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49-511: The Mahāmegha Sūtra was translated into Chinese in the fifth century by Dharmakṣema (385–433) as Great Vaipulya Great Cloud Sutra (Chinese: 大方等大雲 經, T. 387, *Mahāvaipulyamahāmeghasūtra ). Certain Chinese sources attribute a translation of the sutra to another figure, Zhu Fonian . A Tibetan translation ( Sprin chen po, Toh 232) was completed by Surendrabodhi and Yeshe Dé in the 9th century. A Sanskrit manuscript which preserves eighty percent of

98-475: A "pure vision" of this realm as being the pure realm of the deity, along with the visualization of their chosen deity . To fail to do this at all times is a deviation from the tantric practice and the esoteric view taught in the tantras . As explained by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche : Mandalas , especially sand mandalas , are 'Pure Lands' and may be understood as Nirmāṇakāya , as are all murti , thangka and sacred tools that have consecrated, dedicated and

147-502: A bodhisattva. Jnanasutra Samding Dorje Phagmo There appear to be two Jnanasutras , with different Tibetan orthographies for their names. The first, Wylie : ye shes mdo , flourished from the 5th-6th centuries. According to Dzogchen legends, he was an early Dzogchen practitioner of Vajrayāna Buddhism and a disciple of Sri Singha . This Jnanasutra was a spiritual brother of Vimalamitra , another principal disciple of Sri Singha. According to Tarthang Tulku (1980),

196-455: 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

245-522: A process of the development of lotus ( padma )-symbolism in Pure Land Buddhism. The final outcome of the thought was as follows: the aspirants of faith and assiduity are born transformed ( anupapāduka ) in the lotus flowers. But those with doubts are born into the lotus-buds. They stay in the calyx of a lotus ( garbhāvāsa ) for five hundred years without seeing or hearing the Three Treasures. Within

294-556: A pure land. This specific concept is termed the "Pure Land Dharma gate" (Ch: 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

343-636: A schema of five main Buddhas (called the Five Tathāgatas ). In this schema, which is popular in Esoteric Buddhism and is organized as a mandala , there the five Pure Lands of the five key Buddhas are: In Chinese Buddhism , the Pure Land was commonly seen as a transcendent realm beyond the three realms (the desire realm, form realm and formless realm) into which one can be reborn after death. This view

392-567: A sentence to Sri Singha and before mentioning Vimalamitra. This article about a member of the Buddhist clergy is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Tibetan Buddhism -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Buddha-field 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

441-476: A synthesis of these various views on the nature of the pure land. East Asian Buddhist thinkers taught various schemas which outlined different types or levels of the pure lands. One of the most influential of these was that taught in the Tiantai school which outlined four pure lands: In Japanese Pure land Buddhism meanwhile, a common distinction is between two main lands that Pure Land devotees can be reborn in:

490-549: A wish to be reborn there. Other Buddhist monks, such as Xuyun , have also been known to have dreamt of going to the Inner Court of Tushita. Some Yiguandao followers claimed to have traveled there. The Inner Court of Tuṣita was historically a popular place for Buddhists to wish to be reborn in; however, the vast majority of Pure Land Buddhists today hope to be reborn in Sukhavati . Later Indian Buddhism developed

539-471: Is already pure, we cannot see the purity of the world due to our delusion and afflictions (as per the Vimalakirti Sutra ). However, on attaining the higher bodhisattva stages, the purified mind will be able to witness the purity of this world, along with the majestic displays of the jeweled ground, divine flowers, and so on. Furthermore, Tibetan Vajrayana deity yoga methods require the yogi to maintain

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588-530: Is also associated with the Lotus Sutra assembly over Vulture Peak (靈鷲山釋迦淨土). While Zhiyi was chanting the Lotus Sutra , he saw the meeting of Gautama Buddha and bodhisattvas there. Nanyue Huisi (慧思大師) said, "Only you can know that, only I can prove you". According to the Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra , the whole universe is a vast pure buddha-field which has been purified by Vairocana Buddha. This

637-461: Is also called "other direction" or "western direction" pure land. This view of the Pure Land as an actual realm or place was defended by masters of Pure Land Buddhism like Shandao . Another interpretation of a Pure Land is that it is non-dual with our world since the whole world is mind-only . The Vimalakīrti Sutra was widely cited by exponents of this non-dual view of the Pure Land, often called "mind-only" Pure Land (wéixīn jìngtǔ 唯心淨土). This

686-505: Is also known by the Sanskrit term buddhabhūmi (Buddha land). In Tibetan Buddhism meanwhile, the term "pure realms" (Wyl. 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

735-661: Is an array of billions of worlds in a lotus shape. Furthermore, Ghanavyūha (Dense Array or Secret Adornment) is considered to be the supreme pure buddhafield specific to Vairocana . It appears in Mahayana sutras like the Ghanavyūha Sutra . According to this sutra, by following virtuous teachers, hearing and contemplating Buddha Dharma, and letting go of all concepts and craving, one can be reborn there, achieve enlightenment, and manifest in countless ways to help all beings. In East Asian Esoteric Buddhist traditions, like Shingon ,

784-596: Is far away and is called "Unsurpassable" (Chinese: Wúshèng 無勝). The Buddha manifests from his Pure Land into our world in order to teach the Dharma. Under the influence of the Lotus Sutra , Japanese Buddhist schools like the Tendai and Nichiren schools saw Śākyamuni's pure land as being continuous with this supposedly impure world. This pure land was called "Jakkōdo" (寂光土, Land of Tranquil Light). Śākyamuni Buddha 's pure land

833-517: Is impure. Numerous Mahayana sutras , such as the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā , Lankavatara , Vimalakirti , and Lotus Sutras , also state that this dualism between purity and impurity is illusory and instead state that even this world is a pure buddha-field. Thus, according to the Vimalakirti , this seemingly impure world is actually pure. It only appears impure because

882-458: Is inhabited by people with enlightened pure minds then it is a Pure Land." 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

931-450: Is interfused with all worlds in the multiverse and indeed with all phenomena (dharmas). This view of the Buddha's Pure Land is inconceivable and all pervasive. Since for Fazang, the entire Dharma realm is visible within each particle in the universe, the Pure Land is therefore contained in every phenomena and is non-dual with our world. Later Chinese thinkers similarly attempted to synthesize

980-404: Is revealed by the bodhisattva Great Cloud Essence that Devadatta and his schismatic followers are truly bodhisattva mahāpuruṣas (great beings) and that their actions were a display of skillful means that were all in accord with the Buddha's divine plan. The sutra also discusses a prophecy regarding the Dharma ending age . It states that a figure named *Sarvasattvapriyadarśana (一切眾生樂見) will be

1029-561: Is the basis, ground, or "source" ( Tibetan : ཆོས་འབྱུང , Wylie : chos 'byung ; Sanskrit: dharmodaya ), the true nature of reality, out which all buddhas and buddhafields arise. Tibetan Buddhism also holds that this world is also a pure land, since samsara and nirvana are non-dual . Specifically, our world is the pure land of the Sambhoghakaya Vairocana Buddha, as stated in the Avatamsaka sutra . Though our realm

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1078-486: Is the view of Pure Land which is found in the Chinese Huayan tradition. According to this view, our world is just one small part of this universal Pure Land which is named: "Ocean of worlds, whose surface and inside are decorated with an arrangement of flowers" (Sanskrit: Kusumatalagarbha-vyūhālamkāra-lokadhātusamudra ). It is also called the "Lotus Treasury World" (Chinese: 華蔵世界, Skt. Padmagarbha-lokadhātu ), since it

1127-739: The Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśa , the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra and the Mahābherīhārakasūtra . These include : Like the Nirvana sutra , the Mahāmegha affirms the eternal nature of the Buddha in various passages. For example, it states "all tathāgatas are permanent, eternal, tranquil, and stable" (ch. 38.79). The Mahāmegha also states that teachings on impermanence, not-self and emptiness mainly refer to samsaric phenomena, like

1176-612: The Mahāmegha Sūtra 's exposition is similar to that of the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra . The Mahāmegha states that its "secret teaching" is that all sentient beings have the tathāgatagarbha within and that this is something to be known. Several chapters also list and sometimes describe numerous "gateways" to Mahayana practice, including " samādhi gateways", " dhāraṇī gateways", "liberation gateways", Dharma gateways, etc. Many of these chapters mostly contain long lists of

1225-671: The "three pure land sutras", the main sources for East Asian Pure Land Buddhism: the Smaller Sukhāvatī-vyūha (T 366), the Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra , and the Amitayus Contemplation Sutra ( i.e. The Contemplation Sutra ). According to Mahayana scriptures, in his past life, Amitabha was a devoted king of a joyous kingdom in a distant eon who renounced his throne to become a monk and vowed to attain buddhahood . He made forty-eight vows which focus on

1274-501: The 'deity' ( yidam ) invoked and requested to reside. Some namkha are Pure Lands. According to Nirmāṇakāya (as tulku ) theory, nirmanakaya spontaneously arise due to the intention, aspiration, faith and devotion of the sangha . Chinese Daoism adopted the idea of heaven realms similar to pure lands from Chinese Buddhism. One popular afterlife in Chinese Daoism is the pure land of eternal bliss (Chánglè Jìngtǔ, 長樂淨土). It has

1323-492: The Buddha, who explains that Vimalaprabhā deliberately takes on the skillful form (* upāyakāya, 方便之身) of a woman for eons, all for the sake of sentient beings. The Buddha eventually prophecies that Vimalaprabhā will become a Buddha and preside over her own buddha-field . This story was used by the Chinese empress Wu Zetian (the de facto ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705) as part of her propaganda to promote herself as

1372-451: 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)

1421-573: The Pure Lands may be different, with a day in one Pure Land being equivalent to years in another. Mahayana sources speak of three kinds of buddha-fields: pure, impure, and mixed. An example of an "impure" field is often this world (called Sahā – “the world to be endured"), Sakyamuni's field. Purified fields include Amitabha's buddha-field of Sukhavati . Some sutras say that Sakyamuni chose to come to an impure world due to his vast compassion. However, not all Mahayana texts agree that Sakyamuni's world

1470-630: The Transformed Land and the Fulfilled Land. Shinran (1173 – 1263), the founder of Jōdo Shinshū , discusses this theory, drawing on the teachings of Shandao . Shinran's schema is as follows: According to Hanshan Deqing (1546–1623), there are three kinds of Pure Lands (associated with the trikaya , the three bodies of the buddha): In Tibetan Buddhism, buddhafields (Skt. buddhakṣetra ; Wylie : sangs rgyas kyi zhing ) or pure realms (Wyl. dag pa'i zhing ) are understood as realms arising due to

1519-466: The afflictions, but they do not apply to the true nature of the Buddha, to "the permanence of the Tathāgata." According to the sutra, those who only meditate on emptiness without understanding the permanence of the Tathāgata have failed to understand the deep meaning of the Buddha's words and will continue to transmigrate in samsara (ch. 38.115). Regarding the doctrine of buddha-nature - tathāgatagarbha ,

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1568-477: 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 , Subhuti , Maudgalyāyana and Buddha's son Rāhula are also predicted to attain their own Pure Lands. The relative time-flow in

1617-609: The closed lotus-flowers they enjoy pleasures as though they were playing in a garden or palace. Sukhāvatī ("The Blissful") is by far the most popular pure land in East Asian Mahayana Buddhism . It is also the main goal of Pure Land Buddhism , which is centered around faith and devotion to Amitābha Buddha as the means of attaining rebirth in his pure land. It is also a popular pure land in Tibetan Buddhism as well. The key canonical teachings on Sukhāvatī are found in

1666-411: The deluded and impure minds of sentient beings perceive it like that. As Paul Williams explains: "The impurity that we see is the result of impure awareness, and also the Buddha's compassion in creating a world within which impure beings can grow. Thus the real way to attain a Pure Land is to purify one's own mind. Put another way, we are already in the Pure Land if we but knew it. Whatever the realm, if it

1715-507: The deluded hope to be born in a faraway land in the west, while the wise who know their nature is empty seek the Pure Land by purifying their minds. These two views of the Pure Land led to many debates in Chinese Buddhism . In a similar fashion, according to the Huayan school patriarch Fazang , the ultimate view of the Buddha's Pure Land (derived from the Avatamsaka sutra ) is that it

1764-508: The dual mandalas of the Vajradhatu and Garbhadhatu mandalas are considered to be the representation of the buddhafield of Mahāvairocana Buddha, the supreme cosmic Buddha. The "Inner Court of Tushita" (兜率內院) is Maitreya's pure land, which is actually located in the deva realm of Tuṣita. Some Buddhist scriptures have noted that Maitreya is currently teaching at the Inner Court of Tuṣita. Some Buddhist Masters, such as Xuanzang , expressed

1813-499: The greatness of his future pure land, pledging that he would not accept buddhahood if any of these vows went unfulfilled. The vows are dedicated to establishing a pure realm accessible to all beings who aspired to be reborn there. This monk would ultimately become Buddha Amitabha. His vows were grounded in hearing his name ("Amitabha"), establishing virtue, and dedicating merit toward rebirth in this pure land. Some Mahayana sutra teachings say that after Amitabha attains final nirvana ,

1862-414: The guardian of the true Dharma during the age of the decline of the Dharma. The sutra also contains a female bodhisattva devī (goddess) named *Vimalaprabhā. In one passage, the Buddha gives a prediction about her future attainments and exploits as a great queen. When the bodhisattva Mahāmeghagarbha assumes that this entails that the female bodhisattva will have to take on a male body, he is criticized by

1911-473: The intention and aspiration of a buddha or bodhisattva. They are also understood to manifest effortlessly and spontaneously from the Buddha qualities. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is generally held there are two main types of pure lands or buddhafields: All buddhafields are understood as ultimately arising from the Dharmakāya , the foundational aspect of the "triple body" of Buddhahood ( trikaya ). The Dharmakāya

1960-497: The mind of a bodhisattva is pure is his buddhakṣetra purified." Nakamura (1980, 1987: p. 207) establishes the Indian background of the padma imagery of the field which is evident iconographically, as well as in motif and metaphor: The descriptions of Pure Land in Pure Land sutras were greatly influenced by Brahmin and Hindu ideas and the topological situation in India. There was

2009-419: The names of these gateways, other chapters describe the miraculous powers bodhisattvas attain through the use of some of these gateways. Some of these powers include the ability to appear in countless forms for the benefit of beings and their use of an empowered manifestation body (adhiṣṭhānakāya). Furthermore, other chapters discuss various bodhisattva practices, such as the use of skillful means. According to

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2058-544: The second Jnanasutra was the principal lotsawa ( Wylie : ye shes sde ) of the 8th-9th century of the first wave of translations from Sanskrit to Tibetan. In Jigme Lingpa 's terma of the ngöndro of the Longchen Nyingthig he writes what approximates the phonemic Sanskrit of 'Jnanasutra' in Tibetan script as Tibetan : ཛྙཱ་ན་སཱུ་ཏྲ , Wylie : dznyā na sū tra , rather than his name in Tibetan and this comes just after

2107-612: The successors of Amitabha in Sukhāvatī will be Avalokiteśvara , followed by Mahāsthāmaprāpta . There are numerous East Asian texts discussing the various experiences of Pure Land Buddhists who have gone to the Pure land or had a vision of Sukhavati. Some Buddhists and followers of other religions claimed to have seen Sukhavati and numerous East Asian popular faiths and cults also discuss Sukhavati. The Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra states that Śākyamuni Buddha has his own Pure Land which

2156-445: 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

2205-471: The sutra, bodhisattvas may appear in numerous forms, including: as ill people, as filled with craving, as non-Buddhist renunciants, as schismatics, as performing the deeds of Māra, as animals, and as Buddhas entering final nirvana (38.138-162). In the second main part of the sutra, a Brahmin named Kauṇḍinya enters into a dialogue with the Buddha regarding the Buddha's seemingly evil cousin Devadatta . However, it

2254-556: The text in Sanskrit has been discovered. The sutra contains a long introduction (nidana) which lists a huge assembly of many types of beings, bodhisattvas, etc. The first main part of the Mahāmegha Sūtra is a dialogue between a bodhisattva named Great Cloud Essence (Skt: *Mahāmeghagarbha, Ch: 大雲密藏) and the Buddha which touches on over a hundred topics related to the bodhisattva path and the Mahayana . The Mahāmegha Sūtra shares various key doctrines with other tathāgatagarbha sutras like

2303-442: The two ideas. Yúnqī Zhūhóng (1535–1615) saw the Pure Land as an actual place which is a useful upaya (skill means) created by the Buddha. Once beings reach this realm, they realize that it is just the Buddha mind, and that the Buddha's wisdom was not ever separate from their own mind. Real sages can see that both ideas are interconnected and thus can affirm both without any conflict. Similarly, Hānshān Déqīng (c. 1546–1623) taught

2352-757: Was commonly defended by masters of the Chan / Zen school, but was also accepted by some figures of the Pure Land school and the Yogacara school . Another sutra which teaches the view that the pure land is mainly a kind of pure mind or wisdom (i.e. the five wisdoms ) is the Buddhabhūmi-sūtra (Scripture on the Buddha Land, Ch: 佛說佛地經, Taishō Tripitaka no. 680). In the Platform Sutra for example, Huineng states that only

2401-455: 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

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