Examining the Tale of Heike

The so-called sectarianism of Buddhism in Japan has enabled Pure Land Buddhism to develop as a quasi-independent tradition within Buddhism. One of the central figures of Pure Land Buddhist thought and

Sangeeta Bansal Ph.D, a researcher and writer, is also the founder of a non-profit called Mindside, which aims to make the benefits of mindfulness meditation available to all. Mindside offers an eight

In this three-part series, Pure Land columnist Alan Kwan examines the three most important vows of Amitabha Buddha’s forty-eight vows, which constitute Amitabha’s plan for saving sentient beings. Thes

Editor’s note: David Brazier is a Buddhist teacher, writer, and psychotherapist. He is President at Instituto Terapia Zen Internacional in Spain and the head of the Amida Order in the United Kingdom.

Editor’s note: David Brazier is a Buddhist teacher, writer, and psychotherapist. He is President at Instituto Terapia Zen Internacional in Spain and the head of the Amida Order in the United Kingdom.

The author has spent many years in China as a ‘bridge builder’, that is, being a bridge between East and West and introducing Pure Land Buddhism to a Western audience. He has watched many people come

Many people come to meditation very troubled about how to do it successfully.  Many of you here want to learn meditation in the Chinese Pure Land tradition for the first time.   Many peopl

It is a very common and reasonable question for those coming to Pure Land Buddhism for the first time to ask: “Who is Amida Buddha?” The Infinite Life Sutra tells us that Amida Buddha had

Fear is the air we breathe. We subscribe to religions that exploit our dread of death.  We do business in an economy of fear as we worry about losing competition with the other competitors driven by c

Behind the simple invocation of “Namo Amitabha Buddha” (nianfo) awaits the keys to Amitabha Buddha’s Land of Bliss (Sukhavati). According to Master Shandao (613 - 681), the recitation of this sextet o

The eyes and ears of sentient beings are limited in their scope and we have very limited knowledge. Moreover, many Pure Land practitioners have witnessed scenes of the Pure Land whilst in Samadhi, and

A survey of how Buddhist iconography became part of Asian art and culture