Knowra Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism is a Mahayana tradition centered on rebirth in a buddha’s purified realm, especially Amitābha’s Sukhāvatī, through practices such as reciting his name.
Amitābha : Amitābha is a buddha associated with infinite light and the Western Pure Land, Sukhāvatī. His vows and name anchor the tradition’s best-known practices.
Nianfo : Nianfo is the practice of recollecting or invoking a buddha, especially Amitābha, through recitation or contemplation. It is the defining devotional practice in many East Asian Pure Land traditions.
Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra : The Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra is a Mahayana scripture recounting Amitābha’s vows and describing Sukhāvatī. It supplies the foundational account of the vows behind Pure Land aspiration.
Jōdo-shū : Jōdo-shū is a Japanese Pure Land school founded by Hōnen, centered on reciting Amitābha’s name. It represents Hōnen’s focused approach to nembutsu practice.
Nembutsu : Nembutsu is the Japanese practice of invoking or recollecting Amitābha, commonly by chanting his name. It is the everyday devotional form of the tradition’s central practice in Japan.
Sukhāvatī : Sukhāvatī is Amitābha’s pure land, a realm described as conducive to awakening. Rebirth there is the tradition’s central aspiration.
Amitābha’s Forty-Eight Vows : Amitābha’s Forty-Eight Vows are commitments described in the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra before his buddhahood. The eighteenth vow is especially associated with birth in Sukhāvatī through sincere aspiration and recollection.
Smaller Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra : The Smaller Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra describes Sukhāvatī and urges recollection of Amitābha with single-minded confidence. Its concise teaching became central to recitation-based Pure Land devotion.
Jōdo Shinshū : Jōdo Shinshū is a Japanese Pure Land school founded by Shinran, emphasizing reliance on Amitābha’s vow. Its teaching of settled entrusting differs from approaches that stress repeated practice as a cause.
Pure Land temples : Pure Land temples are Buddhist institutions serving communities that practice devotion to Amitābha and aspiration for Sukhāvatī. They sustain chanting, teaching, memorial rites, and community life.
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