Thank you for your beautiful video. I am oriented towards Chinese Pure Land Buddhism. There they say that Master Shando laid the foundation for this movement. Or can it all be traced back to Japan? And there is also confusion in the various organizations about the number of times you should chant Amitabha Buddha's name. Some people say that this should be done as often as possible. Also, some people say that this should be done at the moment of death. Otherwise you will not enter Amitabha's Pure Land. Can you please explain this? Thanks in advance!🙏Namo Amitabha Buddha ❤
TLDR: Pure Land Buddhism emphasizes rebirth into pure lands through chanting the name of the Buddha, particularly Amitabha, as a popular form of practice, representing the aspiration for enlightenment and rebirth in the Pure Land. 1. 00:00 📚 Pure Land Buddhism emphasizes rebirth into pure lands to progress along the bodhisattva path more quickly, with some traditions viewing them as easier worlds to practice in and others seeing them as aspects of the mind. 1.1 Today's lecture covers an introduction to Pure Land Buddhism, a form of Mahayana Buddhism that emphasizes pure lands as an aspect of cosmology where other buddhas teach. 1.2 The goal is to achieve rebirth into a pure land to progress along the bodhisattva path more quickly, with some traditions viewing these pure lands as easier worlds to practice in and others seeing them as aspects of the mind. 2. 02:54 🙏 Pure Land Buddhism focuses on the Pure Land of Amitabha Sukhavati as a symbol of bliss and happiness, and was popularized by monks like Honen in medieval Japan. 2.1 Buddha Amitabha has two names, Amitabha and Amitayus, representing wisdom and compassion, and the Pure Land Sukhavati is a symbol of bliss and happiness in Mahayana Buddhism. 2.2 Pure Land Buddhism can be understood as an aspect of Mahayana with a popular Buddha and pure land, or as a religious movement in medieval Japan led by monks like Honen and Shenron. 2.3 Honin focused on the Pure Land path to rebirth in the Pure Land of Amitabha Sukhavati and explained it to ordinary people, but his movement was eventually suppressed. 3. 05:59 🌸 Pure Land Buddhism, influenced by Shin Buddhism, spread through South, Central, and East Asia, originating as a postmortem destination in Indian Mahayana Buddhist literature. 3.1 Shinron, a disciple of honon, became the founder of the largest school of Japanese Buddhism, and Pure Land Buddhism is influenced by the success of Shin Buddhism. 3.2 Pure Land Buddhism spread through South Asia, Central Asia, and East Asia, with a focus on the development of a Pure Land school in medieval Japan. 3.3 Pure Land Buddhism originated as a postmortem destination in Indian Mahayana Buddhist literature and became a defining characteristic of Mahayana Buddhism. 4. 09:23 🌟 Pure Land Buddhism is a significant and fascinating form of Buddhism, with popular postmortem destinations like Tushita heaven and aspirations for rebirth in pure lands like Amitabha's. 4.1 Pure Land Buddhism is often overlooked by scholars, but it is actually one of the largest forms of Buddhism and deserves attention due to its endless fascination and different approaches. 4.2 The Tushita heaven is a popular postmortem destination in Buddhist cosmology, where the bodhisattva Maitreya resides and will come down to reveal the dharma again when Buddhism disappears. 4.3 Tusta is considered a pure land, which is different from a heaven, and the aspiration for rebirth in the pure land of amitabha is prominent in East Asian history. 4.4 Buddha Akshobia's pure land, Abirati, has non-Mahayana sages aspiring to become arhats, and early Buddhism may have had a diverse pantheon. 5. 13:22 🌟 Worship of the Medicine Buddha and mandalas in Pure Land Buddhism can lead to rebirth in the Pure Land of the Buddha Amitabha, representing interconnectedness and enlightened reality. 5.1 The Medicine Buddha is seen as a great doctor who provides remedies for afflictions, and worshiping him can lead to rebirth in the Pure Land of the Buddha Amitabha. 5.2 The medicine buddha and mandalas are popular objects of devotion in Pure Land Buddhism, representing interconnectedness and enlightened reality. 5.3 Altars and mandalas represent the pure land in a way that is like a window to another world, and there is diversity in the representation of pure lands within Mahayana Buddhism. 6. 16:53 🌟 Sukhavati, the focus of Pure Land Buddhism, is a purified world created by a bodhisattva for beings to practice Buddhism and achieve awakening, based on the completion of 48 vows including Amitabha and the bodhisattvas Guanyin and Condor. 6.1 Sukhavati, the most popular concept in Pure Land Buddhism, is the focus of the sutra about a king who renounced his throne to become a bodhisattva and create a purified world for all beings to practice Buddhism and achieve awakening. 6.2 The bodhisattva studied diverse pure lands and made vows for beings in his pure land to be free from suffering. 6.3 The Buddha's attainment of enlightenment is based on the completion of 48 vows, with the most popular being Amitabha, and the Pure Land tradition also includes the bodhisattvas Guanyin and Condor, with the vow 18 stating that those who sincerely entrust themselves to the Buddha and call his name will be born in his land. 7. 20:46 🙏 Pure Land Buddhism emphasizes chanting the name of the Buddha, particularly Amitabha, as a popular form of practice, representing the presence of the Buddha within us and the aspiration for enlightenment and rebirth in the Pure Land. 7.1 Chanting the name of the Buddha, especially Amitabha, becomes one of the most popular forms of Buddhist practice, with the name itself being realized as the Buddha in some traditions. 7.2 The name of Pure Land Buddhism represents the presence of the Buddha within us, and the vow of attaining buddhahood includes the aspiration for enlightenment and the desire to be born in the Pure Land. 8. 23:41 🌟 Reciting the name of the Buddha can lead to rebirth in the Pure Land, a major dimension in Mahayana Buddhist cultures. 8.1 On your deathbed, having a vision of the Buddha Amitabha and the 25 bodhisattvas with their mystical instruments, allows you to go back to the Pure Land. 8.2 Reciting the name of the Buddha for long periods of time is a practice that can lead to rebirth in the Pure Land, which is a major dimension of all Mahayana Buddhist cultures and traditions.
Thank you for watching the video. PLEASE JOIN WITH US our Zoom Event ↓↓↓ Introduction to the Heart Sutra With Professor Aaron Proffitt Click ink to the FREE Zoom event 2/24/2024 from 1-2pm (EAT. New York Time) www.ambuddhist.org/events Professor Aaron Proffitt is going to answer questions you may have.
"Call my name even ten times" is giving me "I accept Jesus as my lord and savior" vibes, in that it feels like a shortcut to appeal to as many people as possible without having to go through the whole process towards enlightened/salvation in this life.
Thank you for clarifying your intention. It's important to remember that religious beliefs and practices are deeply personal and can vary greatly from person to person. While some individuals may feel called to share their faith with others, it's equally important to respect the beliefs and choices of others. In Buddhism, the emphasis is on personal spiritual development and finding inner peace. Each individual has the freedom to choose their own spiritual path. It's through understanding, acceptance, and mutual respect that we can foster harmony and coexistence among different faith traditions. May we all continue to seek wisdom, compassion, and love in our respective spiritual journeys. With respect,🙏🏼❤️
Neither are shortcuts to salvation. Go to any Catholic church, and you see a lot goes into being a christian; fasting, prayer, good deeds, philosophy, scripture, rituals, contemplation. Yes, its through Jesus that salvation is possible but the believer still has to walk the path. Same for Pure Land Buddhism. Meditating on the Buddha of Infinite Light is a practice that has roots in the oldest Vedas. The Gayatri manta states, "Let us meditate on that excellent glory of the divine vivifying Sun, may he enlighten our minds". One who clears their mind and focus all their attention on the divine light will achieve enlightenment.
People get hung up on this and miss that 1) bodhisattvas have pledged themselves to the liberation of all sentient beings; providing a simple, easily followed path to rebirth in the pure land is an effective and compassionate strategy for doing so 2) we are hung up on the sense that some do not deserve this kind of rebirth because they are too evil, but this is not the way a bodhisattva with a desire for the well-being of all sentient beings looks at the situation at all 3) rebirth in the pure land guarantees good conditions for the development of nirvana but it doesn’t necessarily guarantee that no effort is required once in the pure land. On the contrary, the development of full consciousness of enlightenment, and nirvana, is extremely rare to attain in the modern world
Mahayananist believe this was the actual teachings of the Buddha, just as Vajrayanist believe tantra was taught by the Buddha. No one really knows, but the teachings and practices work in helping to rid us of our obscurations and ignorance, based on my experience, and that's the only yardstick I hav available. Examine them like you would gold coins at a bazarr.
You are looking at a teaching that has developed and evolved over a period of 2,500 years. The teachings have changed to reflect the teachers, the students, the cultures, the levels of understanding and dozens of other factors which affect how the transmission of the Dharma takes place. The Ganges plain in 500 BC was a very different place to the mountains of Tibet in 1000 AD, which was a very different place to Southern China around 600 AD. Not only were the peoples and their culture very different, they had very different existing world views. India with the Vedic texts, Tibet with the Bon tradition and Southern China with its very influential Taoist philosophy. All these factors and many, many more generated different approaches to the way that the Dharma would be received and transmitted. Then there was the major change between the Hinayana, the Mahayana and Vajrayana paths - all valid and all suited to different individuals - and all far too complex to analyse here. For me, when I first started on the Buddhism path, three things stood out which impressed me: Firstly, despite huge changes in the way the Dharma was presented, its core message had remained the same and can be summed up with the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-Fold path. Secondly, even though each school (church is not a very good word to use, but I am aware that you put it in quotation marks) has its own flavour and, across the entire spectrum, the schools are incredibly varied, there is no real fundamental difference in the teachings, but only in the way they are presented. The Buddha's basic message is simple (suffering, its causes and its ending) and is used as the heart of all teachings from all schools. The only thing that changes is how that message it taught and practised. Thirdly, although there is such a huge variation in traditions, Buddhists from one school will always respect other traditions - even if they don't agree with their methods. They will even respect completely different paths, such as Christianity and Islam. Above all, no war had ever been fought in the name of Buddhism and Buddhists do not seek to convert others - although there is an unwritten obligation to explain things if possible and appropriate. For such a path with many millions of followers, these are unique factors and, for me, speaks volumes! (I must add the caveat that my third point was true when I started in1970 to follow the Dharma. Sadly, events since then have thrown this into some doubt, but time will tell if more recent events are just isolated, political affairs which will have no longevity)
The same way all simple messages of prophets become convoluted: Humans. We do not really know the actual teachings of the Buddha. He did not write anything or cause anything to be written, to my understanding. The Sutras are from the Sangha after his death. You know, like every other religion with a single originator. Muslims would disagree with this for Islam but...yeah. Meditate upon the truths that resonate with you and the Dharma will guide you directly in meditation.
Thank you for this outstanding tour through Pure Land!
Namo Amitabha Buddha
Thank you for your beautiful video. I am oriented towards Chinese Pure Land Buddhism. There they say that Master Shando laid the foundation for this movement. Or can it all be traced back to Japan? And there is also confusion in the various organizations about the number of times you should chant Amitabha Buddha's name. Some people say that this should be done as often as possible. Also, some people say that this should be done at the moment of death. Otherwise you will not enter Amitabha's Pure Land. Can you please explain this? Thanks in advance!🙏Namo Amitabha Buddha ❤
TLDR: Pure Land Buddhism emphasizes rebirth into pure lands through chanting the name of the Buddha, particularly Amitabha, as a popular form of practice, representing the aspiration for enlightenment and rebirth in the Pure Land.
1. 00:00 📚 Pure Land Buddhism emphasizes rebirth into pure lands to progress along the bodhisattva path more quickly, with some traditions viewing them as easier worlds to practice in and others seeing them as aspects of the mind.
1.1 Today's lecture covers an introduction to Pure Land Buddhism, a form of Mahayana Buddhism that emphasizes pure lands as an aspect of cosmology where other buddhas teach.
1.2 The goal is to achieve rebirth into a pure land to progress along the bodhisattva path more quickly, with some traditions viewing these pure lands as easier worlds to practice in and others seeing them as aspects of the mind.
2. 02:54 🙏 Pure Land Buddhism focuses on the Pure Land of Amitabha Sukhavati as a symbol of bliss and happiness, and was popularized by monks like Honen in medieval Japan.
2.1 Buddha Amitabha has two names, Amitabha and Amitayus, representing wisdom and compassion, and the Pure Land Sukhavati is a symbol of bliss and happiness in Mahayana Buddhism.
2.2 Pure Land Buddhism can be understood as an aspect of Mahayana with a popular Buddha and pure land, or as a religious movement in medieval Japan led by monks like Honen and Shenron.
2.3 Honin focused on the Pure Land path to rebirth in the Pure Land of Amitabha Sukhavati and explained it to ordinary people, but his movement was eventually suppressed.
3. 05:59 🌸 Pure Land Buddhism, influenced by Shin Buddhism, spread through South, Central, and East Asia, originating as a postmortem destination in Indian Mahayana Buddhist literature.
3.1 Shinron, a disciple of honon, became the founder of the largest school of Japanese Buddhism, and Pure Land Buddhism is influenced by the success of Shin Buddhism.
3.2 Pure Land Buddhism spread through South Asia, Central Asia, and East Asia, with a focus on the development of a Pure Land school in medieval Japan.
3.3 Pure Land Buddhism originated as a postmortem destination in Indian Mahayana Buddhist literature and became a defining characteristic of Mahayana Buddhism.
4. 09:23 🌟 Pure Land Buddhism is a significant and fascinating form of Buddhism, with popular postmortem destinations like Tushita heaven and aspirations for rebirth in pure lands like Amitabha's.
4.1 Pure Land Buddhism is often overlooked by scholars, but it is actually one of the largest forms of Buddhism and deserves attention due to its endless fascination and different approaches.
4.2 The Tushita heaven is a popular postmortem destination in Buddhist cosmology, where the bodhisattva Maitreya resides and will come down to reveal the dharma again when Buddhism disappears.
4.3 Tusta is considered a pure land, which is different from a heaven, and the aspiration for rebirth in the pure land of amitabha is prominent in East Asian history.
4.4 Buddha Akshobia's pure land, Abirati, has non-Mahayana sages aspiring to become arhats, and early Buddhism may have had a diverse pantheon.
5. 13:22 🌟 Worship of the Medicine Buddha and mandalas in Pure Land Buddhism can lead to rebirth in the Pure Land of the Buddha Amitabha, representing interconnectedness and enlightened reality.
5.1 The Medicine Buddha is seen as a great doctor who provides remedies for afflictions, and worshiping him can lead to rebirth in the Pure Land of the Buddha Amitabha.
5.2 The medicine buddha and mandalas are popular objects of devotion in Pure Land Buddhism, representing interconnectedness and enlightened reality.
5.3 Altars and mandalas represent the pure land in a way that is like a window to another world, and there is diversity in the representation of pure lands within Mahayana Buddhism.
6. 16:53 🌟 Sukhavati, the focus of Pure Land Buddhism, is a purified world created by a bodhisattva for beings to practice Buddhism and achieve awakening, based on the completion of 48 vows including Amitabha and the bodhisattvas Guanyin and Condor.
6.1 Sukhavati, the most popular concept in Pure Land Buddhism, is the focus of the sutra about a king who renounced his throne to become a bodhisattva and create a purified world for all beings to practice Buddhism and achieve awakening.
6.2 The bodhisattva studied diverse pure lands and made vows for beings in his pure land to be free from suffering.
6.3 The Buddha's attainment of enlightenment is based on the completion of 48 vows, with the most popular being Amitabha, and the Pure Land tradition also includes the bodhisattvas Guanyin and Condor, with the vow 18 stating that those who sincerely entrust themselves to the Buddha and call his name will be born in his land.
7. 20:46 🙏 Pure Land Buddhism emphasizes chanting the name of the Buddha, particularly Amitabha, as a popular form of practice, representing the presence of the Buddha within us and the aspiration for enlightenment and rebirth in the Pure Land.
7.1 Chanting the name of the Buddha, especially Amitabha, becomes one of the most popular forms of Buddhist practice, with the name itself being realized as the Buddha in some traditions.
7.2 The name of Pure Land Buddhism represents the presence of the Buddha within us, and the vow of attaining buddhahood includes the aspiration for enlightenment and the desire to be born in the Pure Land.
8. 23:41 🌟 Reciting the name of the Buddha can lead to rebirth in the Pure Land, a major dimension in Mahayana Buddhist cultures.
8.1 On your deathbed, having a vision of the Buddha Amitabha and the 25 bodhisattvas with their mystical instruments, allows you to go back to the Pure Land.
8.2 Reciting the name of the Buddha for long periods of time is a practice that can lead to rebirth in the Pure Land, which is a major dimension of all Mahayana Buddhist cultures and traditions.
Thank you for watching the video.
PLEASE JOIN WITH US our Zoom Event ↓↓↓
Introduction to the Heart Sutra With Professor Aaron Proffitt
Click ink to the FREE Zoom event
2/24/2024 from 1-2pm (EAT. New York Time)
www.ambuddhist.org/events
Professor Aaron Proffitt is going to answer questions you may have.
Excellent lecture!
Thank you for letting us know.
很高興看到有用英語教授淨土宗。最近才接觸淨土宗,也很感興趣。
We are said to be in the "Declining Dharma Age" but the Internet is doing a great job of spreading the knowledge in English especially!
🎉
Was Shakyamuni Buddha a Jain?
Did Gotama ( Jain) ever meet Guatama Buddha?
Who taught the Buddha, Buddhism,
and all the sutras?
Mahavira?
Why not do your own research on these questions? The more effort you put in, the more you'll learn.
"Call my name even ten times" is giving me "I accept Jesus as my lord and savior" vibes, in that it feels like a shortcut to appeal to as many people as possible without having to go through the whole process towards enlightened/salvation in this life.
I would have thought that too, but I read some of the thinker Soga Ryojins essays. There is a greater depth to it. It can complement other paths too
Thank you for clarifying your intention. It's important to remember that religious beliefs and practices are deeply personal and can vary greatly from person to person. While some individuals may feel called to share their faith with others, it's equally important to respect the beliefs and choices of others.
In Buddhism, the emphasis is on personal spiritual development and finding inner peace. Each individual has the freedom to choose their own spiritual path. It's through understanding, acceptance, and mutual respect that we can foster harmony and coexistence among different faith traditions.
May we all continue to seek wisdom, compassion, and love in our respective spiritual journeys.
With respect,🙏🏼❤️
Neither are shortcuts to salvation. Go to any Catholic church, and you see a lot goes into being a christian; fasting, prayer, good deeds, philosophy, scripture, rituals, contemplation. Yes, its through Jesus that salvation is possible but the believer still has to walk the path. Same for Pure Land Buddhism. Meditating on the Buddha of Infinite Light is a practice that has roots in the oldest Vedas. The Gayatri manta states, "Let us meditate on that excellent glory of the divine vivifying Sun, may he enlighten our minds". One who clears their mind and focus all their attention on the divine light will achieve enlightenment.
@@stephaniegouveia-wijnands8979 Totally agree!
People get hung up on this and miss that
1) bodhisattvas have pledged themselves to the liberation of all sentient beings; providing a simple, easily followed path to rebirth in the pure land is an effective and compassionate strategy for doing so
2) we are hung up on the sense that some do not deserve this kind of rebirth because they are too evil, but this is not the way a bodhisattva with a desire for the well-being of all sentient beings looks at the situation at all
3) rebirth in the pure land guarantees good conditions for the development of nirvana but it doesn’t necessarily guarantee that no effort is required once in the pure land. On the contrary, the development of full consciousness of enlightenment, and nirvana, is extremely rare to attain in the modern world
🏳️Thanks 🏳️
🤍☸ ☯ ☸🤍
& MarXisM &
Merit☯cracy
💌🐉🇨🇳🐉💌
Wish 🧞i Was
Chinese.
💌
How did the very simple, original message of the Buddhism become this convoluted, layered and confusing "church"?
What do you mean
Mahayananist believe this was the actual teachings of the Buddha, just as Vajrayanist believe tantra was taught by the Buddha. No one really knows, but the teachings and practices work in helping to rid us of our obscurations and ignorance, based on my experience, and that's the only yardstick I hav available. Examine them like you would gold coins at a bazarr.
You are looking at a teaching that has developed and evolved over a period of 2,500 years. The teachings have changed to reflect the teachers, the students, the cultures, the levels of understanding and dozens of other factors which affect how the transmission of the Dharma takes place.
The Ganges plain in 500 BC was a very different place to the mountains of Tibet in 1000 AD, which was a very different place to Southern China around 600 AD. Not only were the peoples and their culture very different, they had very different existing world views. India with the Vedic texts, Tibet with the Bon tradition and Southern China with its very influential Taoist philosophy. All these factors and many, many more generated different approaches to the way that the Dharma would be received and transmitted.
Then there was the major change between the Hinayana, the Mahayana and Vajrayana paths - all valid and all suited to different individuals - and all far too complex to analyse here.
For me, when I first started on the Buddhism path, three things stood out which impressed me:
Firstly, despite huge changes in the way the Dharma was presented, its core message had remained the same and can be summed up with the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-Fold path.
Secondly, even though each school (church is not a very good word to use, but I am aware that you put it in quotation marks) has its own flavour and, across the entire spectrum, the schools are incredibly varied, there is no real fundamental difference in the teachings, but only in the way they are presented.
The Buddha's basic message is simple (suffering, its causes and its ending) and is used as the heart of all teachings from all schools. The only thing that changes is how that message it taught and practised.
Thirdly, although there is such a huge variation in traditions, Buddhists from one school will always respect other traditions - even if they don't agree with their methods. They will even respect completely different paths, such as Christianity and Islam. Above all, no war had ever been fought in the name of Buddhism and Buddhists do not seek to convert others - although there is an unwritten obligation to explain things if possible and appropriate. For such a path with many millions of followers, these are unique factors and, for me, speaks volumes!
(I must add the caveat that my third point was true when I started in1970 to follow the Dharma. Sadly, events since then have thrown this into some doubt, but time will tell if more recent events are just isolated, political affairs which will have no longevity)
The same way all simple messages of prophets become convoluted: Humans.
We do not really know the actual teachings of the Buddha. He did not write anything or cause anything to be written, to my understanding. The Sutras are from the Sangha after his death. You know, like every other religion with a single originator.
Muslims would disagree with this for Islam but...yeah.
Meditate upon the truths that resonate with you and the Dharma will guide you directly in meditation.