Pure Land Buddhism Analysis

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Examine the key features of Pure Land Buddhism and discuss how it has been practiced in China.

Pure Land Buddhism is a strand of Mahayana Buddhism that focuses on one’s life after death, as Skilton highlights how the central goal is to achieve rebirth in the Buddha Amitabha’s Pure Land, Sukhavati (Skilton, 1994:172). Although Prebish and Keown note that Buddhist Cosmology includes various Pure Lands belonging to different Buddhas, China is mainly concerned with the Western Pure Land belonging to Amitabha (Prebish and Keown, 2006: 173). Furthermore, Jones illustrates how this school of Buddhism began to develop in China in the 5th century as an easier path towards enlightenment, due to the belief that one would receive assistance from Amitabha