Editing Amitābha (section)

==In East Asian Buddhism==
=== Chinese Buddhism ===
[[File:Western_Paradise_of_the_Buddha_Amitabha,_Hebei_province,_Fengfeng,_southern_Xiangtangshan_Cave_Temples,_Cave_2,_Northern_Qi_dynasty,_550-577_AD,_limestone_with_traces_of_pigment_-_Freer_Gallery_of_Art_-_DSC05703.JPG|thumb|296x296px|Western Paradise of the Buddha Amituo, [[Hebei|Hebei province]], c. 550-577 CE]]Amitābha is one of the most important Buddhas in [[Chinese Buddhism]]. Some of the earliest evidence for Amitābha devotion is found in the works of [[Zhi Dun]] (314–366), a [[Xuanxue|Neo-Daoist]] convert to Buddhism.<ref name="Tanaka-1990">{{cite book |last=Tanaka |first=Kenneth K. |title=The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhist Doctrine: Ching-ying Hui-yüanʼs Commentary on the Visualization Sutra |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1990 |place=Albany |page=14}}</ref> The Chinese translations of [[Kumārajīva]] (344–413 CE), [[Buddhabhadra (translator)|Buddhabhadra]] (359–429 CE), and others introduced the main Pure Land Sutras to Chinese Buddhists.<ref name="Buswell-2013">{{cite book |title=Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism |date=2013 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-15786-3 |editor1-last=Buswell |editor1-first=Robert Jr |editor1-link=Robert Buswell Jr. |location=Princeton, NJ |page=867 |editor2-last=Lopez |editor2-first=Donald S. Jr. |editor2-link=Donald S. Lopez, Jr.}}</ref>
[[File:Jin Dynasty statue of Amitabha (阿彌陀佛 or 阿弥陀佛; Āmítuófó), one of the Five Tathagathas (五方佛 Wǔfāngfó) or Five Wisdom Buddhas (五智如来 Wǔzhì Rúlái) at Shanhua Temple (善化寺), Datong, Shanxi, China.jpg|thumb|[[Jin Dynasty]] (1115 - 1234) statue of Amituo as one of the [[Five Tathāgatas|Five Tathagathas]] at [[Shanhua Temple]], [[Shanxi]], [[China]]|339x339px]]
In China, "Buddha recollection" (Skt: [[buddhānusmṛti]], Ch: [[nianfo]]) based on Amitābha became the central practice of [[Pure Land Buddhism]], a tradition which developed gradually through the writings and teachings of several key Chinese monks that lived from the [[Northern Wei]] (386–534) period to the [[Tang dynasty]] (618 to 907). Key figures in this tradition include [[Tan-luan|Tanluan]] (476–554), [[Daochuo]] (562–645), [[Shandao]] (613–681), [[Huaigan]] (c. 7th century) and [[Fazhao]] (746–838).<ref name="Chen-2018">{{Cite journal |last=Chen |first=Chien-huang (著)=陳劍鍠 (au ) |last2=Jones |first2=Charles B. |date=2018 |title=The Process of Establishing and Justifying the Thirteen Patriarchs of the Lotus School |url=https://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/en/search/search_detail.jsp?seq=605833 |journal=Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies |language=en |issue=20 |pages=129–147}}</ref><ref>Williams (2008)'','' pp. 246–247.</ref> These Pure Land masters promoted and defended the view that any type of person could reach Amitābha's Pure Land (and immediately attain the state of [[Bodhisattva#Avaivartika (non-retrogression)|non-retrogression]]) through relatively easy and accessible practices like reciting or chanting Amitābha's name. They argued that this practice was effective due to Amitābha's compassionate [[Other power|Other Power]], which was the dominant cause for one's birth in the pure land (where one could attain Buddhahood much more swiftly and easily). This made Amitābha centered Pure Land Buddhism a very popular practice among laypeople and commoners who did not have the time for extensive meditation or other Buddhist practices.<ref>Jones (2019)  pp. 17, 188–198</ref>

Regarding the nature of Amitābha Buddha himself, Pure Land masters like Daochuo and Shandao argued that Amitābha was a [[Trikaya#Saṃbhogakāya|''saṃbhogakāya'']] (self-enjoyment body) Buddha. This view ran counter to the previously popular idea which saw Amitābha as a ''[[nirmāṇakāya]]'' (transformation body) Buddha, like Shakyamuni Buddha.<ref name=":52">Cheung, Tak-ching Neky. and 張德貞. “[https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/A-comparative-study-of-the-pure-land-teachings-of-Cheung-%E5%BC%B5%E5%BE%B7%E8%B2%9E./5aed79e7ffb88e0037e71ba7d40d20278633993b A comparative study of the pure land teachings of Shandao (613-681) and Shinran (1173-1262).”] (2001).</ref><ref>Tanaka, Kenneth K. 1990. ''The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhist Doctrine: Ching-ying Hui-yüanʼs Commentary on the Visualization Sutra,'' p. 103. Albany: State University of New York Press.</ref>
[[File:Canton 1996 321.jpg|thumb|Statue of Amituo at [[Liurong Temple]] in [[Guangzhou]], [[China]]|396x396px]]
A ''saṃbhogakāya'' is a divine body associated with more transcendent Buddhas which are beyond the [[Trailokya|triple world]] and have unlimited lifespans.<ref>Gadjin, Nagao, and Hirano Umeyo. “On the Theory of Buddha-Body (Buddha-Kāya).” ''The Eastern Buddhist'', vol. 6, no. 1, 1973, pp. 25–53. ''JSTOR'', <nowiki>http://www.jstor.org/stable/44361355</nowiki>. Accessed 29 Sept. 2024.</ref><ref>Williams (2009), p. 180.</ref> A ''[[nirmāṇakāya]]'' meanwhile is a form body which is more contingent and human-like (though still supramundane), and also has a limited lifespan and manifests a [[Nirvana (Buddhism)|nirvana]] which appears as death or cessation.<ref>Williams (2009), pp. 181-182</ref> As such, saṃbhogakāyas have a higher ontological status in the classic Mahayana schema of the triple body ([[trikaya]]). Some Indian Mahayana works state that saṃbhogakāyas are only visible and accessible to bodhisattvas who have entered the [[Bhūmi (Buddhism)|bodhisattva stages.]] In spite of this, Shandao and other Pure Land masters affirmed that Amitābha and his pure land were a saṃbhogakāya ''and'' also that it was accessible to all kinds of beings. According to Shandao, this is only possible because of the great compassionate Other Power of Amitābha Buddha.<ref name=":53">Cheung, Tak-ching Neky. and 張德貞. “[https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/A-comparative-study-of-the-pure-land-teachings-of-Cheung-%E5%BC%B5%E5%BE%B7%E8%B2%9E./5aed79e7ffb88e0037e71ba7d40d20278633993b A comparative study of the pure land teachings of Shandao (613-681) and Shinran (1173-1262).”] (2001).</ref> 

Amitābha devotion also became an important current within other [[Chinese Buddhism|Chinese Buddhist]] traditions, like the [[Tiantai]], [[East Asian Mādhyamaka|Sanlun]], and [[Vinaya]] schools. During the [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279), Tiantai monks such as Shengchang, Ciyun Zunshi, and [[Siming Zhili]], founded Pure Land societies which focused on the recitation of Amitābha's name.<ref name="Jones 2019, p. 110">Jones (2019), p. 110.</ref> Later eras saw further doctrinal refinements of Chinese Amitābha devotion, with the writings of scholars like [[Yuan Hongdao]] (1568–1610) and [[Ouyi Zhixu]] (1599–1655).<ref name="Jones 2019, p. 87">Jones (2019), p. 68, 87.</ref><ref name="Williams-2008l">Williams (2008)'','' p. 253. </ref> During the [[Qing dynasty]] (1644–1912), scholars of the Huayan school like [[Peng Shaosheng]] (1740–1796) also adopted and wrote on Amitābha devotion, identifying Amitābha Buddha with [[Vairocana]], the cosmic Buddha of the ''[[Avatamsaka Sutra]]''.<ref name="Liu2">{{cite journal |last=Liu |first=Kuei-Chieh |title=On the Synthesis of Huayan Thought and Pure Land Practice by Early Qing Dynasty Buddhist Scholars (清初華嚴念佛思想試析——以續法與彭紹升為例) |url=https://chinesebuddhiststudies.org/article/%E6%B8%85%E5%88%9D%E8%8F%AF%E5%9A%B4%E5%BF%B5%E4%BD%9B%E6%80%9D%E6%83%B3%E8%A9%A6%E6%9E%90-%E4%BB%A5%E7%BA%8C%E6%B3%95%E8%88%87%E5%BD%AD%E7%B4%B9%E5%8D%87%E7%82%BA%E4%BE%8B-on-the-syn/ |journal=Journal of Chinese Buddhist Studies |volume=20}}</ref> 

The recitation of Amitābha's name is a widespread practice among contemporary Chinese Buddhists (and other Buddhists in the East Asian mainland).<ref name=":9">Jones (2021), pp. 96-107</ref> This practice known as ''[[nianfo]]'' ({{lang|zh|念佛}}) in Chinese and ''nembutsu'' in Japanese and entails the recitation or chanting (melodic or monotone) of the phrase 南無阿彌陀佛 ([[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]]: Nāmó Āmítuófó) which means "Homage to Amitābha Buddha". Aside from being a popular chant and meditation, this phrase is also seen as [[Auspiciousness|auspicious]] and is reproduced in many ways including [[Hanging scroll|calligraphy scrolls]], public [[Epigraphy|inscriptions]], charms, [[Amulet|amulets]], altarpieces and electronic devices.<ref>Harvard  Heller, N. (2014). Buddha in a box: The materiality of recitation in contemporary chinese buddhism. Material Religion, 10(3), 294–314. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.2752/175183414X14101642921384</nowiki></ref>

=== Japanese Buddhism ===

[[file:Uji Byodo-in Phönixhalle Innen Amida-Buddha 3.jpg|thumb|260px|Amida Buddha at the Phoenix Hall of [[Byōdō-in]], [[Uji]], Japan]]
Amitābha also became a central figure for [[Buddhism in Japan|Japanese Buddhism]]. His worship became established on the island during the [[Nara period]] (710–794) and was it one of the main practices taught in the [[Tendai]] school during the [[Heian period]] (794–1185).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Buswell |first=Robert E. |title=Encyclopedia of Buddhism |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-02-865718-9 |location=New York |pages=249–250}}</ref><ref name="Jones-2021b">Jones, Charles B. (2021). ''Pure Land: History, Tradition, and Practice'', pp. 107–118. Shambhala Publications, {{ISBN|978-1-61180-890-2}}.</ref> 

The popularity of Amitābha centered practices eventually led to the formation of independent Pure Land schools which focused on Amitābha exclusively. The Tendai monk [[Hōnen]] (1133–1212) was the most influential figure who led this Pure Land movement during the [[Kamakura period]]. Hōnen was converted to the Pure Land path through his reading of Shandao and the other Chinese masters and became a popular author and preacher, bringing many people to the Pure Land teaching. He argued that people should set aside other practices and focus on the simple recitation of Amitābha's name to gain birth in the pure land. Compared to the complex teachings of the other traditions of the time, this simpler approach to Buddhism was much more appealing to common laypeople. This led to an increase in Amitābha devotion among commoners.<ref name="Jones-2021c">Jones, Charles B. (2021). ''Pure Land: History, Tradition, and Practice'', pp. 123–135. Shambhala Publications, {{ISBN|978-1-61180-890-2}}.</ref> 

Over time, these new Amitābha focused traditions established by [[Hōnen|Hōnen's]] followers (mainly [[Jōdo-shū]], and [[Shinran|Shinran's]] {{lang|ja-latn|[[Jōdo Shinshū]]|italic=no}}) became the largest Buddhist tradition in Japan and remain so to this day.<ref name="Jones-2021d">Jones, Charles B. (2021). ''Pure Land: History, Tradition, and Practice'', pp. 136–150. Shambhala Publications, {{ISBN|978-1-61180-890-2}}.</ref>