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Author : Luis O. Gomez Publisher : University of Hawaii Press Page : 380 pages File Size : 39,7 MB Release : 1996-05-01 Category : Religion ISBN : 9780824817602
This is a free translation of two Buddhist texts on what is arguably the most popular of all Buddhist conceptions of an ideal world, the "Land of Bliss" of the Buddha Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light. The two texts, known to Western students of Buddhism as the "Smaller" and "Larger" Sukhavatiyuha Sutra, explain the conditions that lead to rebirth in the Pure Land and the manner in which human beings are reborn there.
Author : Richard Karl Payne Publisher : University of Hawaii Press Page : 328 pages File Size : 16,35 MB Release : 2004-01-01 Category : Religion ISBN : 9780824825782
The discourse of Buddhist studies has traditionally been structured around texts and nations (the transmission of Buddhism from India to China to Japan). And yet, it is doubtful that these categories reflect in any significant way the organizing themes familiar to most Buddhists. It could be argued that cultic practices associated with particular buddhas and bodhisattvas are more representative of the way Buddhists conceive of their relation to tradition. This volume aims to explore this aspect of Buddhism by focusing on one of its most important cults, that of the Buddha Amitabha. Approaching the Land of Bliss is a rich collection of studies of texts and ritual practices devoted to Amitabha, ranging from Tibet to Japan and from early medieval times to the present.
Cathy Song’s fourth collection of poetry unveils glimpses of the elusive but ever-present power of wisdom and compassion. Recognizing that we have the ability to create our own misery as well as our own bliss, she finds the unexpected in broken lives, despair, and even seemingly joyous occasions. Song’s poems are often, like a handful of water, "cold and impossibly / clear, unlike anything / you’ve ever held before."
The Land of Pure Bliss is an in-depth exploration of the nature and practice of faith as it has developed in Mahayana Buddhism over the past two thousand years. The heart of the book is a first-ever full English translation of Shandao's highly influential Commentary in Four Parts Explaining the Scripture About Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life (Amitayur Dhyana Sutra, 觀無量壽佛經), which was the inspiration for subsequent schools of 'Pure Land' Buddhism in East Asia. Also included is an introduction to the history and teachings of Pure Land thought as well as a sizable appendix of supplemental translations from other scriptures and discourses that provide insight into the nature and practice of faith as understood in Mahayana Buddhism. In addition to providing key terms in English, Sanskrit & Chinese, this work provides comprehensive footnotes and a thorough index to offer a background on Buddhist concepts and history relevant to the subject. Also included are translations of Pure Land thought from: The Longer Scripture on the Buddha of Infinite Life, The Scripture on the Great Garland of Universal Enlightenment, The Scripture on the Lotus Blossom of Sublime Purpose, The Scripture on the Meditation In Which the Buddhas All Stand Up Before One, 'On the Easier Practice of Faith' attributed to Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu's 'Commentary on the Longer Scripture About the Buddha of Infinite Life', 'On the Practice of Keeping the Buddha on Mind While Ever Walking' by Zhiyi of the Tiantai School, 'An Esoteric Explanation of the Name 'Infinite Life & Light' by Kakuban of the Japanese Mantra (Shingon) School. Honen's 'One Page Testament', and more ...
This diverse anthology of original Buddhist texts in translation provides a historical and conceptual framework that will transform contemporary scholarship on Pure Land Buddhism and instigate its recognition as an essential field of Buddhist studies. Traditional and contemporary primary sources carefully selected from Buddhist cultures across historical, geopolitical, and literary boundaries are organized by genre rather than chronologically, geographically, or by religious lineage—a novel juxtaposition that reveals their wider importance in fresh contexts. Together these fundamental texts from different Asian traditions, expertly translated by eminent and up-and-coming scholars, illustrate that the Buddhism of pure lands is not just an East Asian cult or a marginal type of Buddhism, but a pan-Asian and deeply entrenched religious phenomenon. The volume is organized into six parts: Ritual Practices, Contemplative Visualizations, Doctrinal Expositions, Life Writing and Poetry, Ethical and Aesthetic Explications, and Worlds beyond Sukhāvatī. Each part is introduced and summarized, and each translated piece is prefaced by its translator to supply historical and sectarian context as well as insight into the significance of the work. Common and less-common issues of practice, doctrine, and intra-religious transfer are explored, and deeper understandings of the meaning of “pure lands” are gained through the study of the celestial, cosmological, internal, and earthly pure lands associated with various buddhas, bodhisattvas, and devotional figures. The introduction by the volume editors ties the diverse themes of the book together and provides a historical background to Pure Land Buddhist studies. Scholars of Buddhism and Asian religion, including graduate and post-graduate students, as well as Buddhist practitioners, will appreciate the range of translated materials and accompanied discussions made accessible in one essential collection, the first of its kind to center on the formerly-neglected topic of Buddhist pure lands.
With an annotated English translation and critical analysis of the Orgyan-gling gold manuscript of the short Sukhāvativyūha-sūtra Pure Land Buddhism as a whole has received comparatively little attention in Western studies on Buddhism despite the importance of “buddha-fields” (pure lands) for the growth and expression of Mahāyāna Buddhism. In this first religious history of Tibetan Pure Land literature, Georgios Halkias delves into a rich collection of literary, historical, and archaeological sources to highlight important aspects of this neglected pan-Asian Buddhist tradition. He clarifies many of the misconceptions concerning the interpretation of “other-world” soteriology in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and provides translations of original Tibetan sources from the ninth century to the present that represent exoteric and esoteric doctrines that continue to be cherished by Tibetan Buddhists for their joyful descriptions of the Buddhist path. The book is informed by interviews with Tibetan scholars and Buddhist practitioners and by Halkias’ own participant-observation in Tibetan Pure Land rituals and teachings conducted in Europe and the Indian subcontinent. Divided into three sections, Luminous Bliss shows that Tibetan Pure Land literature exemplifies a synthesis of Mahāyāna sutra-based conceptions with a Vajrayana world-view that fits progressive and sudden approaches to the realization of Pure Land teachings. Part I covers the origins and development of Pure Land in India and the historical circumstances of its adaptation in Tibet and Central Asia. Part II offers an English translation of the short Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra (imported from India during the Tibetan Empire) and contains a survey of original Tibetan Pure Land scriptures and meditative techniques from the dGe-lugs-pa, bKa’-brgyud, rNying-ma, and Sa-skya schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Part III introduces some of the most innovative and popular mortuary cycles and practices related to the Tantric cult of Buddha Amitābha and his Pure Land from the Treasure traditions in the bKa’-brgyud and rNying-ma schools. Luminous Bliss locates Pure Land Buddhism at the core of Tibet’s religious heritage and demonstrates how this tradition constitutes an integral part of both Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism.
Pure Land Buddhism as a whole has received comparatively little attention in Western studies on Buddhism despite the importance of 'buddha-fields' (pure lands) for the growth and expression of Mahayana Buddhism. In this religious history of Tibetan Pure Land literature, Georgios Halkias delves into a rich collection of literary, historical, and archaeological sources to highlight important aspects of this neglected pan-Asian Buddhist tradition.
The Mahayana Buddhist doctrine teaches that all sentient beings have Buddha nature and will eventually attain Buddhahood. For the spiritual training of those who are resolved to become Buddhas to benefit themselves and others, Sakyamuni Buddha recommends a Pure LandAmitabha Buddhas Land of Ultimate Bliss. To be reborn in that land, one must have faith, resolve, and training. In that splendid environment and in the excellent company of advanced Bodhisattvas, one will attain Buddhahood with Amitabha Buddhas training and support. The Pure Land School, originated in China, is founded on five sutras and one treatise. This book, Rulus second, presents these six texts and four other sutras in English, all translated from texts in the Chinese Buddhist Canon. Five of these ten English translations have never before been published in book form. To help readers, the translators introduction provides an organized presentation of Pure Land teachings; another chapter tells the life stories of the patriarchs of the Pure Land School. Buddhist terms are explained in the glossary. This book will benefit readers at all levels and serve as a basis for scholarly research. For those who aspire to be reborn in the Pure Land, it is the only English guidebook available.