Pure Land Buddhism: Merging Faith and Reason
“What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?” scoffed the early church writer Tertullian, and in so uttering drew the battle lines between reason and
“What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?” scoffed the early church writer Tertullian, and in so uttering drew the battle lines between reason and
The Importance of “Sincere Mind” “Sincere Mind” is the first of the “Three States of Mind,” in other words, “Sincere Mind,” “Deep Mind,” and “Mind
Fourteen years ago, José Cabezón argued brilliantly that “theology” should no longer be a dirty word in Buddhism (despite being derived from the Greek word theos, or “God”).
The Faith Approach and the Wisdom Approach Pure Land Buddhism is a teaching of deliverance by other-power for rebirth in the Land of Bliss, not a teaching
A Brief History of the Formation of the Land of Bliss According to the Infinite Life Sutra, in the era of Lokeshvararaja Tathagata, there was once
Two Kinds of Nature As a Pure Land, the nature of the Land of Bliss is pure in every sense of the word. As declared by
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.
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