Toward a Contemporary Understanding of Pure Land Buddhism

The book is organized into three main parts. Part One, “Contemporary Interpretations of Pure Land Buddhist Tradition,” presents three Buddhist approaches to the reinterpretation of Pure Land thought: Dennis Hirota offers a hermeneutical approach to images of reality in the Shin Buddhist path; John S. Yokota develops a process-oriented understanding of Amida Buddha and the Pure Land; and Musashi Tachikawa examines mandala contemplation and Pure Land practice from a Buddhological perspective. Part Two, “Responses from Two Western Religious Thinkers,” includes Gordon D. Kaufman’s methodological response to recent revisionist interpretations of Pure Land Buddhism and John B. Cobb Jr.’s Christian critique of Pure Land Buddhism. Part Three, “Reconsiderations of Buddhist Theological Reflection,” returns to the three Buddhist contributors, who refine their positions through further essays on dialogic engagement and truth, compassion, and the relation between the world and Amida Buddha. The volume also includes Dennis Hirota’s introduction, which gives historical and doctrinal context for Shin Buddhism, including Shinran, Amida’s vow, nembutsu, shinjin, Pure Land symbolism, and the challenges of interpreting Buddhist life in modern pluralistic society.