PURE LAND SUTRAS
The Pure Land School of Buddhism has five important sutras that are imperative for practitioners to learn, recite, and understand the Pure Land Doctrine.
It is recommended to spend time everyday on chanting the Pure Land sutra (pick one from the five Pure Land sutras you like most and stick with it), as well as chanting the Buddha-name of Amitabha Buddha.
Check out a sample chant from the Amitabha Mindful Chanting music collection, and start your daily chanting practice today!
Such daily practices concentrate our minds on the learning, deepen the understanding, and emphasize on the cultivation at the same time.
What are the Five Pure Land Sutras?
1. The Amitabha Sutra [Full sutra text] or [Full sutra text (Chinese)]
See also "Commentary of the Amitabha Sutra" [Full commentary] by Grand Master Ou-i, an excellent resource that provides us the essence of the Pure Land method.
2. The Infinite Life Sutra (Buddha Speaks of the Infinite Life Sutra of Adornment, Purity, Equality, and Enlightenment of the Mahayana School) [Sutra Excerpts] or [Full sutra text (Chinese)]
3. The Visualization Sutra [Full sutra text] or [Full sutra text (Chinese)]
4. The Chapter of the Practices and Vows of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra from the Avatamsaka Sutra [Full sutra text] or [Full sutra text (Chinese)]
5. The Chapter on Mahasthama Bodhisattva's Mindfulness of Amitabha to Universally Realize Samadhi from the Surangama Sutra [Full sutra text] or [Full sutra text (Chinese)]
NAMO AMITABHA!
Amitabha Mindfulness
Left: Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta
Center: Buddha Amitabha
Right: Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara
Why Amitabha's Pure Land?
What's so special about Amitabha's Pure Land? In this Dharma-Ending Age, Sakyamuni Buddha in numerous teachings encouraged all beings to practice the Pure Land method--make a vow to reborn in the Western Pure Land and mindfully chant the Buddha name of Amitabha. The Western Pure Land is the ideal place for all beings to attain Buddhahood in one lifetime. It's an easy and simple method to get started.
In the Visualization Sutra, Sakyamuni Buddha described a detailed account of the Western Pure Land for all beings to mindfully visualize this ideal learning environment and encourage us to aspire to and vow to reborn there.
Amitabha Buddha--A Name Goes Beyond Space and Time
Amitabha is a name that encompasses all sorts of infinity. Reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha constantly and persistently helps us rediscover the inner Buddha nature--the true nature.
Chanting "Amitabha Buddha", therefore, helps invoke our true nature--infinite light and infinite life.
Amitabha Mindful Chanting
Every time we practiced Buddha-name chanting or Buddha sutra recitation, we dedicate our merits and virtues accrued from our practices to adorn the Pure Land, repay the Four Kinds of Kindness above, and relieve the suffering of those in the Three Paths below.
By continuously practicing (Amitabha) Buddha-name chanting, the ultimate goal is to seek the help of Amitabha Buddha to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss at the end of this lifetime.
Follow a sample from the collection of Amitabha Mindful Chanting music. Start your Buddha-name chanting practice today!
For the Sake of All Beings
The site, For the Sake of All Beings, is dedicated to all beings who want to learn how to end their sufferings in one lifetime. It provides more information on Pure Land Buddhism, Principles and Cultivation, Three Learnings, Three Refuges, Five Precepts, and Six Paramitas.