Amitabha Buddhism

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Amida Buddha Daibutsu (13th century) at Kōtoku-in in Kamakura, Japan
Amida Buddha in Western Paradise , the Pure Land (8th century, Tun Huang , China )
Amida Buddha at the Donglin Temple in Lushan, southern China

Amitabha Buddhism is a collective name for those schools of Mahayana Buddhism that refer to the transcendent Buddha Amitabha . In the 1st / 2nd Originated in the 17th century in India , the teaching reached China from the 5th century , where it was named Jingtu zong ( Chinese  淨土 宗 , Pinyin Jìngtǔ zōng , W.-G. Ching-t'u tsung  - "School of the Pure Land ") assumed. In Japan, Hōnen Shōnin (1172-1212) founded the Jōdo-shū on the basis of the "pure land teaching" . From this the Jōdo-Shinshū, founded by Shinran Shōnin (1173-1263), developed .

Amitabha Buddhism is also often called Amidism - this after the Japanese word Amida, which corresponds to the Sanskrit word Amitabha.

Amidism is the only branch of Buddhism in which trust in the supernatural Buddha Amitabha claims a central value - while belief in Buddhism does not otherwise play a prominent role. In Amidism, trust in the universal goodness of Amitabha (Amidas) and the expectation of a rebirth in the Pure Land (Sanskrit Sukhavati ; Japanese Jōdo ) are in the foreground. This is why one speaks of pure land Buddhism .

concept

In the world of Amitabha Buddhism, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas reside in the Pure Lands , pure realms that are particularly beneficial for spiritual development.

The starting point is something like this: In the age of the constant decline of the Dharma (Japanese: Mappo) it is almost impossible for today's people to attain enlightenment and nirvana . But there is still the possibility to ask Amitabha for help, because after his own enlightenment he has made the vow not to leave this world until all beings are redeemed. Those who trust in the Other Power will be reborn in Amitabha's Pure Land, a peaceful, paradisiacal world in which everything is geared towards making enlightenment and attainment of nirvana easy for beings.

Because of the central role of faith in this religious direction, amidism has often been compared with Christian Protestantism and its principle sola fide , as in Karl Barth ; Although this comparison is correct in some respects, it is also very misleading in others, so a careful study of the relationships is advisable.

In the Sino-Japanese area (China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore), Amitabha worship is a widespread expression of Buddhist teaching today. Since meditation is less important in this school than, for example, in the Chan , this trend spread among the broad strata of the working ordinary population, whose way of life left no time for in-depth meditation.

Limited Purpose Techniques

The name Amitabha is pronounced hundreds of times during the day - this can also be inaudible. The practitioner, according to the belief of the Pure Land School, can use "one-pointed focus" to keep the mind still. Technology does not claim to achieve absolute nirvana, but rather relative nirvana, i.e. a state in which there is still little attachment in the sense of an I-object relation. As a result, samsara is not completely broken. See also: Nembutsu

Other techniques are the visualization of complex landscapes. The first stage consists of the visualization of the setting sun and is comparatively simple. Higher visualization levels such as the visualization of the water begin with the visualization of the water and, as soon as this succeeds, snow, crystal and complex landscapes made of crystal are tried. These exercises should also interrupt the flow of thoughts and open the mind.

See also

literature

  • Hisao Inagaki , Harold Stewart (transl.): The Three Pure Land Sutras. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Berkeley 2003, ISBN 1-886439-18-4 . (PDF accessed on July 28, 2013)
  • F. Max Müller (trans): Buddhist Mahâyâna texts. Volume 2: The larger Sukhâvatî-vyûha, the smaller Sukhâvatî-vyûha, the Vagrakkedikâ, the larger Pragñâ-pâramitâ-hridaya-sûtra, the smaller Pragñâ-pâramitâ-hridaya-sûtra. The Amitâyur dhyâna-sûtra. translated by J. Takakusu. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1894. (Pure Land Sutras)
  • Shojun Bandō, Harold Stewart, Ann T. Rogers, Minor L. Rogers (trans.): Tannishō: Passages Deploring Deviations of Faith and Rennyo Shōnin Ofumi: The Letters of Rennyo. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Berkeley 1996, ISBN 1-886439-03-6 . (PDF accessed on 2013/07/28)
  • Christoph Kleine : The Buddhism of the Pure Land: From the Chinese and Japanese tradition . Berlin: Insel Verlag 2015, ISBN 978-3-458-70053-1
  • Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki : Amida. The Buddha of love. OW Barth, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-502-62592-1 .
  • Christian Steineck : Source texts of Japanese Amida Buddhism. Harrassowitz, 1996, ISBN 3-447-03823-3 .
  • Volker Zotz : The Buddha in the Pure Land. Shin Buddhism in Japan. Munich 1991, ISBN 3-424-01120-7 .
  • Herbert role: Jodo Shinshu. Genesis and teaching of a Japanese tradition of Mahâyâna as well as its reflection within the framework of the evangelical system. Norderstedt 2008, ISBN 978-3-640-11734-5 .
  • Shi Wuling: In one Lifetime: Pure Land Buddhism. ( Memento of March 26, 2009 on the Internet Archive ) Amitabha Publications, Chicago 2006, ISBN 1-59975-357-X .
  • Shinko Mochizuki, Leo M. Pruden, Trans: Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History. Chapter 1: A General Survey. In: Pacific World Journal. Third Series, Number 1 (1999), pp. 91-103. (Archived from the original ( Memento of July 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ))
  • Shinko Mochizuki, Leo M. Pruden, Trans: Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History. Chapter 2: The Earliest Period. Chapter 3: Hui-yuan of Mt.Lu. Chapter 4: The Translation of Texts-Spurious Scriptures. In: Pacific World Journal Third Series, Number 3 (2001), pp. 241-275. (Archived from the original ( Memento of July 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ))
  • Shinko Mochizuki, Leo M. Pruden, Trans: Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History. Chapter Five: The Early Pure Land Faith: Southern China. Chapter Six: The Early Pure Land Faith: Northern China. In: Pacific World Journal. Third Series, Number 4 (2002), pp. 259-279. (Archived from the original ( Memento of July 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ))
  • Shinko Mochizuki, Leo M. Pruden, Trans: Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History. Chapter 7: T'an-luan. In: Pacific World Journal. Third Series, Number 2 (2000), pp. 149-165. (Archived from the original ( Memento of July 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ))
  • Kenneth Tanaka: Bibliography of English-language Works on Pure land Buddhism: Primarily 1983–1989. In: Pacific World Journal. New Series, Number 5 (1989), pp. 85-99. (PDF)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Karl Barth : The Church Dogmatics. Study edition, 30 volumes and index volume. Theological Verlag, Zurich 1993, ISBN 3-290-11634-4 , Vol. 1/2, pp. 372-377