About Amida Buddha and His Pure Land

I try to explain here in easy terms, who is Amida Buddha and how we should understand the Pure Land.  First of all, what is a Buddha – or more exactly, what is not a Buddha?

A Buddha is not somebody like us, although at some point in the history He was. In a well known dialogue (Dona Sutta), a brahman named Dona asked Shakyamuni Buddha[1] who is He:

“Sir, are you a god?”

“No, brahman.”

 “Are you a yakkha?

“No, brahman.”

“Are you a human being?”

“No, brahman.”

“When asked, ‘Are you a god?’ you answer, ‘No, brahman…’ When asked, ‘Are you a yakkha?’ you answer, ‘No, brahman…’ When asked, ‘Are you a human being?’ you answer, ‘No, brahman…’ Then what sort of being are you?”

“Brahman, the defilements by which - if they were not abandoned - I would be a god: those are abandoned by me, their root destroyed, made like a palm tree stump, no longer subject to future arising. The defilements by which - if they were not abandoned - I would be a yakkha… a human being: those are abandoned by me, their root destroyed, made like a palm tree stump, no longer subject to future arising.

Just as a blue or red or white lotus born in water, grows in water and stands up above the water untouched by it, so too I, who was born in the world and grew up in the world, have transcended the world, and I live untouched by the world. Remember me, brahman, as a Buddha.”

The state of human beings is limited by various kinds of delusions, so we are mistaken if we say, for example, that Buddha is a human being. This is because the state He attained is higher than the human state of spiritual evolution. In particular, some Christians accuse Buddhism that its Founder is just a human and is thus inferior to Jesus who was the son of God. Even some Buddhists say that Buddha was a human being in order to show that they don’t promote idols or god-worshiping.

Both methods of speaking about a Buddha are false, because although the physical appearance of a Buddha may be human, the state which He has attained and in which He dwells is supreme in the universe.

The ego’s unceasing run, led by desires and karma, is followed by suffering. Birth and death does not end until Enlightement or Awakening is attained. A Buddha is one who escapes from this maddening run.

The word “Buddha” means “The Awakened One”, that is, awakened to the true reality. He goes beyond birth and death, escaping the chains of karma. His existence in the Universe is supreme and beyond our thinking which is still enslaved by illusions and ignorance. A Buddha has Infinite Wisdom and Infinite Compassion, helping sentient beings to break free from birth and death.

In Buddhism the situation is different from Christianity because there isn’t a Creator God, a Ruler, nor a Judge. Everything depends on karma: a Buddha is not a creator, a ruler, or a judge, but His existence in the Universe is supreme. He is just “The Awakened One” and He acts as a guide and Saviour, capable of true Compassion which is no longer enchained by the attachments or the illusions of ordinary beings.

Through Buddhism,the Ultimate Reality, i.e. Liberation or Nirvana, is accessible to all beings who observe the Path given by the Buddha.

A very important doctrine in Buddhism says that we can become Buddhas because we already have in us this possibility or potentiality. Thus, it is said that all beings, no matter their delusion or actual misery, have in themselves what is called Buddha nature[2]. It doesn’t matter if you are a worm, a cockroach, a dog, a human being, a hungry ghost or a god, etc., you have in yourself, like an unknown jewel thrown in the mud, the Buddha nature and the possibility to become a Buddha. This is good news, but unfortunately those who really come to liberate themselves from delusions and attain this state of a Buddha in our times are, according to Shinran,[3] completely nonexistent. Therefore, only the Path of faith in Amida remains the securely accessible method for attaining Buddhahood.

Any Buddha is completely free and continues to manifest himself in various ways and forms in order to guide others to Liberation. All Buddhas attain the same ultimate absolute reality: this is why it is said that all Buddhas have the same essence or nature, often called the Dharma body of ultimate reality or Dharmakaya. This Dharmakaya is the discovered Buddha nature.

Further, all Buddhas have multiple transcendental manifestations and create fields of personal influences, known as “pure lands” where beings who entrust in them and create special links with them can be born after their physical death.

In order to better understand how things are with these pure lands or Buddha’s spheres of influence, please try to remember how it is that in the presence of some people you suddenly feel better or worse, excited or tired. Every man has something like his own sphere of influence – which is the natural manifestation of his inside states of mind – and can influence others. Some people automatically change the atmosphere in a room with their presence, for example a beautiful woman will surely make many men feel sexually aroused, or a killer will create an atmosphere of fear and coldness. In the same way, the presence of a Buddha inspires and influences, but this influence is one which brings Enlightenment or positive states of mind.

When we are in the presence of a killer and are influenced by him, we may say that we are in his “land” or his sphere of influence. Also, when we are born in the Pure Land of Amida Buddha, we automatically arrive in His field whose influence makes us become ourselves Buddhas. This Pure Land of Amida is real and effective, being the manifestation of Amida’s Enlightenment and where we should aspire to be born after death.

It is not difficult for the supreme Enlightenment of a Buddha to take various forms for the sake of unenlightened beings. These special and transcendent manifestations of a Buddha are called Sambhogakaya or the Body of Recompense.

Various Buddhas have different Bodies of Recompense, due to the vows they made when they engaged on the Path. Let’s say, for example, that a person named Jim begins to follow the Buddhist Path and he makes a vow to especially save those with physical disabilities. In the moment he becomes a Buddha, he automatically has access to the ultimate reality (Dharmakaya), which is the same for all Buddhas, but he will have different transcendent manifestations, especially made to help that category of beings for which he made specific vows – that is, he will have a Sambhogakaya different from other Buddhas. This body is named the “body of recompense” because it is the effect or the “recompense” of his practices and virtues and of the special vows he transformed through his Enlightenment in effective methods of salvation.

Next, the physical body in which somebody becomes a Buddha is called Nirmanakaya or the body of transformation.

Thus, if Jim becomes a Buddha he will be called Buddha Jim, and he will have a body of flesh (Nirmanakaya), which has a visible beginning and a visible end; a transcendent body (Sambhogakaya), with a beginning in the moment of the attainment of Buddhahood, but without end, which is the result of his vows and virtues, different from those of other Buddhas; and an ultimate body (Dharmakaya) – without beginning and without end, which is the same with all Buddhas. Of course, as a Buddha, he can further manifest as many Nirmanakayas he wants in various samsaric universes.

Long time ago, in another era than that in which we are living now, the Buddha we call Amida was a monk named Dharmakara. He also made the aspiration to become a Buddha, but what makes Him so different from other Buddhas is that He made a special Vow[4] which promises salvation (attainment of Buddhahood) not only for those capable of some hard practices and virtues, but to all beings, and especially to those who are incapable of any practice. He promised the creation of a special Pure Land in which everybody can have access and, once born there, they will themselves become Buddhas, completely free from birth and death and capable to save other beings. In accordance with His Primal Vow, only faith is neccesary to become a Buddha in Amida’s Pure Land, this faith being manifested in the saying of His Holy Name[5] – Namo Amida Butsu.

Faith (shinjin) is not something complicated, but rather is a simple entrusting in Amida, that is, considering His Primal Vow to be true and effective.

In the moment Dharmakara became Amida Buddha, the vows and His Pure Land became real and effective for the salvation of sentient beings. Thus we may say that the Sambhogakaya of Amida Buddha is dwelling in His Pure Land.

This is, in short, the story of Amida, as told by Shakyamuni (the historical Buddha) to His disciples and which we, the Jodo Shinshu followers, consider real and trustworthy.

Any Buddhist teaching can be considered authentic if it was approved or presented by Shakyamuni Buddha himself. The teaching about the Path of faith in Amida Buddha and His Pure Land, where all beings can attain supreme Enlightenment no matter their capacities, is part of the teachings taught by Shakyamuni. According to Shinran Shonin, it is actually His most important teaching and His main reason for coming to this world.

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[1] Shakyamuni is the historical Buddha.

[2] Please study my book Simple Teachings on Emptiness and Buddha nature to get a detailed understanding of this topic.

[3] Founding Master: Shinran Shonin (1173-1262), the Founder of the Jodo Shinshu school of Buddhism.

[4] The Primal Vow of Amida Buddha promises birth in his Pure Land to all those who entrust themselves to Him, say His Name and aspire to be born there:

"If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings of the ten quarters who sincerely entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and say my Name perhaps even ten times, should not be born there, may I not attain the supreme Enlightenment”. Birth in the Pure Land of those who entrust themselves in Amida without doubt, will coincide with their attainment of perfect Enlightenment or Buddhahood. The 48 Vows of Amida Buddha, among which, the Eighteenth is called the Primal Vow, are recorded in the Larger Sutra on Amida Buddha. This was taught by Shakyamuni Buddha on Vulture Peak, in the northern part of India.

[5] When one has faith (shinjin), one is convinced that Amida Buddha and His Pure Land exist, and that the Promise He made in His Primal Vow is true, so one simply entrusts to this Buddha and wishes to go to His Pure Land after death. Saying Namo Amida Bu (Nembutsu) often or seldom means exactly this – “I entrust to Amida Buddha/I take refuge in Amida Buddha and I wish to go to His Pure Land”. It also means, “Homage to Amida Buddha” and “Thank you Amida Buddha for saving me as I am”