Discourse on the Pure Land

Discourse on the Pure Land (C. Jingtu lun 淨土論). A commentary on the Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, attributed to Vasubandhu. This text is considered as one of the essential texts of the Pure Land tradition of Mahāyāna Buddhism.

Matsumoto (2015) states:

Translated by Bodhiruci in 529 as 無量寿経優婆提舎願生偈 (Discourse on the Sutra of Eternal Life and Gāthā of Aspiration to Be Born in the Pure Land), the text today exists only in its Chinese form. However, both Hōnen and Shinran considered Vasubandhu’s work to be one of the fundamental texts of the Pure Land teaching along with the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sutra 佛説無量寿経, the Amitāyur-dhyāna sūtra 佛説観無量寿経, and the Smaller Sukhāvatīvyūha Sutra 佛説阿弥陀経.

Although the Discourse on the Pure Land 淨土論, as it is commonly called, directly expounds the method of religious practice to be performed by one following the bodhisattva path, it nevertheless constitutes an important cornerstone for the later development of the Pure Land teaching of salvation for the ordinary person who is unable to perform such disciplines.

"The text came to be held in high regard in China and Japan after the eminent Chinese monk Tanluan composed an influential commentary on the text." Tanluan's commentary "is said to have directly provided the philosophical foundation for the development of Pure Land thought as a teaching for the salvation of the ordinary being who is not otherwise capable of performing bodhisattva practices."

Title variations

This text is known by the following titles:

• Wuliangshou jing youpotishe yuansheng ji. (J. Muryōjukyō upadaisha ganshōge; K. Muryangsugyŏng ubajesa wŏnsaeng ke 無量壽經優婆提舎願生偈 / 無量寿経優婆提舎願生偈 ("Discourse on the Sutra of Eternal Life and Gāthā of Aspiration to Be Born in the Pure Land")
• Wuliangshou jing lun (“Commentary on the Limitless Life Scripture”)
• Jingtu lun (淨土論) (“Discourse on the Pure Land”)
• Wangsheng lun (“Treatise on Rebirth”)
• Yuansheng ji (“Verses on the Wish for Rebirth”)

Sanskrit reconstructions:

• *Sukhāvatīvyūhopadeśa
• *Amitayus sutropadeśa (?)

English translation

• Matsumoto, David (2012). "Jōdoron 浄土論: Discourse on the Pure Land". The Seven Patriarchs of Jodo-Shinshu Buddhism. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2025. 

Sources

• Brunnhölzl, Karl (2007), Straight from the Heart: Buddhist Pith Instructions, Snow Lion, 2007, pp. 43-53
• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University 

External links

• Discourse on the Pure Land, Wikipedia