Overview

This is known as the Lotus school.  A school of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, which was founded in the year 402 by the Chinese monk Huiyuan and brought to Japan by Honen.  The goal of the adherents of this school is to be reborn in the pureland of Buddha Amitabha, i.e., in the western paradise.  This school is characterized by its stress on importance of profound faith in the power and active compassion of Buddha Amitabha.  Amitabha made a vow to cause all beings to be reborn in his pure land Sukhavati who trust themselves to him with faithful devotion.  Thus, since its adherents count on the external help of Amitabha, the way of the Pure Land school is often regarded as the "way of faith: or the "easy way."

The practice of this school consists primarily in the recitation of Amitabha's name and in visualizing his paradise.  These practices were adopted by other schools of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism.  The sutras used as the scriptural foundation of the school are the Sukhavati-vyuha, the Amitabha-stura, and the Amitayurdhyana-stura.  The Pure Land school is presently the school of Buddhism in China and Japan that has the most followers.