generally). The first of these ideas is not only an ana-
gogic understanding of the concept, but also a psy-
chological or epistemological understanding of the
ideals of purity, beauty, and perfection. The second
conception has social implications and may overlap
with millenarian hopes that have appeared throughout
the history of Buddhism.
The idea of a “pure land of the mind” pervades the
CHAN SCHOOLtradition even among those who do
not adopt pure land practices. In his Zazen wasan
(Hymn in Praise of Zazen) the Japanese Zen Master
HAKUINEKAKU(1686–1768) states that “the pure land
is near at hand” for one who practices dhyana, and
that for one who experiences no-mind, “this very
world is the Pure Lotus Land.” In a more systematic
way the idea appears in Tiantai theological writings,
and even among the Chinese founders of pure land
theology and practice. Thus, Shandao (613–681) ex-
plains that even while still in this world one is reborn
in the pure land the moment one recites the nianfo
(Japanese, nenbutsu). Such conceptions may resurface
under favorable social conditions, as may have been
the case among the reformers of Buddhism during the
Chinese Republican period, or some of the Meiji and
TaishoJapanese Pure Land thinkers, and perhaps in
the myokoninmovement of the same period of rapid
modernization and rising nationalistic fervor.
The East Asian concept of the pure land does not
have an exact equivalent in the Buddhist literatures of
Tibet and Southeast Asia. However, one may speak of
a pan-Asian Buddhist belief in a purified and beauti-
fied paradise that offers ease of life, freedom from suf-
fering, and the opportunity for a long life dedicated to
spiritual pursuits in the presence of a buddha. In Ti-
bet this belief is generally firmly set in the scholastic
edifice of Mahayana and tantric ritual practice, and
does not take the independent life that it took in East
Asia. The pure land figures prominently in appeals to
Amitayus (Amitabha’s alter ego) for long life, and for
a sojourn in the pure land as a respite from the sor-
rows of this world.
Graphic representations of different pure lands
played an important role in East Asian iconography
and religious architecture, such as on the murals at
DUNHUANG. Similar motifs appear as MANDALAS
(Japanese, mandara) or schematic representations ofPURELANDSAmitabha in the Western Paradise, from a painting at Dunhuang. (Chinese, ca. 618–907.) © Pierre Colombel/Corbis. Reproduced by
permission.