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 Land—Amitabha Buddha’s 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 Buddha’s training and support.
The Pure Land School, originated in China, is founded on five sutras and one treatise. This book, Rulu’s 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 translator’s 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.
