Conceptions of the Absolute in Mahayana Buddhism and the Pure Land Way

The article opens with the Buddhist problem of relating the Absolute and the relative orders of reality, namely Nirvāṇa and Saṃsāra. It first reviews early Buddhist conceptions of Nirvāṇa as permanent, unborn, deathless, peaceful, and radically distinct from conditioned existence. It then turns to Mahāyāna developments, including the eternal Buddha, the doctrine of the three bodies, Dharmakāya, Buddha-nature, and the non-dual interpretation of Saṃsāra and Nirvāṇa. The main sections analyze The Awakening of Faith, the Pure Land tradition, the Decadent Age of the Dharma, Amitābha’s Name, the activity of Suchness, and the significance of Shinran. The article presents Pure Land Buddhism not as a devotional departure from Mahāyāna metaphysics, but as a concrete soteriological expression of the Absolute’s compassionate activity through Amitābha, the Primal Vow, shinjin, and nembutsu.