When the path is too steep, call the Name.
The devotional heart of East Asian Buddhism: trust in Amitabha's vow to receive all who call on him into a land where awakening is easy. The most practiced form of Buddhism on earth.
DeitiesAmitabha venerated — a buddha of infinite light, not a creator
Founded400 CE · China and Japan
AfterlifeRebirth in the Pure Land, then awakening
TextsPure Land Sūtras
The map
Pure Land’s corner of it — solid lines are descent; dotted lines are resemblance only, ideas held in common across unrelated faiths. Click a node to recenter; ✕ returns here. All 171 faiths →
c. 1500 BCE Vedic Religion c. 480 BCE Buddhism 100 CE Mahāyāna 400 CE Pure Land
Calling the Name is enough.
Amitabha vowed to receive all who call; the nembutsu takes his word for it.
Go deeper — context →
The Pure Land receives the faithful.
Rebirth there, where awakening is easy — grace, in a Buddhist key.
Go deeper — context →
The nembutsu.
Namu Amida Butsu — the Name recited in trust, from daily habit to deathbed.
Go deeper — context →