M​i​r​r​o​r​ ​o​f​ ​R​e​t​u​r​n​i​n​g​ ​t​o​ ​t​h​e​ ​O​r​i​g​i​n​ ​t​h​r​o​u​g​h​ ​t​h​e​ ​L​a​m​p​ ​T​r​a​n​s​m​i​s​s​i​o​n​ ​o​f​ ​t​h​e​ ​P​u​r​e​ ​L​a​n​d​ ​b​y​ ​E​x​t​r​a​o​r​d​i​n​a​r​y​ ​M​e​a​n​s

The Pure Land teaching takes faith, vows, and practice as its essentials, centering on Amitābha Buddha, primal vows, Buddha-recitation, and rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and has long circulated widely in Chinese Buddhism. The terms “Pure Land,” “lamp transmission,” and “returning to the origin” in the title Mirror of Returning to the Origin through the Lamp Transmission of the Pure Land by Extraordinary Means indicate its connection with the transmission of Pure Land doctrine, exhortations to practice, and awareness of sectarian lineage. This item is in two fascicles, attributed to Zhida’s verses and Deri’s reviewed record of the Ming dynasty, and printed by the monk Weixian of Baoguo Monastery in Hangzhou in the 42nd year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty. It is suitable for research on the printing, monastic dissemination, and exhortative expressions of Ming-Qing Pure Land literature.