Pure Land Buddhism

Lore & Background

The Indic term buddhakṣetra initially referred to the realm where a buddha taught and exerted his enlightening influence. The Mahāvastu defines a buddha-field as a realm where 'a tathagata, a holy one, fully and perfectly enlightened, is to be found, lives, exists and teaches the Dharma, for the benefit and happiness of the great body of beings, men and gods.' Over time, the idea that buddhas purify certain realms which become special destinations for beings to seek rebirth in became widespread. The Indian Mahayana sutras describe many such pure buddha-fields. Mahayana sources hold that there are an infinite number of buddhas, each with their own buddha-fields where they teach the Dharma and where sentient beings can be reborn into (due to their good karmic acts). A 'purified buddha-field' (Sanskrit: pariśuddhaṃ buddhakṣetram) is a place free of evils, troubles disasters which is described as having an array (vyuha) of good qualities (guna). Jan Nattier has argued that the idea of a pure land became popular as a response to the extreme length and the difficulty of the traditional bodhisattva path, which took thousands of eons (kalpas) across many rebirths. The most popular example of a pure land is Sukhāvatī, the pure land of Amitabha. The Sanskrit of the Samantabhadracaryāpraṇidhāna describes Sukhāvatī as a 'exceedingly pure buddha‑land' (pariśuddha‑buddhakṣetra), and also as a 'pure land' (viśuddhakṣetra).

Reader's Guide

Pure Land Buddhism's significance lies in its democratization of the path to enlightenment. The development of the idea of the Pure Land was informed by the Indian Buddhist cosmology of the heavenly realms (devaloka), which were seen as suitable goal to aspire to, especially for Buddhist laypersons. Practices aimed at a higher birth even included calling out 'Namo Buddhaya' as death approached, a practice that mirrors East Asian Pure Land practice. This practice is described in non-Mahayana sources like the Divyāvadāna, which attributes its salvific power to the 'power of the Buddha.' Mahayana sources state that bodhisattvas like Avalokiteśvara and Manjushri will obtain their own buddha-fields after they attain full buddhahood. In the Lotus Sutra, Buddha's close followers, such as Śāriputra, Mahākāśyapa, Subhūti, Maudgalyāyana and Buddha's son Rāhula are also predicted to attain their own Pure Lands. The relative time-flow in the Pure Lands may be different, with a day in one Pure Land being equivalent to years in another. Numerous Mahayana sources also connect the concept of a purified buddhafield (pariśuddha-buddhakṣetra) with the purity of one's own mind. Hence, the Vimalakirti sutra states: 'the bodhisattva who wishes to purify his buddhakṣetra should, first of all, skillfully adorn his own mind. And why? Because to the extent that the mind of a bodhisattva is pure is his buddhakṣetra purified.'

Did You Know?

• The term 'Pure Land' is common in East Asian Buddhist sources (Chinese: 淨土; pinyin: Jìngtǔ), while Sanskrit sources use terms like buddhakṣetra or viśuddha-buddhakṣetra.
• Pure Lands are also found in the non-Buddhist traditions of Taoism and Bon.
• The relative time-flow in the Pure Lands may be different, with a day in one Pure Land being equivalent to years in another.
• In the Lotus Sutra, Buddha's close followers such as Śāriputra, Mahākāśyapa, Subhūti, Maudgalyāyana and Buddha's son Rāhula are predicted to attain their own Pure Lands.
• The Vimalakirti sutra states: 'the bodhisattva who wishes to purify his buddhakṣetra should, first of all, skillfully adorn his own mind.'