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A Buddhology of the Name: Traditional Pure Land Buddhology Revisited

By Raymond Lam

Let me dwell in the blessed assembly of the Buddha of Infinite Splendour, born in a beautiful and holy lotusAnd receive a prophecy of enlightenment (Vyakarana) in the Presence of Amitābha.

 – Samantabhadra’s Vows

Introduction

Buddhology has existed ever since Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment andgrew as a field of religious study after his death. In Buddhist philosophical circles, thequestion of what makes an individual a Buddha has been discussed with expanding

scope and deepening complexity especially after the advent of the Mahayana, or theGreat Vehicle. The idea of the bodhisattvas, the trikaya, and Buddha-lands forever altered the structure and meaning of the Buddhist vocation. Buddhology reached anew milestone with the advent of the Pure Land school, in which three essentialconcepts: Light, Life, and the Name – became the central aspects of devotion throughwhich sentient beings could come to a personal relationship with the Buddha and toattain Nirvana. These three crucial aspects form the crux of Pure Land doctrine: in theholy scriptures, the Larger Sutra states that Amitābha’s nature is of infinite light (VowTwelve), infinite life (Vow Thirteen), and of the supreme Name (Vow Seventeen).Amitābha’s Eighteenth Vow, which all Pure Land traditions revere as the mostimportant of the forty-eight, communicate his intention to have all sentient beings

know his Name and to attain liberation in his Pure Land.

This essay is a holistic revisiting of Pure Land Buddhology for modern students. I amconvinced – and many writers have asserted this before me – that culture, language,or societal forms cannot limit the Pure Land School. Its Buddhology must also becosmic enough to include, where possible and legitimate, the notions and concepts of all traditions claiming loyalty to Amitābha. It is not helpful to overlook Chineseinfluence on Japanese Pure Land teachings, nor is it beneficial to ignore thesignificance of Japanese thinkers within the totality of the Mahayana movement. Agood case in point would be Shinran. Many Chinese and Japanese thinkers do notconsider many of his ideas legitimate, yet I am convinced that much of his teaching is

 pertinent to modern discipleship in Buddhism. It would be an ad hoc assumption todisregard his experience of the Pure Land simply because I declare loyalty to theChinese tradition.

Therefore, this relatively short work came about as my personal and no doubtimperfect attempt to coherently articulate the holy qualities of Amitābha for ayounger readership interested in Mahayana Buddhism and the Pure Land perspectiveon its central Buddha, Amitābha. The paper aims to help Buddhists understand theimport of the Name in the universe and to help non-Buddhists to understand why the

 Name is believed to embody such importance. Therefore, it is a treatise addressing animportant aspect of Mahayana philosophy as succinctly but as systematically as my

skills permit. It is academic in its approach, but in the end, it remains my own search for the face of the Name.

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Preliminary Observations

The proper form (word-stem) of Amitābha's name in Sanskrit is the masculine

 Amitābha, and the nominative singular is Amitābhah. This is a compound of theSanskrit words amita (“without bound, infinite”) and ābhā (“light, splendour”).Consequently, the Holy Name is to be interpreted as “He who possesses light without

 bound, he whose splendour is infinite.” The name Amitāyus (nominative formAmitāyuh) is also used. This is a compound of amita and āyus (“life”), and so means“He whose life is boundless” (Harvey, 1990, pp. 129 – 30).

Amitābha is the supreme (Larger Sutra, 270b, 11), wonderful, and unequaled( Discourse on the Pure Land , verse 18) Lord of cosmic compassion, venerated by allMahayana traditions and particularly in exoteric East Asian Buddhism (Tsung-pen,1994, p. 173). Amitābha is the primordial Buddha that embodies the essence of all

Buddhas and is praised by them eternally. Amitābha contains all Buddhas within theinfinite light and life of his Dharma Realm Treasury Body (Smith, 1993, p. 46), whichcontains the cosmos whilst transcending it entirely. Amitābha is therefore infinity andas such is (ultimately) indescribable. Amitābha only desires the liberation of all

 beings so that they will become Buddhas themselves, unlimited in life and wisdom.Amitābha’s position as Tathagata – as the foremost of Tathagatas and as the father of all sentient beings (Tsung-pen, 1994, p. 173) – is therefore one of utterlyinconceivable perfection and compassion, unimpeded in its power and strength.

As inadequate as our languages are to even articulate such untraceability (Sebastian,2005, p. 100), this essay aims to revisit the systematic Buddhology that defineAmitābha’s uniqueness as a Buddha and express, at its highest level, the complex

nature of Buddhahood that is rooted in suchness or true reality and the world of sentient beings.

We can begin by asserting that Amitābha is actually devoid of nature: Amitābha is beyond form and formlessness, beyond pure and impure, beyond non-self and self, beyond supremacy and lowliness, beyond eternity and ephemerality. In the cosmos of 

saṃsāra and in our world of Endurance, suffering and ignorant beings mistake theimpure as pure, the self-less as self, suffering as happiness, impermanence as

 permanence (2005, p. 112), and the insignificant as significant. But when weremember Amitābha’s omnipresence by invoking the Name, all conventionalconceptualization is transcended and we experience the enlightened mind as we vow

to serve Amitābha and all sentient beings.

Light, Life, and the Name

The Pure Land tradition (and the Mahayana in general) is the historical form andexpression of a non-historical, transcendent reality (Ingram, 1977, p. 77). At thehighest level of practice, which runs close parallels with other mystical traditions,Amitābha represents the formless True Mind or Self-Nature common to Buddhas andsentient beings – all-encompassing and all-inclusive. This deeper understanding

 provides the rationale for the harmonization of Zen and Pure Land, the two most

 popular schools of Mahayana Buddhism (Smith, 1993, p. 235). However, the

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identities of sentient beings and Amitābha still remain metaphysically distinct andseparate (Ingram, 1977, p. 80).

Amitābha’s dharmakaya or Body of Truth is the absolute suchness of enlightenment,the absolute reality. Amitābha is the Buddha Nature common to all beings, Buddhas,

and bodhisattvas. This Body of Truth is encountered by beings born into the PureLand or by those who devote their lives to Amitābha, personified by Amitābha’s

 sambhogakaya, or manifestation of the dharmakaya through skilful means (asdescribed in the Contemplation Sutra). Amitābha in the nirmanakaya is the historicalmanifestation as Dharmakara, fulfilling his forty-eight bodhisattva vows.

But this forms only a glimpse of Amitābha’s unique nature.

In Pure Land Buddhology, Amitābha’s nature consists of three characteristics (apartfrom the presupposition that Amitābha is a Truth-Body Buddha that approachessentient beings to liberate them). These are directly referred to in the scriptures.

Amitābha’s unceasing light is demonstrated in Vow Twelve: “If, when I attainBuddhahood, my light should be limited, illuminating even a hundred thousand kotisof nayutas of Buddha lands, may I not attain perfect enlightenment” (268a). TheBuddha’s eternity is highlighted in Vow Thirteen: “If, when I attain Buddhahood, mylifespan should be limited, even to the extent of a hundred thousand kotis of nayutasof kalpas, may I not attain perfect enlightenment” (268a). Vow Seventeen indicatesAmitābha’s unique supremacy among all other Buddhas: “If, when I attainBuddhahood, innumerable Buddhas in the lands of the ten directions should not all

 praise and glorify my Name, may I not attain perfect enlightenment” (268a).

Amitābha is therefore the Buddha who has taken on the forms of light, life, and Nameto awaken sentient beings and bring them to his Pure Land. Light and life are thequalities depicted in the Name and reveal Amitābha’s universality andtranstemporality. The Name itself is the manifestation of the Buddha’s presence, theembodiment of perfection, enlightenment, and how it communicates itself to theuniverse of unenlightened beings. Of course, Amitaba possesses countless other characteristics, but these are the central Buddhological teachings that articulate andsystemize Amitābha’s relation to sentient beings (note that it is impossible tosystemize the traits of the actual Buddha because the Buddha is fundamentallyinconceivable). And of course, Amitābha’s infinite compassion is revealed in theaforementioned Primal ( purva) Vow – the supreme Eighteenth Vow which states thatany being that invokes, thinks of, or is mindful of the Name will experience the PureLand. The Primal Vow is called thus because it is prior to the beginningless beginning

of time, taking in all beings unconditionally (Unno, 1998, p. 20).

Infinite Light (Amitābha, Twelfth Vow)

The name of “Infinite Light” and light symbolism is extremely important in theBuddhist tradition and forms the central object of faith, worship and veneration(Ingram, 1977, p. 85). It has other qualities like purity and joy and often symbolized

 by the sun. The notion of light is grounded in merit-acquiring practices of Mahayanasoteriological disciplines. One must know the Buddha’s unimpeded light, and by

 partaking in the light, one will be saved:

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The light of Amitāyus shines brilliantly, illuminating all the Buddha lands of the tendirections. There is no place where it is not perceived. I am not the only one who now

 praises his light. All the Buddhas, sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas praiseand glorify it in the same way. If sentient beings, having heard of the majestic virtueof his light, glorify it continually, day and night, with sincerity of heart, they will be

able to attain birth in his land as they wish (Larger Sutra, 270b, 11).

The Buddha Amitāyus possesses eighty-four thousand physical characteristics, eachhaving eighty-four thousand secondary marks of excellence. Each secondary mark emits eighty-four thousand rays of light; each ray of light shines universally upon thelands of the ten directions, embracing and not forsaking those who are mindful of the

Buddha (Contemplation Sutra, 343b, 17).

As “infinite” indicates, Amitābha’s light should not be understood as a realitystanding in dualistic opposition to samsaric existence. Instead, it illuminates andembraces blind passions and takes them into itself. It is able to shine on all beings,including those who are do not know the religious path (Yoshifumi, Hirota, 1989, pp.115 – 6). Yet how does Amitābha’s light provide salvation? This Pure Landsoteriology has its roots in India, where the Mahayana movement first began. It isrecorded that Shakyamuni Buddha attained Nirvana after looking upon the morningstar at dawn, after the evening’s final struggle with Mara. This experience has beenuniversalized as the final step towards enlightenment. Because Amitābha is theBuddha of Unceasing Light, salvation is naturally guaranteed thanks to Dharmakara’svows and the truth of light as the illumination of reality. Amitābha’s ineffable lighttherefore allows a sentient being to understand the true nature of reality throughdevotion, meditation and prayer. The nature of light in the Mahayana tradition istherefore the wisdom that a Buddha or bodhisattva possesses. To know is to become.Knowing the light, one becomes the light; encountering reality, one becomes trulyreal.

But Amitābha’s light is not “light” in the conventional sense because there are manylocations where light cannot shine. This light is merely physical light: it can only beknown through the senses and conceived of in the brain. We cannot conceive of itfully, because its concrete qualities are essentially different from what we know aslight. The all-pervasive activity of the Buddha’s wisdom and his transcendent activityof bringing sentient beings to awareness is expressed in terms of the concept of light,

 but this light still transcends the conception of any being. Amitābha’s wisdom-light isunhindered and inconceivable; therefore it has no form and cannot be trulyunderstood as anything less than a pervasive, invisible, truth (Yoshifumi, Hirota,

1989, p. 116).

Infinite Life (Amitāyus, Thirteenth Vow)

In the primeval past, countless trillions of aeons in prehistory, Amitābha’s Body of Truth manifested form and announced a Holy Name, appearing as DharmakaraBodhisattva in order to awaken beings to itself and to themselves. This bodhisattva,according to the Pure Land canon, established the Forty-Eight Vows to bring all

 beings to enlightenment and became Amitābha Buddha (Yoshifumi, 1978, p. 65).This is a narrative expressed in historical terms and is set in a primordial age before

the creation of our world-system, Saha (Endurance). Infinite life also does not meanenduring indefinitely within time (for within time, all things have the marks of 

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impermanence, change, and suffering). Infinite life stands beyond our conceptualframework of time, but possesses the power to become present in every moment of 

time. This is, like infinite light, tied to the union of saṃsāra with the true and real.Unhindered, boundless life is obviously eternal, but enters into the time and history of all world-systems and fuses with the existences of all beings.

The Name (All Buddhas throughout the cosmos praise Amitābha’s Name, thecentral gateway to salvation – Seventeenth Vow)

We can say with confidence that the Name is the central object of worship in PureLand Buddhism, particularly because of the holy reality it embodies (Yoshifumi,Hirota, 1989, pp. 118 – 9). It is what distinguishes Amitābha from other Buddhas (for light and life, while domains of Amitābha, are also universal to other Buddhas and

 bodhisattvas). Unno notes brilliantly: “Philosophically speaking, the nembutsu is theself-articulation of fundamental reality… The Name is vibrant with mythic

significance.” He understands the Name as the “source of creative life, the power thataffirms reality-as-is” (Unno, 1998, p. 27 – 8). The revelation of the Name enters in tothe realm of conditioned and impermanent life at its essential and fundamental level,irrupting into the universe and acting meaningfully to intelligent beings in the modeof language. The Name is given to us so that the transtemporal Amitābha’s light and

life becomes conceivable as the overriding presence in time and in saṃsāra. Inhearing of it and in pronouncing it, the Buddha’s presence becomes truly embodied insamsaric existence, like his light and life (Yoshifumi, Hirota, 1989, p. 118). The

 Name is therefore the Presence of Amitābha Buddha suffusing the multiverse.

According to Yoshifumi and Hirota, the Seventeenth Vow holds a double

significance. Firstly, it assures that the Name will be heard by all beings in thecosmos. Secondly, the Buddhas’ praise of the Name testifies to Amitābha’s power and efficacy in delivering beings by revealing the Name as the fundamental presence

of Buddhahood in saṃsāra. This is why a quarter of Amitābha’s Vows define thevirtues of hearing the Name, as seen in Vow 32, 42, 45, 43, 44, and 47 (Yoshifumi,Hirota, 1989, p. 119).

We have determined that Amitābha coalesces himself in infinite light, infinite life,and the Name. We have also determined that the Name is the manifestation of thePresence. I will now briefly address the bond between the Presence (the Buddha) andsentient beings.

Amitābha’s Desire

Who is the Name? What does the Name want sentient beings to be? How can human beings respond to the Name?

Amitābha desires nothing less than liberating every individual – god, titan, human,animal, hell-being – from their alienation from each other and from their estrangement from reality. Because Buddha Nature is immanent within every atom of the cosmos, Amitābha works tirelessly to bring sentient beings to realization of their intrinsic purity and blessedness – their innate potential to become Buddhas and

 bodhisattvas themselves. Chief among Dharmakara’s Forty-Eight Vows was the

creation of a Buddha Universe called the Land of Ultimate Bliss and Peace, outside of space and time and only as distant as our heart pushes it away. Any who invoke

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Amitābha sincerely (canonically, it is interpreted as ten times) can enter into thisinconceivable paradise, through verbal and mental contemplation. According to the

 Dasabhumikavibhasa Sastra , with Amitābha’s guidance, those who dwell in the Pure

Land then attain bodhisattvahood or Buddhahood and can return to saṃsāra to helpyet more sentient beings (Williams, 1989, p. 258). The Pure Land is situated

differently to our conceptions of spatial distance – hence it is set in the primordialwest beyond our universe, yet remains close to us (Contemplation Sutra, 341c).

Amitābha is inconceivable, but Amitābha is infinitely compassionate and henceemploys innumerable skilful means (upaya) to teach sentient beings. The ancientMahayana masters understood this to an almost surprising degree of simplicity – theBuddha of Infinite Light, beyond all metaphysical, ontological and mathematicalconception, is best approached through the recitation of Amitābha’s Holy Name.There is no better and more effective way to approach Amitābha than through simplycontemplating Amitābha. The Pure Land Patriarch, T’an-luan, noted that reciting and

 praising the name of Amitābha assumes highest priority. To invoke the Name is also

the articulation of Reality (Williams, 1989, p. 259). Each time it is intoned, true life isexperienced and a glimpse of infinite light is revealed in the mind. What is essential,however, is the “quality of the heart inherent in each saying, the purity of response tothe call of the Buddha of Immeasurable Light and Life” (Unno, 1998, p. 29 – 30).T’an-luan interprets the reference in the Larger Sutra of Amitābha to reciting the

 Name ten times (the divine number) means to invoke it with a perfectly unified mind.The number of invocations is not so important. To repeat the Name constantly andwith devoted, worshipful concentration is to purify the mind of its sins and ensurerebirth in the Pure Land, which is ultimately enlightenment itself (Williams, 1989, p.259). Infinite light, infinite life, the Pure Land, enlightenment, Buddhahood, and the

 bodhisattva vocation are all interrelated and cannot be understood except as a totalitywithin the Name.

In the East Asian tradition, the Name is understood to refer not only to AmitābhaBuddha, but also to the invocation of “Namo Amitābha Buddha.” “Namo” is atransliteration of the Sanskrit namas, meaning to take refuge in. Through the Name,Amitābha has included the means by which beings can know and take refuge in him.The awakening and salvation of beings is, according to the Larger Sutra, an integralaspect of Amitābha’s Buddhahood (Yoshifumi, Hirota, 1989, p. 119).

Why West?

It is obviously possible to invoke Amitābha anywhere, and East Asian Buddhists havedone so for many generations. But soteriologically, it is in the west that Amitābha hasrevealed the Pure Land to sentient beings, giving us the very possibility of invokingthe Name anywhere. West is the cosmic direction of the Pure Land because it is thedirection of the sunset and hence of death. During sunset the sun is gentle, andhumans can directly look into its fierce power without coming to any harm. As itdisappears into the west, the sun resembles a proud and mighty king, who at the endof a day of stern protocol turns gentle and jovial, and allows anyone to approach himfor petitions or friendship. Amitabha is therefore the supreme power and energy of theuniverse, cast on an earthly plain and accessible to all. In fact, the Pure Land is notmerely transcendent; it is immanent in the pure consciousness of all beings that

exercise spiritual effort to encounter infinite light. All beings will meet Amitābha, andAmitābha is ever-present amongst them.

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Aside from invoking Amitābha’s name, there are many prayers, gathas, meditationsand dedications one can undertake to crack the shutters of the alienated mind and letAmitābha’s compassionate light purify our universe. But most importantly of all, if we wish to repay Amitābha’s all-embracing kindness we must dedicate our lives – 

and all our lives to come – to the compassionate service of all sentient beings(Ingram, 1977, p. 110). The Pure Land Buddhist believes that this is the purpose of human life – to embody the unhindered love and compassion every sentient being issecretly and shyly awaiting. Every individual is a beloved of the Name. Only throughconcrete involvement with the suffering of the universe will human beings understandwhat is meant by the Name. And in that Name, they will glimpse the radiant truth of infinite light and life.

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References

The Larger Sutra on Amitāyus (Taisho Volume 12, Number 360). Trans. Inagaki Isao(2003) in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Revised Edition. Berkeley, California:

 Numata Centre for Buddhist Translation and Research

Chu-hung and Tsung-pen (1994) Pure Land, Pure Mind: The Buddhism of MastersChu-hung and Tsung-pen. Trans. J.C. Cleary. The Corporate Body of the BuddhaEducational Foundation, Hang Chow R. Rd., Taipei

Cleary, Thomas (trans.) (1993) The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Boston and London: Shambhala Publications

Eliade, Mircea (1965) Mephistopheles and the Androgyne. New York: Sheed andWard

Harvey, Peter (1990) An introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, history and practices.Trumpington Street, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Inagaki, Hisao (trans.) (1998) Ojoronchu: T’an-luan’s Commentary on Vasubandhu's Discourse on the Pure Land: A Study and Translation. Kyoto: Nagata Bunshodo, pp.120 – 291

Ingram, Paul O. (1977) The Dharma of Faith: An Introduction to Classical Pure Land Buddhism. Washington: University Press of America

Sebastian, C.D. (2005) Metaphysics and Mysticism in Mahayana Buddhism: An Analytical Study of the Ratnagotravibhago-Mahayanottaratantra-sastram. Delhi, India:Sri Satguru Publications

Smith, Forrest (e.d.) (1993) Pure-Land Zen, Zen Pure-Land: Letters from PatriarchYin Kuang . Trans. Master Thich Thien Tam. Davidson Avenue, New York: SutraTranslation Committee of the United States and Canada

Thich Nhat Hanh (2006) The Energy of Prayer: How to Deepen Your Spiritual  Practice. Berkeley, California: Parallax Press

Unno, Taitetsu (1998) River of Fire, River of Water: An Introduction to the Pure Land Tradition of Shin Buddhism. Broadway, New York: Doubleday

Williams, Paul (1989) Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. London and New York: Routledge

Yoshifumi Ueda (e.d.) (1978) Letters of Shinran: A Translation of Mattosho. Kyoto:Hongwanji International Center 

Yoshifumi Ueda, Hirota, Dennis (1989) Shinran: An Introduction to His Thought .Kyoto: Hongwanji International Center