Editing Amitābha (section)

=== Significance of the Name ===
[[File:Kuya_Portrait.JPG|thumb|A sculpture of the Japanese itinerant monk [[Kūya]] reciting the nembutsu. Each Chinese characters of the Name is represented by a small [[Amida Nyorai|Amida]] figure emerging from his mouth]]
Pure Land Buddhism places profound significance on "the Name" (Ch: 名号 mínghào, Jp: myōgō) of Amitābha. The Name is central to Pure Land doctrine and practice (being the core of [[nianfo]]/nembutsu practice in most of Asia. According to patriarch [[Daochuo]], the Name is the essence of Amitābha Buddha's Vow to save all sentient beings.<ref name=":72">Conway, Michael. [https://epa.oszk.hu/04500/04539/00026/pdf/EPA04539_tavol-keleti_tanulmanyok_2023_2_001-029.pdf Practice and Other Power in Daochuo’s Pure Land Buddhism.] ''Journal of East Asian Cultures'' 2023/2: 1–29 <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.38144/TKT.2023.2.2</nowiki></ref> According to the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Vows in the ''Infinite Life Sutra'', Amida vowed that his Name would be praised by all Buddhas and that anyone who recites it with faith will be assured of birth in the Pure Land. According to Pure Land figures like [[Tan-luan|Tanluan]] and [[Shinran]], the Name is not merely a conventional label or word, but embodies the totality of Amida's virtue, wisdom, and compassion. Since the Buddha infused the Name with all of his power and virtues, it is the most accessible means for ordinary beings to tap into Buddha's [[Other power|other-power]] and attain liberation.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Fujiwara |first=Ryosetsu |title=A Standard of Shinshu Faith |url=http://www.nembutsu.info/standard/name_function.htm |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=www.nembutsu.info}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite journal |last=Tanaka |first=Muryo |date=2015 |title=Wisdom and Amituo's Name in Tanluan's Thought: |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ibk/63/2/63_KJ00009870706/_article/-char/en |journal=Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies (Indogaku Bukkyogaku Kenkyu) |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=792–797 |doi=10.4259/ibk.63.2_792|doi-access=free }}</ref>  

The Name is deeply intertwined with [[Tathātā|Thusness]] ([[Dharmakāya|Dharmakaya]]) and serves as a bridge between the ultimate reality of Buddhahood and the limited experience of ordinary beings. Tanluan and Shinran emphasized that the Name is not an empty linguistic [[Signified and signifier|signifier]] but the very manifestation of Amida's Wisdom and Compassion. It is indeed Amitābha himself in the form of sound. Through the Name, Amida communicates with sentient beings, making his presence tangible and accessible. Shinran further elaborated that the Name is inseparable from the Dharma-nature itself, meaning that reciting "Namu-Amida-Butsu" is not just an act of devotion but a direct engagement with the ultimate truth.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":15" />  

The Name also plays a crucial role in the awakening of faith ([[shinjin]]) in practitioners. Pure Land teachers like Shinran taught that faith is not something generated by the individual but is received through the Name. The Name acts as the medium through which Amida's compassion is transferred to the practitioner, transforming their mind and aligning it with the Dharma. This process underscores the Name's dual function: it is both the means of salvation and the expression of Amida's Vow.<ref name=":8" /> To illustrate the power of the name, the Chinese patriarch Tanluan compares the Buddha's name to a bright light which can instantly illuminate a pitch black room, even if that room has been dark for eons.<ref name=":10">Jones (2019), p. 17.</ref> Tanluan also writes: <blockquote>If all who hear the meritorious Name of Amitabha but have faith in, and take joy in what they have heard, and if for one instant of thought they have utmost sincerity, and if they transfer these merits and desire rebirth, then they shall attain rebirth [in the pure land].<ref name=":7">Shinkō Mochizuki (2000), p. 162</ref></blockquote>