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Pure Land
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Pure Land
Pure Land is a Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places without the sufferings of samsara and to be beyond the three planes of existence. Many Mahayana Buddhists aspire to be reborn in a Buddha's pure land after death.
The term "Pure Land" is particular to East Asian Buddhism (Chinese: 淨土; pinyin: Jìngtǔ). In Sanskrit Buddhist sources, the equivalent concept is called a buddha-field (buddhakṣetra) or more technically a pure buddha-field (viśuddha-buddhakṣetra). It is also known by the Sanskrit term buddhabhūmi (Buddha land). In Tibetan Buddhism meanwhile, the term "pure realms" (Tibetan: དག་པའི་ཞིང Wylie: dag pa'i zhing) is also used as a synonym for buddhafield.
The various traditions that focus on attaining rebirth in a Pure Land are often called Pure Land Buddhism. The English term is ambiguous. It can refer to a way of practice which is found in most Mahayana traditions which employ various means to attain birth in a pure land. This specific concept is termed the "Pure Land Dharma gate" (Chinese: 淨土法門; pinyin: jìngtǔ fǎmén) in East Asian Buddhism. The English term can also refer to specific Buddhist schools or sects which focus on Pure Land practice. Specifically these would be termed Jìngtǔzōng (淨土宗) in Chinese and Jōdo bukkyō in Japanese.
Pure Lands are also found in the non-Buddhist traditions of Taoism and Bon.
The Mahavastu 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."
The Indian Mahayana sutras describe many buddha-fields. Mahayana sources hold that there are an infinite number of buddhas, each with their own buddha-field where they teach the Dharma and where sentient beings can be reborn into (due to their good karmic acts). A buddha-field is a place where bodhisattvas can more easily progress spiritually on the bodhisattva path. Jan Nattier has argued that this idea became popular because the traditional understanding of the extreme length of the bodhisattva path seemed very difficult and training under a buddha in a buddha-field (especially prepared to train bodhisattvas) was seen as a faster way to buddhahood, known as stream winning.
Sentient beings who are reborn in these pure buddha-fields due to their good karma also contribute to the development of a Buddha-field, as can bodhisattvas who are able to travel there. These buddha-fields are therefore powerful places which are very advantageous to spiritual progress.
According to Indian sources, the bodhisattva path, by ending all defilements, culminates in the arising of a purified buddha-field, which is the manifestation and reflection of a Buddha's activity. 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.
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Pure Land
Pure Land is a Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places without the sufferings of samsara and to be beyond the three planes of existence. Many Mahayana Buddhists aspire to be reborn in a Buddha's pure land after death.
The term "Pure Land" is particular to East Asian Buddhism (Chinese: 淨土; pinyin: Jìngtǔ). In Sanskrit Buddhist sources, the equivalent concept is called a buddha-field (buddhakṣetra) or more technically a pure buddha-field (viśuddha-buddhakṣetra). It is also known by the Sanskrit term buddhabhūmi (Buddha land). In Tibetan Buddhism meanwhile, the term "pure realms" (Tibetan: དག་པའི་ཞིང Wylie: dag pa'i zhing) is also used as a synonym for buddhafield.
The various traditions that focus on attaining rebirth in a Pure Land are often called Pure Land Buddhism. The English term is ambiguous. It can refer to a way of practice which is found in most Mahayana traditions which employ various means to attain birth in a pure land. This specific concept is termed the "Pure Land Dharma gate" (Chinese: 淨土法門; pinyin: jìngtǔ fǎmén) in East Asian Buddhism. The English term can also refer to specific Buddhist schools or sects which focus on Pure Land practice. Specifically these would be termed Jìngtǔzōng (淨土宗) in Chinese and Jōdo bukkyō in Japanese.
Pure Lands are also found in the non-Buddhist traditions of Taoism and Bon.
The Mahavastu 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."
The Indian Mahayana sutras describe many buddha-fields. Mahayana sources hold that there are an infinite number of buddhas, each with their own buddha-field where they teach the Dharma and where sentient beings can be reborn into (due to their good karmic acts). A buddha-field is a place where bodhisattvas can more easily progress spiritually on the bodhisattva path. Jan Nattier has argued that this idea became popular because the traditional understanding of the extreme length of the bodhisattva path seemed very difficult and training under a buddha in a buddha-field (especially prepared to train bodhisattvas) was seen as a faster way to buddhahood, known as stream winning.
Sentient beings who are reborn in these pure buddha-fields due to their good karma also contribute to the development of a Buddha-field, as can bodhisattvas who are able to travel there. These buddha-fields are therefore powerful places which are very advantageous to spiritual progress.
According to Indian sources, the bodhisattva path, by ending all defilements, culminates in the arising of a purified buddha-field, which is the manifestation and reflection of a Buddha's activity. 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.