The Pure Land Everywhere

This chapter, “Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva,” contains some interesting teachings. Since the Saha-world we live in is filled with evil and impurity, it is called “the defiled land.” It is also called the World of Forbearance or Endurance, because the living beings which dwell here endure many sufferings. An ideal world, on the other hand, is called a Pure Land. Before the Lotus Sutra was taught, it was believed that a Pure Land can exist only somewhere else, somewhere far away from this defiled land. One such Pure Land is mentioned in the Lotus Sutra. It is the Western Paradise of Amitayus. However, the Pure Land of the Lotus Sutra exists not only in the west, but everywhere.

Introduction to the Lotus Sutra