "presume upon the vow" as Shinran calls it) by doing evil their whole lives and saying ten nianfos at the time of death, will likely lack true faith in the Buddha and so they will fail to attain birth in the Pure Land. Still, there is always the chance of a powerful deathbed conversion experience, so we cannot know for sure what will happen with people at the time of death.
If possible, consult experienced monastics or sangha members who are familiar with Buddhist deathbed practices. They can offer guidance suited to your situation. But here is some basic general advice if you have no access to a monastic sangha. Assisting a loved one means acting as the good spiritual friend (kalyāṇa-mitra) who reminds them of Amitābha’s Vow to save all those who sincerely calls his name. This role is important to the Pure Land tradition, since the death process can be very difficult and having good spiritual friends is always a comfort in such trying times. Master Daochuo compares the untrained mind at death to a wild horse or restless monkey. Therefore, he advises making a pact in advance with Dharma friends to support one another by reciting the Buddha’s name at the time of death. Master Daochuo writes in his Anleji: "Whenever the time of death approaches for any of them, they should offer each other encouragement. They should chant the name of Amitābhā for the dying person, desire that person’s birth in the Pure Land, and continue chanting to induce in him the ten moments of reflection."
Acting as the good friend for someone who has not asked for Pure Land practice support in advance requires interpersonal skills, such as knowing when it is the right time to discuss such matters with the dying and which way to approach the subject in an effective manner. If they are open to the idea, one can proceed to reciting together. Some people are just not open to the idea, in which case one should not pester or disturb people to chant when they do not want to. Respect the dying person’s own faith or lack of faith. Pure Land practice should never be imposed on someone who is unwilling.
During the last moments of the dying, sit with them and recite the name together. If they have never given rise to bodhicitta and the vow for birth, guide them in setting that aspiration now. You may even play nianfo recordings or read the Pure Land sutras with them. You want to create a peaceful environment for them as they pass away, so they can focus on nianfo. Do not bring up worldly concerns and troubles, and try to help them focus on the Buddha. You can also recite with them as they pass. This is called "Supportive Recitation" (zhunian). Setting up an image of Amitābha can also be useful. If they are too weak to speak, reciting the name clearly and calmly in their presence still helps.
In traditional Buddhist settings, some prefer not to move the body for several hours (up to eight) after breathing stops, while recitation continues. In modern hospitals, this may not be possible. Follow local regulations and the advice of medical staff. The key is to continue reciting calmly, whether in the room or at a distance.
In many Buddhist traditions, merit is dedicated to the deceased throughout the 49-day period following death. Pure Land practitioners often continue nianfo during this time.
Here is a text on this topic: The Pure Land Passport by Master Yinguang
Here is a link to a rite that can be followed during the time of death: Rite of Transcendental Deliverance Through Amitabha-Recitation
Here is another set of instructions: Chanting When Dying, After Death, During & After Wakes
Different Pure Land traditions answer this question in different ways. Both positions share a common trust in Amitābha’s vow, but they emphasize different aspects of practice and faith. Some traditions, especially Japanese Pure Land schools, teach that even a single sincere recitation with true entrusting is sufficient. This is because the decisive power is Amitābha’s vow, not the number of recitations. Indeed, some even say that even if your faith is lacking, you will still get to the “city of doubt” or the “borderland” which still means you won’t return to lower births and will be able to see the Pure Land in the distance so you can develop faith. This is because Amitabha's compassion and vow-power is infinite and all-embracing.
Other traditions caution that birth is not guaranteed if one’s faith and aspiration are weak, or if the mind is very distracted at the moment of death. This means you need to make an effort to practice a lot to increase your chances of birth by improving your faith, making vows to be born in the pure land and increasing the strength of your bond to Buddha Amitābha.
In the traditions which believe it is possible to fail to be born in the Pure Land after saying the name with faith, it is common to do deathbed rituals where clergy and family chant nianfo and encourage the dying to recite and focus on the Buddha without any distractions as a final support to help the dying person focus the mind and deepen their connection to Amitābha.
Whatever one’s tradition, regular practice is wise. It is like preparing for a journey: even if the ticket is assured, one still packs, learns the route, and heads to the right ship on time.
This question sometimes arises because Pure Land is often described as especially accessible and effective for even people of the lowest spiritual capacity. But accessibility is not a sign that a path is only for the less capable. Many Pure Land masters have been very diligent in their practice and conduct. Masters like Shandao and Honen would practice over ten thousand recitations of nianfo a day, and sometimes even more heroic nianfo numbers were reported (60,000, 100,000). Many Pure Land Buddhists also practice nianfo retreats, where intensive nianfo recitation is performed for days, alongside other practices. Many Pure Land masters have also been very wise, and intelligent scholars, writing sutra commentaries and drawing on the philosophical teachings of Madhyamaka, Yogacara, Tiantai and Huayan. Shandao himself was a student of Chinese Madhyamaka before turning to Pure Land practice, while the later patriarchs Yunqi Zhuhong and Ouyi Zhixu were very learned scholars.
Nevertheless, even a mass murderer can achieve birth in the Pure Land through a few recitations if he develops true faith in the Buddha. As such, the Pure Land path can be practiced with great intensity or with simplicity, depending on one’s circumstances and capacity. It is not limited to any one type of person.
Even great bodhisattvas like Samantabhadra and Sudhana (in the Avatamsaka Sutra), Mahasthamaprapta (in the Surangama sutra), Nāgārjuna, and Vasubandhu promoted and practiced the Pure Land method. So how can someone say it is only for the ignorant? To hold to this view would be foolish indeed!
They are both at once. This question is common nowadays because some modernist Pure land authors have often described Amitābha in more symbolic and metaphorical terms. Certain people may see Amitābha not as a literal being with a great luminous golden body living in a pristine world as described in the sutras, but as a symbol which points at an ultimate spiritual reality that is infinitely loving, wise, and powerful. Or they may see it as something quite abstract, like Plato's 'The Good' for example, or as something that sounds quite mundane, like "Life", "Love", "Naturalness" (Jp: jinen) etc.
From the traditional point of view, Amitābha is both a name for the ultimate reality (the Dharmakaya, “the body of reality”, the body of ultimate nature, etc) which is ultimately indescribable, unfathomable and beyond all words (and thus, in this sense, “Amitābha” can be a symbol or a finger pointing at the moon of the ultimate), as well as a transcendent being with a magnificent radiant body (this is called the Sambhoghakaya, body of self-enjoyment) who used his vast powers to create a whole perfect world free of trouble. Mahāyāna Buddhist thought is based on holding both truths at once (ultimate truth and conventional truth). They do not conflict, and are both necessary.
Of course, we don't need to take literalism too far, since buddhas and their skillful means appear in whatever ways are useful for guiding individual sentient beings. So in some sense, the artistic depictions and linguistic descriptions of Amitābha are only approximations of an inconceivable realm, conventional truths limited by our language and by our samsaric minds. However, this does not mean Amida does not exist as an embodied being as real as any of us, nor that the Pure Land is just in the imagination. While the Pure Land points to a higher dimension that is beyond the words we use to describe it, it is still a world we can go to, conventionally speaking. Indeed, it is an amazing skillful means used by the Buddha which uses our very desires for beautiful things to lead us to a place that would ultimately be inexpressible. As master Yuan Hongdao writes:
It is like the children in the burning house (parable of the Lotus Sutra) — had it not been for the goat-cart, the deer-cart, and so on, they never would have come out. Now Śākyamuni Tathāgata, in accordance with people’s feelings and views, preached about the seven-jeweled Pure Land of Amitābha. This was only to catch them where they were. Once they achieve rebirth there, they will come to realize that the jewels are just so much brickbats and rubble, and that the real purity of the land was indescribable. — Xīfāng hélùn (Comprehensive Treatise on the West)
Thus, while skillful means are creations of the buddhas to teach beings, they are just as "real" as anything in this world.
Many modern and traditional authors write from a Zen inspired view which sees the Pure Land and Amitābha as names for the true nature of our minds, our buddha-nature. This perspective (which is found in the Platform Sutra) is termed “mind-only Pure Land”. This view is informed by Yogacara idealism, which sees all of reality as mental constructs. In this view, all things are made of mind, all “solid” matter is as real as the stuff of dreams, or rather, the world is a dream (though more stable than a “normal” dream). It is important to understand that this point of view is not incompatible with the idea that there is a Pure Land we can go to after death (called "other-direction Pure Land") and that there is a true Buddha who resides there. It is also not incompatible with the idea that attaining enlightenment is hard and can take a long time, and that we should try to avoid extensive suffering in samsara by seeking birth in the Pure Land. To deny these ideas would be to cling to the ultimate truth while rejecting the relative truth.
Thus, both things are true: Amitābha’s wisdom shines within ourselves as Buddha-nature, supporting and guiding us on the path, and it is emanated by the Buddha throughout the cosmos from the Pure Land. The Pure land is a realm of mind and at the same time, it can appear to us as an actual place with myriad features when we are reborn there, just as a dream world appears with its own dream forms and logic. This is defended by Chinese Pure Land patriarchs like Yúnqī Zhūhóng who write that the Pure Land as an afterlife realm is a skillful means manifested by Buddha out of compassion for all beings. Once they are born there, they realize mind-only and buddha-nature, seeing that the Pure Land was within them all along.
Patriarch Jixing Chewu says the following to a Chan monk who argued that since this world and the Pure Land are both dreams, going to the Pure Land is not necessary:
“Not so. Prior to the seventh [bodhisattva] ground, one practices within dreams, the great dream of ignorance. [. . .] Before the eyes of the sleeper have opened, pain and pleasure will be vivid. In one’s dream, one may receive the extreme suffering of the Sahā world, or one may receive the sublime pleasures of Sukhāvatī. Moreover, to be dreaming of the Sahā world is to go from one dream to another dream, dreams within dreams. One floats and turns about in delusion. But when one dreams of Sukhāvatī, one goes from dreaming to awakening, and from awakening to further awakening until gradually one comes to the great awakening. They are both dreams to be sure, but as dreams their content is very different.” (Recorded Sayings, CBETA X.1182.62:336c5–c12)
It is true that all phenomena are dreams including samsara, the Pure Land and our rebirth there, but this does not mean that all dreams are identical. Some dreams are nightmares we get stuck in for a long time, while some are beautiful dreams that are easy to wake from. If all relative phenomena were completely identical then the Buddhas would not have taught all the conventional truths of the path, and skillful means would be pointless.
On an even deeper level, we can appeal to the Mahayana concept of non-duality of form and emptiness, and of the unity of the ultimate principle with conventional phenomena, to argue that the beautiful forms and features of the pure land are not separate from the ultimate truth. This was the approach taken by the Tiantai school when they critiqued the idea that the ultimate truth is completely without forms. Thus, the Tiantai patriarch and great pure land teacher Siming Zhili writes in his Miaozongchao commentary to the Contemplation sutra:
When the sūtras and treatises state that the [Pure Land of] Silent Light is without characteristics, this means it has utterly exhausted all the marks of defilement and obstruction; it is not like a big empty space, devoid of all things...Thus, the Great Sūtra [Mahāparinirvāṇa] states: "Through the cessation of this form, one attains eternal form (常色); the same applies to feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness." ....How could the true, excellent, and wondrous existence (真善妙有) not be principle? And how could the principle of the secret treasury (祕藏之理, note: a synonym for buddha-nature) be equated with the lesser emptiness [of cessation of existence]? Thus, though phenomena and principle differ in terms of their name, their essence is one.
In other words, the supreme Pure Land ("Silent Light"), the highest reality, is non-dual, and so it includes form within it (though this is a pure ultimate form inconceivable to us). If it did not, then it would exist in a kind of dualistic way, separate from form. But we know that "form is emptiness, emptiness is form"...
This unity of the conventional and ultimate levels of the Pure land are also described by Master Ouyi Zhixu in his commentary to the Amitabha Sutra as follows:
Believing in phenomena (事 shì) means having deep faith that this present single thought-moment appearing before one is inexhaustible, and therefore all the worlds of the ten directions manifested from the mind are also inexhaustible. The Land of Ultimate Bliss really does exist ten billion Buddha-lands away, a place of utmost purity and splendor. This is not like some parable from the Zhuangzi. This is called belief in phenomena.
Believing in principle (理 lǐ) means having deep faith that although the Land of Ultimate Bliss is ten billion Buddha-lands away, it does not really exist outside this single thought-moment of mind present before you, for the nature of this very single thought moment is truly all-encompassing (無外, lit. “without an outside”).
So, there is really a Pure Land as a place one can be born into, with countless inconceivable perfect forms, but at the same time, it is also something which is here and now, in the deepest recesses of your present existence.
I will note here that the mind-only pure land and "pure land as buddha-nature" perspective has sometimes been used polemically to criticize Pure Land Buddhism as a lesser teaching. Since ancient times, some masters have belittled Pure Land as a teaching which focuses on exterior manifestations without understanding the deeper meaning. These polemics usually say that, if Pure Land Buddhists truly understood that the "pure land" is within and that our world is already pure, they would not seek an external pure land.
Pure Land masters have rejected this critique as misguided. For Pure Land ancestors like Shandao, the idea that contemplating the pure land as mind-only leads to a rejection of the Pure Land path is gravely mistaken. The Pure Land path is a supreme skillful means taught by the Buddha for beings just like us which is praised by all the buddhas. To reject it is a dangerous and arrogant error. For Shandao, contemplating reality in an abstract way without skillful means like the nembutsu given to us by the Buddha is "like a man without magical skills who would like to build a house in the sky". People who think they can just directly realize ultimate reality here and now without the help of a Buddha's power and means are simply deluding themselves.
Similarly, Yuang Hongdao writes:
You say, "Only purify your own mind, and then what need is there to discriminate?" If you enter a latrine, could you remain there for long? Go into a charnel-house where air is filthy with black smoke. Could you refrain from holding your nose? Could you share your dishes and bed with someone who has scabrous sores oozing pus and blood? If not, then this is a sign that you detest the five defilements. If you still need a clean room and sanitary companions, then this is a sign that you would delight in the Pure Land.
Finally, while in modern Chinese Buddhism, there is the concept of "creating a pure land in the human realm", this is also not in conflict with the goal of achieving rebirth in the Pure Land after death. We can work to make the world a more compassionate and peaceful place now and also aspire to reach the Pure Land after death. All the different conceptions of a Pure Land (mind-only, human realm, and after death) are all complementary, not mutually exclusive. This is why the author of Ten Doubts about Pure Land writes: "When the Buddhas preach, they usually rely on the Two Truths (ultimate and conventional). They do not destroy the fictitious, provisional identities of phenomena while revealing their true characteristics."
This is a very complex question, but we can give a basic overview. The basic Mahāyāna view of what a Buddha is, its basic buddhology, is the Trikāya (triple body or “three bodies”). This teaching says that Buddhahood can be understood through three aspects, or elements, which are really three different functions or vibrations (Sanskrit: vṛṭṭis) of a single non-dual reality (Buddhahood):
''Dharmakāya'' (“Dharma-body”) - the body of ultimate reality, the ultimate truth, the true nature of all things, described by terms like Emptiness, Dharmata, Suchness, or Dharmadhatu. According to the Golden Light Sutra it is “true and the basis for those two other bodies”. It transcends all concepts, words or thoughts. It is also beyond any notions of existence and non-existence. It is without color, size, location, shape, or form. It is also pure non-dual luminous wisdom which is unchanging, all pervasive and all-knowing (Sanskrit: sarvajñā). Since it is the true nature of all things, it is also non-dual with all reality, and as such, is not separate from everything else, but one with all.
''Sambhogakāya'' (co-enjoyment body) - a blissful divine body with infinite forms, powers and wisdom that resides in a supreme perfect realm. It is a perfect supramundane body that transcends samsara and all material existence, yet also is able to manifest in our world of form due to its infinite compassion. It is closely connected with compassion and skillful means, and due to its boundless skilful compassion, it manifests infinite forms in accord with what beings need to see, like a kind of spiritual hologram.
''Nirmāṇakāya'' (body of transformation, emanation, manifestation or appearance) - the body which appears in the samsaric world and appears to look like a human body. Buddhas actually emanate endless nirmāṇakāyas throughout the cosmos. Each one appears differently, according to the needs of the beings to be taught. Shakyamuni Buddha was one such manifestation. While these bodies appear to be biological bodies like ours, this is an illusion. They are actually not bodies like ours, but a magical emanation, a mere appearance, like a benevolent mirage or a beneficial apparition.
In East Asian Pure Land Buddhism (following masters Daochuo and Shandao), the name Amitābha refers to a Sambhogakāya, though sometimes it is used when referring to the Dharmakāya, since this is Amitābha’s ultimate reality (and the reality of all things). Amitābha as enjoyment body is thus a transcendent being with a true divine body of measureless wisdom, power and compassion. However, this Buddha’s true nature (Dharma body) is ultimately indescribable and inconceivable, totally beyond the capacity of language to explain. And yet, this ultimate Dharma body manifests form through compassionate skillful means to liberate all beings. As such, Amitābha is also sometimes described as the “Dharma body manifesting as skillful means” (方便法身, Upaya Dharmakāya) by masters like Tanluan, indicating that ultimately Amitābha is an emanation of the formless, wordless Dharmakāya.
It's important to note that in the Pure Land schools that follow Shandao and in the Japanese Pure Land schools especially, Amida Buddha is the supreme Buddha, the highest Buddha. This is generally defended by citing the Amitabha Sutra in which all the Buddhas of the ten directions praise Amida and recommend Pure Land practice. Furthermore, in the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, Shakyamuni Buddha clearly says: "The majestic radiance of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life is exalted and supreme; the radiance of other Buddhas cannot compare with it."
Buddhists of other traditions may identify other buddhas as the supreme buddha, such as Vairocana or the original Buddha (本佛, or root Buddha) of the Lotus Sutra. Since all Buddhas share the same Dharmakāya, some masters identify Amitābha with these other expressions of awakened reality. The names differ, but the awakened nature is one. For example, the Chinese Huayan master Peng Shaosheng and the Shingon monk Dōhan both directly identified Amida Buddha with Vairocana (whose name means "Shining"). Likewise, none other than Vasubandhu bodhisattva himself directly identifies Sukhavati with the "Lotus Treasury world" (the pure land of Vairocana) in his Discourse on the Pure Land. Similarly, Likewise, the Tendai Pure Land master Genshin refers to Amitabha as the Original Buddha in his "The Collection on the Mental Contemplation of Amida".
In short, Amitābha is both the ultimate nature of reality and a real compassionate buddha who has established a pure land for the benefit of all beings.
There are two chief attendants of Amitābha Buddha most often depicted in Pure Land Buddhist art (this Amitabha Triad is often called 'the Three Holy Ones'). Avalokiteśvara (Guan Yin) embodies Amitābha's infinite love and compassion, while Mahāsthāmaprāpta (Shizhi) embodies his infinite power and wisdom. According to the Pure Land sutras, they accompany Amitābha to welcome the practitioner at the moment of death.
Avalokiteśvara (Guānyīn) embodies active boundless compassion. She "hears the cries" of suffering beings throughout all realms and responds with tireless compassionate activity. Guānyīn is often seen as a savior figure and many Asian Buddhists pray to her directly for help with worldly fears and concerns such as sicknesses, accidents, and other troubles. This is often done through repeating the phrase "Namo Guanshiyin Pusa".
Mahāsthāmaprāpta ("Arrival of Great Strength," Chinese: Dàshìzhì) embodies power and wisdom. In the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, Mahāsthāmaprāpta describes the practice of mindfulness of the Buddha, which is the source of his great strength. Together, these two bodhisattvas represent the twin qualities of compassion and wisdom that characterize Amitābha’s awakened activity. Their presence in art and liturgy reminds practitioners that the Pure Land path is supported by active compassionate powers.
Pure Land is a set of traditions of practice focused around a Dharma gate, and as such, does not have a single philosophical system (what would be called its siddhānta in Sanskrit) like Madhyamaka or Yogacara. It also does not have a scholastic philosophical orthodoxy like what you see in some other religions or Buddhist traditions. In Chinese Buddhism, the main scholastic traditions are Tiantai and Huayan. Chinese Pure Land Buddhist masters like Yuan Hongdao, Ouyi Zhixu and Yinguang have made use of traditional Chinese Buddhist philosophical concepts to explain the metaphysics of Pure Land. In this way, Pure Land has been interpreted through different philosophical lenses while remaining centered on practice.
Patriarch Shandao himself studied under a Madhyamaka master, but he did not put much emphasis on the necessity of doing philosophy in this style. Some Chinese figures have also made use of the Yogacara philosophy of Mind-only to explain Pure land (e.g. Wŏnhyo, Huaigan). In the modern era, some Japanese Pure Land thinkers also drew on Western philosophies to explain their understanding of Buddhist thought. As such, it is best to see Pure Land as a practice tradition that is open to different philosophical positions, instead of as one which requires assuming a specific view or has a scholastic institution that promotes a specific doctrine (as is the case in some Tibetan Buddhist schools).
One example of how Chinese Pure Land masters drew on Chinese Buddhist philosophies to defend Pure Land Dharma can be found in the writings of Jixing Chewu who draws on mind-only thought. Since all of reality is a non-dual True Mind, any one aspect of this (such as ourselves) can resonate with another (Buddha). When one recites the Buddha’s name, the Buddha within one’s own mind resonates with the practitioner within the Buddha’s mind. As Chewu writes: “If sentient beings within the mind of Amitabha recollect the Amitabha within the mind of sentient beings, then how could the Amitabha within the mind of sentient beings fail to respond?”
Thus, Pure Land practice creates a “sympathetic resonance” between Buddha and sentient beings, who are ultimately non-dual. Even though beings do not realize it, the Buddha is in our minds and we are within the Buddha's mind. Amitabha is always aware of us even when we are unaware. Through nianfo, we can become aware of the Buddha in our own mind, and through this we realize that we are also in the all-pervasive Buddha mind, which is aware of us and all things. This is ganying — sympathetic resonance — which is like one string vibrating in response to another.
Similarly, numerous masters leveraged the Tiantai and Huayan teachings on the interpenetration of all things to defend Pure Land practice. As Master Yinguang writes:
You should not think that the merits and virtues of reciting the name of, or visualizing one buddha are less encompassing than those received from reciting the name of, or visualizing many buddhas. You should realize that Amitabha Buddha is the Dharma Realm Treasure Body. All the virtues of the Buddhas in the ten directions of the Dharma Realm are fully encompassed in Amitabha Buddha. This is like the jewelled net of Indra, whose thousands and thousands of jewels are fully reflected in one jewel, the image of one jewel is reflected in thousands and thousands of jewels, and each and every jewel encompasses every other, in perfect, unimpeded fashion.
Yes you can. This is often called “dual practice,” especially when combined with Zen. In dual practice traditions, reciting the Buddha's name can itself be a way of Zen training. The most common way to do this is to recite the Buddha's name while using this as a huatou (the key phrase of a koan), investigating the mind that recites while asking "who is reciting"?
While some traditions encourage dual-practice, others emphasize focusing on Pure Land practice in this life, and even "exclusive practice." This isn't because other paths are seen as wrong, but because focusing entirely on the nianfo path is seen as the most direct and effective way for ordinary people to achieve liberation in this age of Dharma decline. This view relies on sutras like the Mahāsaṃnipāta, which state that bodhisattva practices like meditation are not very effective in the age of decline.
Nevertheless, many practitioners follow other paths like Vajrayana, while also maintaining a Pure Land aspiration as a support or safety net for the moment of death, in case they have not yet attained liberation through their main practice. One way to do this is to incorporate some nianfo into one's regular practice sessions and dedicate the merit of one's various practices toward birth in the Pure Land. If you practice multiple traditions, it is wise to be clear about your primary path and to maintain a consistent Pure Land practice, even if brief. This ensures that the aspiration for birth in the Pure Land remains strong at the time of death.