Pure Lands in Asian Texts and Contexts: An Anthology

This diverse anthology of original Buddhist texts in translation provides a historical and conceptual framework that will transform contemporary scholarship on Pure Land Buddhism and instigate its recognition as an essential field of Buddhist studies. The volume is organized into six parts, each introduced and summarized, and each translated piece is prefaced by its translator to supply historical and sectarian context. Scholars of Buddhism and Asian religion, as well as Buddhist practitioners, will appreciate the range of translated materials and accompanied discussions made accessible in one essential collection.

Format: Hardback
Length: 728 pages
Publication date: 30 May 2019
Publisher: University of Hawai'i Press

This extensive collection of original Buddhist texts in translation offers a historical and conceptual framework that will revolutionize contemporary scholarship on Pure Land Buddhism and elevate it to the status of an indispensable field of Buddhist studies. Traditional and contemporary primary sources, meticulously selected from Buddhist cultures across historical, geopolitical, and literary boundaries, are organized by genre rather than chronologically, geographically, or by religious lineage—a novel juxtaposition that reveals their greater significance in fresh contexts. Together, these fundamental texts from different Asian traditions, expertly translated by eminent and up-and-coming scholars, illustrate that Pure Land Buddhism is not just an East Asian cult or a marginal type of Buddhism but a pan-Asian and deeply entrenched religious phenomenon.

The volume is divided into six parts: Ritual Practices, Contemplative Visualizations, Doctrinal Expositions, Life Writing and Poetry, Ethical and Aesthetic Explications, and Worlds beyond Sukhavati. Each part is introduced and summarized, and each translated piece is preceded by its translator, who provides historical and sectarian context as well as insight into the significance of the work. Common and less-common issues of practice, doctrine, and intra-religious transfer are explored, and deeper understandings of the meaning of "pure lands" are gained through the study of the celestial, cosmological, internal, and earthly pure lands associated with various Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and devotional figures.

The introduction by the volume editors ties the diverse themes of the book together and provides a historical background to Pure Land Buddhist studies. Scholars of Buddhism and Asian religion, including graduate and post-graduate students, researchers, and practitioners, will find this collection an invaluable resource for their studies.

Weight: 1188g
Dimension: 160 x 237 x 50 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780824873097