After the Charter, it is necessary to be familiar with the school’s founder, for the former is based on the teachings of the latter.

The founder occupies a preeminent position in the school, unmatched by others. The founder of the Pure Land school was Master Shandao of the Tang Dynasty, widely accepted as an incarnation of Amitabha Buddha. He synthesized and completed the Pure Land teachings and wrote the Five Works in Nine Fascicles, which definitively laid down the thought and practices of the Pure Land tradition.

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English translation by Householder Jingtu