Pure Land Buddhism: Shinran’s Devotional Path to Enlightenment

At the heart of Shin (Pure Land) Buddhist teaching lies a vision of true reality as alive with wisdom and compassion, working to bring all beings to the highest fulfillment of human life, the attainment of Buddhahood. Shinran teaches that this activity manifests itself as Amida Buddha, who resolved to save all beings by bringing into his Pure Land, the realm of enlightenment, all who say his Name, entrusting themselves to his Vow. He thus performed practices for long eons and fulfilled this Vow, so that his Name, Namu Amida Butsu, came to resound throughout the universe, awakening all beings to the reality of great compassion. Interestingly, in the end, Pure Land and the more traditional Zen share the primary framework of removing the individual as the central point out from which all else is referred.