Pure land

Pure Land is a Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places without the sufferings of samsara and to be beyond the three planes of existence. Many Mahayana Buddhists aspire to be reborn in a Buddha's pure land after death.

The term "Pure Land" is particular to East Asian Buddhism (Chinese: 淨土; pinyin: Jìngtǔ). In Sanskrit Buddhist sources, the equivalent concept is called a buddha-field (buddhakṣetra) or more technically a pure buddha-field (viśuddha-buddhakṣetra). It is also known by the Sanskrit term buddhabhūmi (Buddha land).^[1] In Tibetan Buddhism meanwhile, the term "pure realms" (Wyl. dag pa'i zhing) is also used as a synonym for buddhafield.

The various traditions that focus on attaining rebirth in a Pure Land are often called Pure Land Buddhism. The English term is ambiguous. It can refer to a way of practice which is found in most Mahayana traditions which employ various means to attain birth in a pure land. This specific concept is termed the "Pure Land Dharma gate" (Ch: 淨土法門, Pinyin: jìngtǔ fǎmén) in East Asian Buddhism. The English term can also refer to specific Buddhist schools or sects which focus on Pure Land practice. Specifically these would be termed Jìngtǔzōng (淨土宗) in Chinese and Jōdo bukkyō in Japanese.

Pure Lands are also found in the non-Buddhist traditions of Taoism and Bon.