Is the Pure Land a Heaven?
Alan Kwan
4 July 2014
What is the difference between Heaven and a Buddha’s Pure Land? This is a question that has vexed outsiders and beginners to Pure Land Buddhism.
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What is the difference between Heaven and a Buddha’s Pure Land? This is a question that has vexed outsiders and beginners to Pure Land Buddhism.
The title of my article was posed as a question in the Commentary of the Contemplation Sutra, written by Master Shandao, the de facto founder of
In the Infinite Life Sutra, one of the main texts of the Pure Land tradition, Amitabha Buddha made his 18th vow: “If, when I attain Buddhahood,
In the last three articles in my column, we’ve been discussing a lot about Amitabha-recitation “by ten times”. There are actually two “discrepancies” between the
Rebirth by Amitabha-recitation in 10 times Master Tanluan (476??542 CE), a prominent patriarch in Pure Land Buddhism, interpreted ‘reciting Amitabha ten times’ with an analytical set
Many within Buddhism itself criticize the concept of ‘other-power’ (?L?O) or Buddha power, asserting that it is over-emphasized in Pure Land Buddhism. They might say,
Why “Even only ten times”? Many Buddhist practitioners find the 18th Vow of Amitabha Buddha – the Primal Vow that guarantees salvation to every being that
In this three-part series, Pure Land columnist Alan Kwan examines the three most important vows of Amitabha Buddha’s forty-eight vows, which constitute Amitabha’s plan for
In this three-part series, Pure Land columnist Alan Kwan examines the three most important vows of Amitabha Buddha’s forty-eight vows, which constitute Amitabha’s plan for
In this three-part series, Pure Land columnist Alan Kwan examines the three most important vows of Amitabha Buddha’s forty-eight vows, which constitute Amitabha’s plan for
Remarks in the Commentary of the Contemplation Sutra Soon after Master Shandao defined exclusive practice and mixed practice in his Commentary of the Contemplation Sutra, he told
Exclusive Practice As classified by Master Shandao, the de facto founder of Pure Land Buddhism in China, the Pure Land teaching of Amitabha Buddha is