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Western Pure Land Buddhism (WPLB) is the name I have given to one of the latest teachings of the Mahayana Pure Land tradition. It shares with all other Buddhist groups the ideal of attaining Nirvana, not just for oneself, but also for all beings. Thus the goal of one's life is to realize Buddhahood in order to help others see this world of birth-and-death (samsara) as Nirvana. Where WPLB differs from most other Buddhists is in teaching that Buddhahood is a gift to us from Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light and Life, and that we acknowledge that gift by the saying of Nembutsu (Namah Amida Buddha).The life of Nembutsu consists of chanting the Nembutsu and teaching others the way. It is to live a life without fear. And to join with others to better achieve these goals.
Author : Charles B. Jones Publisher : University of Hawaii Press Page : 224 pages File Size : 42,8 Mb Release : 2019-09-30 Category : Religion ISBN : 9780824879716
Chinese Pure Land Buddhism by Charles B. Jones Pdf
Chinese Pure Land Buddhism: Understanding a Tradition of Practice is the first book in any western language to provide a comprehensive overview of Chinese Pure Land Buddhism. Even though Pure Land Buddhism was born in China and currently constitutes the dominant form of Buddhist practice there, it has previously received very little attention from western scholars. In this book, Charles B. Jones examines the reasons for the lack of scholarly attention and why the few past treatments of the topic missed many of its distinctive features. He argues that the Chinese Pure Land tradition, with its characteristic promise of rebirth in the Pure Land to even non-elite or undeserving practitioners, should not be viewed from the perspective of the Japanese Pure Land tradition, which differs greatly. More accurately contextualizing Chinese Pure Land Buddhism within the landscape of Chinese Buddhism and the broader global Buddhist tradition, this work celebrates Chinese Pure Land, not as a school or sect, but as a unique and inherently valuable “tradition of practice.” This volume is organized thematically, clearly presenting topics such as the nature of the Pure Land, the relationship between “self-power” and “other-power,” the practice of nianfo (buddha-recollection), and the formation of the line of “patriarchs” that keep the tradition grounded. It guides us in understanding the vigorous debates that Chinese Pure Land Buddhism evoked and delves into the rich apologetic literature that it produced in its own defense. Drawing upon a wealth of previously unexamined primary source materials, as well as modern texts by contemporary Chinese Pure Land masters, the author provides lucid translations of resources previously unavailable in English. He also shares his lifetime of experience in this field, enlivening the narrative with personal anecdotes of his visits to sites of Pure Land practice in China and Taiwan. The straightforward and nontechnical prose makes this book a standby resource for anyone interested in pursuing research in this lively, sophisticated, and still-evolving religious tradition. Scholars—including undergraduates—specializing in East Asian Buddhism, as well as those interested in Buddhism or Chinese religion and history in general, will find this book invaluable.
Author : Paul B. Watt Publisher : University of Hawaii Press Page : 201 pages File Size : 54,9 Mb Release : 2016-01-31 Category : History ISBN : 9780824856342
Demythologizing Pure Land Buddhism by Paul B. Watt Pdf
The True Pure Land sect of Japanese Buddhism, or Shin Buddhism, grew out of the teachings of Shinran (1173–1262), a Tendai-trained monk who came to doubt the efficacy of that tradition in what he viewed as a degenerate age. Shinran held that even those unable to fulfill the requirements of the traditional Buddhist path could attain enlightenment through the experience of shinjin, “the entrusting mind”—an expression of the profound realization that the Buddha Amida, who promises birth in his Pure Land to all who trust in him, was nothing other than the true basis of all existence and the sustaining nature of human beings. Over the centuries, the subtleties of Shinran’s teachings were often lost. Elaborate rituals developed to focus one’s mind at the moment of death so one might travel to the Pure Land unimpeded, and a rich artistic tradition celebrated the moment when Amida and his retinue of bodhisattvas welcome the dying believer. What is more, many Western interpreters tended to reinforce this view of Pure Land Buddhism, seeing in it certain parallels to Christianity. This volume introduces the thought and selected writings of Yasuda Rijin (1900–1982), a modern Shin Buddhist thinker affiliated with the Otani, or Higashi Honganji, branch of Shin Buddhism. Yasuda sought to restate the teachings of Shinran within a modern tradition that began with the work of Kiyozawa Manshi (1863–1903) and extended through the writings of Yasuda’s teachers Kaneko Daiei (1881–1976) and Soga Ryōjin (1875–1971). These men lived through the period of Japan’s rapid modernization and viewed the Shin tradition as possessing existential significance for modern men and women. For them, and Yasuda in particular, Amida did not exist in some other-worldly paradise but rather Amida and his Pure Land were to be experienced as lived realities in the present. In the writings and lectures presented here, Yasuda draws on not only classical Shin and Mahayana Buddhist sources, but also the thought of Nishida Kitarō (1870–1945), the founder of the Kyoto School of philosophy, and modern Western philosophers such as Heidegger, Nietzsche, and Buber.
Pure Land, Real World by Melissa Anne-Marie Curley Pdf
For close to a thousand years Amida’s Pure Land, a paradise of perfect ease and equality, was the most powerful image of shared happiness circulating in the Japanese imagination. In the late nineteenth century, some Buddhist thinkers sought to reinterpret the Pure Land in ways that would allow it speak to modern Japan. Their efforts succeeded in ways they could not have predicted. During the war years, economist Kawakami Hajime, philosopher Miki Kiyoshi, and historian Ienaga Saburō—left-leaning thinkers with no special training in doctrinal studies and no strong connection to any Buddhist institution—seized upon modernized images of Shinran in exile and a transcendent Western Paradise to resist the demands of a state that was bearing down on its citizens with increasing force. Pure Land, Real World treats the religious thought of these three major figures in English for the first time. Kawakami turned to religion after being imprisoned for his involvement with the Japanese Communist Party, borrowing the Shinshū image of the two truths to assert that Buddhist law and Marxist social science should reinforce each other, like the two wings of a bird. Miki, a member of the Kyoto School who went from prison to the crown prince’s think tank and back again, identified Shinran’s religion as belonging to the proletariat: For him, following Shinran and working toward building a buddha land on earth were akin to realizing social revolution. And Ienaga’s understanding of the Pure Land—as the crystallization of a logic of negation that undermined every real power structure—fueled his battle against the state censorship system, just as he believed it had enabled Shinran to confront the world’s suffering head on. Such readings of the Pure Land tradition are idiosyncratic—perhaps even heretical—but they hum with the same vibrancy that characterized medieval Pure Land belief. Innovative and refreshingly accessible, Pure Land, Real World shows that the Pure Land tradition informed twentieth-century Japanese thought in profound and surprising ways and suggests that it might do the same for twenty-first-century thinkers. The critical power of Pure Land utopianism has yet to be exhausted.
The Pure Land Tradition by James Harlan Foard,Michael Solomon,Richard Karl Payne Pdf
This collection includes the scholarship on one of the most important strains of Buddhism, the Pure Land Tradition. The essays trace its historical evolution from its origins in India through its development in China to medieval Japan.
Chih I (Patriarch) , T'ien Ju (Zen Master), Thich Thi'en Tam(Dharma Master)
Author : Chih I (Patriarch) , T'ien Ju (Zen Master), Thich Thi'en Tam(Dharma Master) Publisher : The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation Page : 224 pages File Size : 41,5 Mb Release : 2024-06-28 Category : Religion ISBN : 8210379456XXX
Pure Land Buddhism - Dialogues with Ancient Masters by Chih I (Patriarch) , T'ien Ju (Zen Master), Thich Thi'en Tam(Dharma Master) Pdf
Buddhism, as a major religion and a way of life, is the subject of numerous books and commentaries. Yet the kernel of its teachings can be expressed in two major concepts: purity of Mind and practice. Traditional Pure Land teachings emphasize the three elements of Faith, Vows and Practice (Buddha Recitation) as the essential conditions for rebirth in the Pure Land -- in the Pure Mind. This approach is presented as the easiest, most expedient path for the majority of people in this day and age. These teachings are in harmony with other Pure Land traditions, such as Jodo Shinshu, in which shinjin, Faith, is ultimately defined as Mind -- the True Mind, encompassing Vows and Practice (Sanshin Jsshin). Pure Land is also in line with Zen, which sees all teachings as expedients, "fingers pointing to the moon" - the moon being the True Mind, the Mind of Thusness, always bright, pure and unchanging. In the same vein, the Dhammapada Sutra, a key text of the Theravada School, summarizes the teachings of the Buddha with the words: "Do not what is evil. Do what is good. Keep your Mind pure. Yet, purity of Mind cannot be achieved by study and verbalization alone. It can be attained only through determined practice. There is a story concerning the famous Chinese official and poet Po Chu-i which illustrates this point. One day, the official, passing along the road, saw a Zen monk seated on the branch of a tree preaching the Dharma. The following dialogue ensued: Official: "Old man, what are you doing in that tree, in such a precarious position? One misstep, and you will fall to your death!" Monk: "I dare say, Your Lordship, that your own position is even more precarious. If I make a misstep, I alone may be killed; if you make a misstep, it can cost the lives of thousands." Official: "Not a bad reply. I'll tell you what. If you can explain the essence of Buddhism to me in one sentence, I'll become your disciple. Otherwise, we will go our separate ways, never to meet again." Monk: "What an easy question! Listen! The essence of Buddhism is to do no evil, do what is good, and keep your Mind pure." Official: "ls that all there is to it? Even a child of eight realizes that!" Monk: "True, a child of eight may realize it, but, even a man of eighty cannot practice it!" Buddhism is Mind, Buddhism is practice -- it is praxis.•
Critical Readings on Pure Land Buddhism in Japan by Galen Amstutz Pdf
Pure Land was one of the main fields of mythopoesis and discourse among the Asian Buddhist traditions, and in Japan of central cultural importance from the Heian period right up to the present. The pieces reproduced in this set have been chosen as linchpin works accentuating the diversity and evolution of Pure Land Buddhism. These selections of previously published articles will serve as an essential starting-point for anyone interested in this perhaps underestimated area of Buddhist studies.
Finding Our True Home presents a new definitive translation of the Amitabha Sutra along with Thich Nhat Hanh’s first commentary on one of the most practiced forms of Buddhism in the world, the Pure Land school. Introduced in the Buddha’s own lifetime, Pure Land practice puts us in touch with the beauty in our own world and brings us the security, solidity, and freedom we need in order to truly enjoy it. Realizing that Buddha is within us, we see that the Pure Land (paradise) is here and now, rather than in the future. Finding Our True Home will open a new Dharma door to many students of meditation.
Critical Readings on Pure Land Buddhism in Japan by Galen Amstutz Pdf
Pure Land was one of the main fields of mythopoesis and discourse among the Asian Buddhist traditions, and in Japan of central cultural importance from the Heian period right up to the present. The pieces reproduced in this set have been chosen as linchpin works accentuating the diversity and evolution of Pure Land Buddhism. These selections of previously published articles will serve as an essential starting-point for anyone interested in this perhaps underestimated area of Buddhist studies.
An introductory guide to the beliefs and key concepts of Pure Land Buddhism, the most widely practiced form of Buddhism in East Asia. Pure Land is a brief introduction to the history and practices of Pure Land Buddhism, a popular and growing global tradition. Pure Land practices center on Amitābha Buddha, rebirth in his pure buddha-land, and the guaranteed attainment of buddhahood. It constitutes the dominant tradition of most Buddhists in East Asia and is the most common form of practice within immigrant Buddhist communities in America, yet it remains elusive to many general readers of Buddhism. This brief introduction summarizes the core teachings of this tradition and charts its growth throughout the world. Part of the Buddhist Foundations series, Pure Land covers the spiritual tenets behind the tradition before describing how prayer and devotion to Amitābha allow for rebirth in a realm free from suffering and ideal for progress on the path to enlightenment. It then outlines specific Pure Land practices, all the while providing historical context to account for its widespread popularity throughout East Asia. The author also covers contemporary Pure Land traditions, providing a useful touch point for modern readers. Pure Land practitioners and readers interested in Asian-American Buddhist communities now have a concise guide to the ideas, practices, and origins of this widely popular spiritual tradition.
This book is a compilation of some of the quintessential Dharma lectures of Venerable Master Miao Lien that he addressed to retreat participants. The Venerable Master often said, “To fully comprehend why one must seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land, one must read Pure Land for All!” Such is the brilliant guidance of one of the greatest Pure Land Masters who attained his profound understanding through actual practice. Herein lie not only the elements of study and practice, but also aspects of both the phenom¬enal and noumenal worlds, as well as the vast, compas¬sionate vows of the Venerable Master. May all who read this book attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land.
Author : Patriarch Yin Kuang Publisher : The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation Page : 107 pages File Size : 47,6 Mb Release : 2024-06-28 Category : Religion ISBN : 8210379456XXX
Pure Land Zen, Zen Pure Land - Letters from Patriarch Yin Kuang by Patriarch Yin Kuang Pdf
After the demise of the historical Buddha, His teachings spread in two main directions, southward (Theravada tradition) and eastward into China, Vietnam, Ko- rea, Japan (Mahayana tradition). In East Asia, these teachings developed into ten different schools, several of which remained important to this day: Zen, Tantric and Pure Land. Pure Land is by far the most widespread form of Buddhism in East Asia. All these schools teach the same basic truth: “Do not what is evil, do what is good, keep the mind pure.” True to this spirit, the Pure Land approach is simple and straightforward. Through mindfulness of the Buddha (i.e. Buddha Recitation), the practitioner can calm his mind and achieve samadhi and wisdom. Thus reborn in the Pure Land (i.e., in his pure Mind), he will eventually attain Buddhahood. This is also the core teaching, the very essence, of Zen and all other Mahayana schools. As D.T. Suzuki has pointed out, “the psychological effects of the repetition of the holy name are close to the effects of Zen meditation.” This notwithstanding, the main emphasis of the Pure Land school lies elsewhere. Pure Land provides a safety net, a refuge of last resort for everyone, through the compassion of Amitabha Buddha – through His Vows. Taken together, these two concepts of the Pure Land – as Mind and as a transcendental land – “effectively brought ... within the reach of all men the deliverance taught by Sakyamuni” (Allan A. Andrews). But why do we have to purify the mind and seek deliverance? It is because in the wasteland of Birth and Death, subject to the three poisons of greed, anger and delusion, we all undergo suffering – the ultimate suffering being, of course, death. Echoing this conclusion, a well-known American professor made this observation about the motivation of Western Buddhists: Probably the majority of non-Orientals who become practicing Buddhists do so because of an overriding need for relief from suffering. Sometimes the suffering is physical, but more often it is emotional and often psychosoma- tic. The individual practicing meditation, chanting, or any kind of Buddhist “self-cultivation” is motivated by a need for symptomatic relief, mitigation of anxiety and depression, reduction of hostility ... (Emma McCloy Layman, Buddhism in America, p. 269) This is precisely why Buddha Sakyamuni, when preaching the Four Noble Truths to Kaundinya and his friends, taught them first the Truth of Suffering. The letters of Master Yin Kuang address this issue squarely. If you are suffering and if you realistically discover that you have only average motivation, fortitude and self-discipline, then Pure Land is for you. Pure Land is about suffering and the liberation from suffering. This book consists of excerpts of selected letters by the Patriarch Yin Kuang [...]. Each letter can be considered a unit in itself [...]. Please note that in this text, the expressions “Buddha Recitation” and “Buddha’s name” refer specifically to Amitabha Buddha. [...] Here, then, are the letters of the Patriarch Yin Kuang. We hope the Western reader will enjoy and benefit from them, as several generations of Eastern readers have. As a Zen Master has written in another context, “read them once, read them twice and look for the same thing that Bodhidharma brought to China: look for the print of the Mind.”
The larger sutra on Amitāyus (Taishō volume 12, number 360) -- The sutra on contemplation of Amitāyus (Taishō volume 12, number 365) -- The smaller sutra on Amitāyus (Taishō volume 12, number 366).
