Shandao
善導
Shandao, Muromachi period, Ōtani University Museum.
Personal life
Born	613 Zibo, Shandong, China
Died	681 (aged 67–68) Chang'an, Shaanxi, China
Nationality	Chinese
Notable work(s)	Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra
Religious life
Religion	Buddhism
Temple	Wuzhen Temple Xuanzhong Temple Wenguo Temple Fengxian Temple
School	Pure Land Buddhism
Dharma names	Shandao
Senior posting
Teacher	Mingsheng (明勝) Daochuo
Students Huaiyun (怀恽) Huaigan (懷感) Shaokang

Shandao (simplified Chinese: 善导大师; traditional Chinese: 善導大師; pinyin: shàndǎo dàshī; Japanese: Zendō Daishi; 613–681) was a Chinese Buddhist scholar monk and an influential figure of East Asian Pure Land Buddhism.^[1][2]

Shandao was one of the first Pure Land authors to argue that all ordinary people can be reborn in the Pure Land by relying on the karmic power of Amitābha Buddha's past vows.^[1] Shandao was also one of the earliest Pure Land authors to teach the primacy of faithfully reciting Amitābha's name (nianfo), seeing this practice as sufficient for birth in the Pure Land.^[3][4] This, along with Shandao's efforts in disseminating paintings of the Pure Land, made Pure Land Buddhism much more accessible and popular among the common people.^[5]

Several modern scholars consider Shandao to be the true founder of the Chinese Pure Land tradition.^[1][3] According to Alfred Bloom, Shandao "systematized Pure Land thought and brought it to its highest peak of development in China."^[3]

Shandao's writings had a strong influence on later Pure Land masters, especially his focus on the vocal recitation of the name of Amitābha.^[6] He is also very important for Japanese pure land founders Hōnen and Shinran. In Jōdo Shinshū, he is considered the Fifth Patriarch, while in Chinese Pure Land Buddhism, he is considered the second patriarch after Lushan Huiyuan.

There are various sources for Shandao's biography, the earliest and most reliable is Further Biographies of Eminent Monks (T 2060) by Daoxuan (596–667), a contemporary of Shandao who also resided with him at mount Zhōngnán.^[7]

Shandao (lay name: Chu) was most likely born in 613, in what is now China's Shandong Province.^[8] He became a buddhist monk (bhiksu) early in life under master Master Mingsheng of Mizhou (about whom little is known). With his teacher, Shandao studied the Lotus Sutra and Vimalakirti Sutra.^[9][10]

According to some sources, he once saw a picture of the pure land and this inspired him to attain birth in the pure land for the first time. After receiving the full monastic precepts, Shandao (now twenty years old) read the Contemplation Sutra together with his Vinaya Master Miaokai and concluded that Buddhist practices other than the pure land method were too uncertain and difficult.^[11]

In around 633, Shandao also studied at Wu chen Monastery on mount Zhōngnán near the capital of Chang'an (modern Xi'an), a center of pure land meditation practice. This monastery had been built by the followers of Ching yeh (564 616), a direct disciple of Jingying Huiyuan (c. 523–592).^[12][13] Jingying Huiyuan was a great scholar-monk who had written commentaries on the Amitayus Sutra and the Contemplation Sutra. According to Tanaka, Shandao's training at this monastery gave him the opportunity to the study the works of this scholar and Shandao's works do show the influence of Huiyuan.^[12]

At some point between 633 and 645 (the sources disagree on the dating), Shandao visited the famous Xuánzhōng Temple, a major temple of the Pure Land Buddhist masters Tanluan and Daochuo (562–645).^[14] Shandao met Daochuo, and was inspired to become Daochuo's disciple.^[15][14]

After Daochuo's death in 645, Shandao returned to Wu-chen temple and also traveled to the imperial capital at Chang'an (modern Shaanxi) to preach Pure Land Buddhism.^[3][16] For 30 years, Shandao preached Pure Land teachings to the lay population of the city, teaching them to chant the nianfo (the name of Amitabha), distributing copies of the Amitabha sutra, making many paintings of the pure land, restoring monasteries and writings books.^[17] He stressed that reciting the Buddha's name was the easiest practice for attaining birth in the pure land.^[18]

Shandao lived in Chang'an for more than 30 years. Chinese sources indicate that he was a strict practitioner of nianfo (reciting the Buddha's name) and pratyutpanna samadhi meditation, as well as spending much of his time in devotional practices to the Buddha, such as circumambulation (around a Buddha statue), and reciting the sutras.^[19] He also strictly observed the Buddhist ethical precepts.^[19] In spite of his strict and demanding spiritual practice, Shandao still thought of himself as an ordinary worldly person (pṛthagjana), writing: "certainly, I myself am a sinful prthagjana". Thus, he still believed that he (along with most people) needed to rely on the compassionate power of Amitabha Buddha to attain Buddhahood.^[20]

Shandao's activities in the Chang'an capital area centered around four main monasteries: Wu-chen temple on mount Zhōngnán (40 km southeast of Chang'an city), Guang Ming Temple, Tz'u-en temple (during the time that Xuanzang would have resided here) and Shih-chi temple.^[21] He also visited Luoyang, where he supervised the building of the large Vairocana Buddha statue at the Longmen Grottoes.^[22]

In his lifetime, Shandao wrote five major works on Pure Land Buddhism, with his commentaries on the Contemplation Sutra being among the most influential.^[3]

Part of a series on
Pure Land Buddhism
Deities Amitabha Shakyamuni Guanyin Avalokiteśvara Mahasthamaprapta Samantabhadra Kṣitigarbha Medicine Master Maitreya
Teachings Pure Lands Mind of Faith Other power Primal Vow Buddhahood Trikaya Age of Dharma Decline Emptiness Buddha-nature
Practices Refuge Bodhisattva vow Bodhicitta Bodhisattva Precepts Buddha recollection Nianfo Buddha contemplation Devotion Chanting Sutra copying Prostration Making merit Dedication of merit
Scriptures Amitāyus Sutra Amitābha Sūtra Contemplation Sutra Samantabhadra Aspiration Prayer Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra Śūraṅgama Sūtra Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Dhāraṇī Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra Great Compassion Dhāraṇī Mani mantra Ōjōyōshū Senchakushū One-Sheet Document Kyōgyōshinshō Tannishō
Key figures Nāgārjuna Vasubandhu Lushan Huiyuan Jingying Huiyuan Zhiyi Tanluan Daochuo Shandao Huaigan Wulong Shaokang Uisang Yongming Yanshou Siming Zhili Genshin Ryōnin Hōnen Shinran Ippen Rennyo Trần Thái Tông Peng Shaosheng Yunqi Zhuhong Ouyi Zhixu Yuan Hongdao Jixing Chewu Yinguang Jìngkōng Guang Qin Kiyozawa Manshi Taitetsu Unno
Schools Chinese Pure Land Jōdo-shū Jōdo Shinshū Yuzu Nembutsu Kakure nenbutsu Ji-shu Tiantai Tendai Huayan Vietnamese Buddhism Buddhist Churches of America
v t e

Shandao synthesized much of the teachings of earlier Chinese Pure Land Buddhists, such as Tanluan and Daochuo, however, he also introduced new ideas that became central to both Chinese and Japanese Pure Land traditions. The key four ideas of Shandao's thought are:^[23]

1. Once born there, all beings can equally perceive the Pure Land of Amitabha (Sukhāvatī) in its true form (as a “reward land”). This attainment does not depend on the meditative qualities or level of purification of the practitioner, instead it depends on the Buddha's vows and merit.^[24]
2. The ten nianfos cited in both the Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra and the Amitayurdhyana Sutra are oral recitations (kǒuchēng 口稱, also called the “ten sounds”, shíshēng 十聲). Previous interpretations were more ambiguous in interpreting the meaning of the term niàn (念). Shandao was the first to define these as “orally holding Amitāyus’s name” (kǒuchēng Mítuó mínghào 口稱彌陀名號).^[4] Shandao even applies this interpretation in cases where a text does not clearly state that nian refers to oral repetition.^[4]
3. All nine levels of rebirth in the Pure Land discussed by the Amitayurdhyana Sutra were accomplished by ordinary people not advanced āryas (noble sages). The lowest level includes even people who have committed the worst of evils but have converted and said the nianfo wishing to be reborn in the Pure Land.^[25]
4. Rebirth in the Pure Land comes primarily through Amitabha Buddha's vow rather than one's own efforts. Shandao writes that the vows are "the direct and empowering cause" (zēngshàng yuàn 增上緣) of rebirth in the Pure Land. Most previous authors (except Tanluan) had held that Amitabha merely creates the Pure Land, but that it is our own deeds and merit that takes us there.^[26]

Shandao discusses Pure Land practice in various ways. His most general schema is one which divides practices into primary practices (zhengxing) and miscellaneous practices (zaxing).^[3] For Shandao, the primary Pure Land practices are:^[3]

1. Recitation of the Pure Land sutras
2. Meditation and visualization of Amitabha
3. Worshiping and bowing to Amitabha
4. Oral recitation of Amitabha's name
5. Singing praises and making offerings to Amitabha

In Shandao's Commentary to the Contemplation Sutra, he writes that the ultimate intent of the sutra is both the meditative contemplation of the Buddha (guanfo) and the recollection of the Buddha (nianfo).^[27] He divides the sutra's main teaching section into two parts: the meditative and the non-meditative teachings, terms which he borrows from Jingying Huiyuan.^[28] However, unlike Huiyuan (who argued the meditative teachings included all sixteen contemplations taught in the sutra), Shandao argues that only the first thirteen contemplations are part of the meditative teaching, while the other three (focusing on the nine grades of rebirth in the pure land) are non-meditative and based on nianfo.^[29] Shandao further highlights the importance of nianfo, the oral recitation of Buddha's name (in Chinese: Nāmó Ēmítuófó, 南無阿彌陀佛, "Homage to Amitabha Buddha"), by classifying it as the "primary deed" (zhengye), while calling the other four practices "auxiliary" (zhuye). This indicates that for him, oral recitation of Amitabha's name is the most important practice out of the five.^[3]

As Shandao writes:

If sentient beings are mindful of the Buddha and chant his name, then he eliminates the sins which they have been accumulating for a long time. Also, when their lives are about to end, the Buddha, together with his attendant bodhisattvas, appear and they welcome them [into the Pure Land]. They will never again be perverted by the various forms of sinful karma [after being born in the Pure Land]. Therefore, we call this the "Dominant Factor". Even though some other practices may be wholesome, if we compare them with the practice of chanting the name of Buddha Amitabha, the latter is, beyond all comparison, the best.^[30]

Miscellaneous practices on the other hand include all other practices, including keeping Buddhist precepts, doing meritorious acts, other forms of Buddhist meditation and so forth.^[3]

In Hymns in Praise of Birth, Shandao also taught the "Five Mindful Practices" and "Four Modes of [Pure Land Buddhist] Practice" (四修).^[31] The Five Mindful Practices, which Shandao quotes directly from Vasubandhu's Discourse on the Pure Land (Jìngtǔ lùn 浄土論) are: (1) worship Amitabha reverentially with a concentrated mind and make offerings; (2) praise the glory of Amitabha and his Pure Land; (3) concentrate, contemplate and think of Amitabha and the noble beings of the Pure Land; (4) aspire to be born in the Pure Land with a sincere heart; and (5) concentrate on and rejoice in your good deeds and the good deeds done by all beings and dedicate the merit of all good deeds towards birth in the Pure Land.^[31]

The Four Modes of Practice are described by Shandao as:^[31]

1. First, reverential practice: this is to revere and worship the Buddha and all the holy sages in his assembly; hence, this is called 'reverential practice.' Perform this act continuously with determination until the end of your life; this is a long term practice.
2. Second, exclusive practice; this is to recite the Buddha's Name exclusively, be mindful of, contemplate, worship and praise the Buddha and all the holy sages exclusively without mixing other acts with these; hence, this is called 'exclusive practice.' Perform these acts continuously with determination until the end of your life; this is a long term practice.
3. Third, uninterrupted practice: this is to perform acts of reverence, worship, recitation of the Name, praise, mindfulness, contemplation, making aspiration and transferring your merits uninterruptedly with continuous concentration, without mixing other acts with these; hence, this is called 'uninterrupted practice.' Do not allow evil passions, such as greed and anger, to arise to interrupt your practice. Whenever you commit faults, repent immediately. Without awaiting moments, passage of time, and days, keep your practice pure and unadulterated; and so this is called 'uninterrupted practice.'
4. Perform these acts continuously with determination until the end of your life; this is a long term practice.

Aside from nianfo, Shandao often emphasized other textual, meditative and ritual practices. Shandao's tract, "The Meritorious Dharma Gate of the Samādhi Involving Contemplation of the Ocean-like Marks of the Buddha Amitābha" (Chinese: 阿彌陀佛相海三昧功德法門; Pinyin: Ēmítuófó xiāng hǎi sānmèi gōngdé fǎmén) emphasizes samādhi and ritual practice. Also, Shandao's direct disciples, such as Huaigan, were recorded as having emphasized meditation practices.^[32] Similarly, Shandao's Fǎshì Zàn (法事讚) focuses on the ritual recitation of the Amitabha Sutra in front of an altar with a statue of the Buddha.^[33] Shandao also practiced copying the Pure Land sutras. The Xu Gaoseng zhuan contains a biography of Shandao which states that "after he entered the capital, he preached his teaching extensively. He transcribed the Amituo jing (Amitabha Sutra) many tens of thousands of times."^[34]

In addition, Shandao's expositions on the Pure Land are also rooted in classic Madhyamika and Yogacara principles, indicating his deep study of the Buddhist philosophical tradition.^[32] Shandao was also noted to be a practitioner who engaged in ascetic practices such as never lying down to sleep and constantly practicing samādhi and ritual activity, and he is said to have advised other people to do the same.^[35]

One important teaching of Shandao is the schema of the Triple Minds (三心), which indicate the faithful mental attitude (the "true mind") that is needed to attain rebirth in the Pure land.^[36] This is derived from a passage in the Sutra on the Visualization of Amitayus which states that beings who are born in the highest grade are "sentient beings who resolve to be born in that land, awaken the threefold mind and so are born there."^[37] The sutra goes on to explain that the three are: "first, a sincere mind; second, a deep mind; and third, a mind that seeks birth there by transferring one's merit. Those who have these three kinds of mind will certainly be born there."^[37]

In Hymns in Praise of Birth (Wangsheng Lizan Ji, 往生礼讃), Shandao explains the three minds which are required to attain birth in the Pure Land as follows:

First, sincere mind; worshiping that Buddha as the bodily act, praising and glorifying him as the verbal act, and concentrating on and contemplating him as the mental act - in performing those three kinds of acts, you are required to be sincere. Hence, this is called 'sincere mind.'Second, deep mind; this is the true faith which accepts that you are an ordinary person full of evil passions, possessed of few roots of good, subject to transmigration in the three worlds, and unable to escape from the 'burning house'; nevertheless, now you recognize the fact that Amitabha's Universal Primal Vow definitely ensures birth in the Pure Land of those who recite the Name even ten times or down to once. Since you do not entertain even a single thought of doubt, such a state of mind is called 'deep mind.' Third, making aspiration for birth through merit-transference; you aspire for birth through transferring all the roots of good towards it; hence, such a state of mind is called 'making an aspiration for birth through merit-transference.'Those who possess all the three minds unfailingly attain birth. If one of them is lacking, birth cannot be attained.^[31]

Furthermore, in his commentary to the Contemplation Sutra, he indicates that the true mind of faith includes an ethical commitment to avoid evil and do good:

There are two types of truly benefiting oneself: First, within the true mind one should prevent and discard all of the various evils of self and other, defiled lands, etc., and think 'Just as all the bodhisattvas prevent and discard all the various evils, so too will I'....One should necessarily discard non-good in the three types of action [bodily, verbal, mental] within the mind of truth. Also when one does good, one should necessarily do it within the mind of truth.^[38]

However, Shandao is also clear that ethical action, no matter how good, will not lead to birth in the Pure land. Thus he warns against merely doing good outwardly, against pretentiously and "strenuously" working to do good. He calls this self-centered action, "good tainted with poison".^[39] As such, we must not have any faith on our good actions or other individual qualities, but on Amitabha's vow-power. For Shandao, anyone seeking Buddhahood must recognize that "one is an evil, ordinary being", and then when "one without doubt or hesitation gives oneself over to the power of the vows" one will definitely attain birth in the pure land.^[40]

Shandao also defended the view that Amitabha was perceived as a reward-body Buddha (samboghakaya) and that Sukhavati was seen as a reward-land by beings who were reborn there. He thus went against a common idea in China at the time which saw Amitabha and his Pure Land as a transformation body (nirmanakaya) with limited lifespan.^[3] This position is found in his commentary to the Contemplation Sutra, in which he states that Sukhavati "is a Reward [land] and not a Transformed [land]. How is this known? It is as explained in the Mahayanabhisamaya sutra* [大乘同性經 Dàchéng Tóngxìng Jīng, T.673], Sukhavati in the Western Quarter and Buddha Amitabha are [respectively] Reward Buddha and Reward land."^[41]

Shandao was also adamant that even though this Pure Land was a glorious reward land, it was not only accessible to Buddhas and bodhisattvas (a common feature of samboghakaya buddhafields in some Mahayana sources), but was actually accessible to all beings.^[3] This is because the power of Amitabha's vows can carry all beings to the Pure Land:

If we discuss the hindrances of the defilements of the sentient beings, It is very difficult to wish to be born in the Pure Land. [However], if we rely completely on the power of the essential vow of Amitabha Buddha, [the reliance] becomes a powerful condition by which all five vehicles are, with equanimity, permitted to enter the Pure Land.^[3]

Thus, the power of Amitabha Buddha is the main cause for birth. Indeed, Shandao writes that all ordinary worldly people (prthagjanas) "depend upon the karma power of the great vow of Buddha Amitabha, which they regard as the essential condition [for their birth]".^[42]

Shandao also provides an innovative interpretation of the nine grades of rebirth into the Pure Land found in the Contemplation Sutra.^[3] For Shandao, all of these grades are for different types of ordinary worldly beings (pṛthagjana). This contrasts with previous authors like Jingying Huiyuan and Zhiyi who had argued that higher levels were for bodhisattvas on the stages and the lower levels were for ordinary people.^[3]

Shandao also held that all types of ordinary people could easily be born in the Pure Land by reciting the Buddha's name. Previous authors like Jizang had argued that to even be born in the lowest grades one needed to have some spiritual attainment in practicing Mahayana Buddhism.^[43] Shandao even argues that even those who have committed the "five grave deeds" (which includes killing one's parents, injuring a Buddha, etc) can attain the Pure Land through the Buddha's power.^[3]

Shandao explanation of these grades can be outlined as follows:^[44]

1. The highest of the high grades: This is attained by those who have the triple mind of faith, avoid killing, recite the Mahayana vaipulya sutras, practice six kinds of mindfulness and transfer their merit to others.
2. The middle high grade: This is attained by those understand the meaning of the Mahayana vaipulya sutras and avoid slandering the Mahayana.
3. The lowest high grade: This is attained by those who understand the principle of dependent arising and avoid slandering the Mahayana.
4. The highest middle grade: This is attained by those who keep the five precepts and eight precepts and do not commit the five great evils: killing one's father or mother (1, 2), killing an arhat or a Buddha (3, 4) or causing a schism in the sangha (5).
5. The middle of the middle grades: This is attained by those who observe the eight precepts, or the monastic precepts.
6. The lowest middle grade: This is attained by those who are good to their parents and observe moral principles and who at the time of death, meet a virtuous teacher who teaches them about the pure land.
7. The highest lower grade: This is attained by those who have committed evil acts but do not slander the Mahayana and at the time of death say the name of Buddha Amitabha.
8. The middle low grade: This is attained by those who meet a virtuous teacher who teaches them about the pure land at the end of their lives, even though they have violated the five precepts and stolen from the sangha.
9. The lowest of the low grades: This is attained by those who committed the five great evils along with other bad acts but meet a good teacher who teaches them about the pure land and then they say the nianfo.

In his Commentary on the Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra, Shandao described the Pure Land Buddhist path using a now famous parable known as the Parable of the Two Rivers and White Path (Ch: 二河白道) which describes a man harried by bandits and wild beasts who comes to a river bank. Spanning a river is a narrow, white path, while on one side the river is made of churning water, and the other fire. Then, the man hears a voice calling from the other side of the river, assuring him that if he crosses the path, he will be safe. The voice on the other side of the river is said to be Amitabha Buddha leading the follower across toward the Pure Land.^[45]

According to Charles Jones, Shandao conceived of it to be possible for one to fail to be born "at the final moment ... if impure persons defiled the ritual space and allowed demonic beings to invade."^[46] Some sources may indicate this possibility.

In one text, "The Meritorious Dharma Gate of the Samādhi Involving Contemplation of the Ocean-like Marks of the Buddha Amitābha" (Chinese: 阿彌陀佛相海三昧功德法門; Pinyin: Ēmítuófó xiāng hǎi sānmèi gōngdé fǎmén), Shandao describes a specific set of ritual protocols and practices for helping dying Buddhist devotees achieve successful deliverance from “evil destinies” and procure successful rebirth in the Pure Land.^[32]

Another text called "Correct Mindfulness for Rebirth at the Moment of Death" (Chinese: 臨終往生正念文; Pinyin: Línzhōng wǎngshēng zhèngniàn wén), often attributed to Shandao, presents a nuanced understanding of the rebirth process and details many dangers that can hinder the dying aspirant’s rebirth in the Pure Land.^[32] However, according to Dao Duan Liangxiu, this text has long been considered by scholars to have been a later composition that began to circulate widely in the Song dynasty, and to be a false attribution.^[47]

There are also various hagiographical records concerning Shandao which reflect concerns regarding more complicated requirements for rebirth in the Pure Land, including but not limited to recitation of Amitābha's name on one's deathbed specifically.^[35][32]

At the same time, Shandao and his disciple Huaigan emphasised that all ordinary beings, no matter their level of attainment, are capable of birth by the power of the Buddha's vows, and that "even the worst evil-doer could say the name of the Buddha and gain immediate access to a glittering Pure Land immediately after death."^[46] In particular that utterance is interpreted by Shandao as calling "Amitābha Buddha for seven days or even for one day for as little as ten oral invocations or even one oral calling or one contemplation," and that birth in the Pure Land was not for superior practitioners, but for the lowest kinds of people who have performed "unwholesome acts: the Five Heinous Deeds, the ten evils, and everything that is not good."^[46]

Shandao wrote several texts, including Mahayana commentaries.

Shandao's extant works include:^[3][48]

• The Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra (Chinese: 觀無量壽經疏; Pinyin: Guān wúliàngshòu jīng shū; Hepburn: Kanmuryōju kyō sho). Taishō no. 1753, in four fascicles. This is his magnum opus, which contains Shandao's main Pure Land theories and philosophies.
  • English translation: Peter Lunde Johnson (2020), The Land of Pure Bliss, On the Nature of Faith & Practice in Greater Vehicle (Mahāyāna) Buddhism.^[49]
  • The Two Rivers and the White Path (二河白道), translation by Inagaki of a passage from this text
• The Dharma Gate of the Merits of the Ocean-like Samādhi of the Contemplation of the Marks of Amitābha Buddha (Chinese: 觀念阿彌陀佛相海三昧功德法門; Pinyin: Guānniàn āmítuó fó xiāng hǎisānmèi gōngdé fǎmén; Hepburn: Kannen amida butsu sō kai sammai kudoku hōmen). Taishō no. 1959, in one fascicle. This text discusses the various meditations found in the Contemplation Sutra and in the Pratyutpannasamadhi sutra. There is an English translation by Inagaki titled "The Method of Contemplation of Amida".
• Praise of Dharma Services (Chinese: 法事讚; Pinyin: Fǎshì Zàn; Hepburn: Hōji San), full title: Liturgy for the Rite of Desiring Birth in the Pure Land Through Chanting Sutras and Circumambulation. Taishō no. 1979, in two fascicles. It discusses a ritual for reciting the Amitabha sutra.
• Verses in Praise for Rebirth in the Pure Land (Chinese: 往生禮讚偈; Pinyin: Wǎngshēng lǐ zànjié; Hepburn: Ōjō rai sange). Taishō no. 1980, in one fascicle.
  • English translation: Zuio Hisao Inagaki (2002), Liturgy for Birth. Online Version. Print version: (2009) Shan-dao's Liturgy for Birth: Ōjōraisan. Annotated Translation by Hisao Inagaki. Edited by Doyi Tan.^[50]
• Praise of Pratyutpanna (Chinese: 般舟讚; Pinyin: Pánzhōu Zàn; Hepburn: Hanjū San), full title: Hymns Praising Birth in the Pure Land Through the Practice of Pratyupanna-Samadhi on the Basis of the Meditation Sutra and other Sutras. Taishō no. 1981, in one fascicle.

Shandao had an influence on many later Chinese Buddhist figures who wrote on Pure Land Buddhism, including those later Chinese masters considered to be Pure Land patriarchs, like Fazhao and Wulong Shaokang, who was eventually considered to be a reincarnation of Shandao.^[51][52][47] Shandao's disciple, Huaigan (d. 699) became an influential author after his composition of Treatise explaining a number of doubts about Pure Land, (Shì jìngtǔ qúnyí lùn 釋淨土群疑論, T.1960) which expanded on Shandao's Pure Land views.^[53]

Furthermore, other figures like the Song era Vinaya school author Zhanran Yuanzhao (1048-1116) was influenced by Shandao's commentary on the Contemplation sutra and draws on it in his own commentary on this sutra.^[54] Another Song dynasty figure who draws on Shandao is Jiedu, who defends Shandao in his Refutation of New Criticisms (Fu Xin Lun).^[47] Indeed, Shandao's Pure Land works were influential on various Tiantai authors who wrote on Pure Land practice, and his influence on Tiantai Pure land was only second to Zhiyi's.^[47]

Shandao was also praised by later figures as well, including Yunqi Zhuhong in his Record of Rebirth (Wangsheng Zhuan) who calls Shandao “a figure rivaling Avalokiteshvara or Samantabhadra if not Amitābha himself.”^[47] Shandao is praised as a Pure Land patriarch in later works such as Treasury of the Lotus School (Lianzong Baojian) by Pudu, Collected Directions for Pure Land Practice (Jingtu Zhigui Ji) by Dayou in the Ming dynasty, Daoyan’s Concise Record of the Pure Land, and Qing scholar Zhaoying’s Painful Admonitions for Pure Practice (Jingye Tongce).^[47]

More recently, Dharma Master Huijing (1950-) and Dharma Master Jingzong (1966-, Abbot of Hongyuan Monastery) have founded a new lineage focused on the Pure land teachings of Shandao, which calls itself the "Shandao lineage".^[55]

In Japanese Pure Land traditions, such as Jōdo-shū and Jōdo Shinshū, Shandao is traditionally seen as having advocated for the exclusivity of the nianfo/nembutsu as a practice in order to seek salvation through Amitābha, meaning that reciting the name of Amitābha Buddha was all that was needed. Writers such as Julian Pas have suggested that these traditional narratives surrounding Shandao were misleading, and that rather he wrote extensive commentaries to scriptures regarding complex samādhi practices such as visualization and meditation, showing that he promoted different practices and methods.^[56][57][35]

On the other hand, defenders of the Japanese approach, such as Jérôme Ducor, have suggested that writers such as Pas have misrepresented the relevant Japanese sources, and that Shandao's scheme clearly delineates between "meditation sūtras" such as the Pratyutpanna Sūtra from sūtras that teach "birth in the Pure Land," among which are included the Infinite Life Sūtra, the Amitābha Sūtra, and the Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra. Ducor also notes how Shandao's Commentary on the Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra makes clear the distinction between birth in the Pure Land by faith and nianfo/nembutsu, which he regards as definitive and a "non-requested" teaching, from the meditative practices such as visualisation, which he regards as a skilful means and a teaching given only on request by Queen Vaidehī.^[58]

There are different interpretations of the Pure Land thought of Shandao among religious and secular scholars. Scholarly interpretations of Shandao have often been influenced by the understandings of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism.^[59] One example of this Japanese Pure Land influenced interpretation can be found in Ryōsetsu Fujiwara's The Way to Nirvana: The Concept of the Nembutsu in Shan-tao’s Pure Land Buddhism. According to Fujiwara, Shandao's most mature work is his commentary to the Contemplation sutra (not all scholars agree on this). Fujiwara argues that by Shandao's mature phase, he only advocated vocal recitation of the nianfo (jp. nembutsu). Other practices taught in other works (the Buddha contemplation or visualization meditations) are labeled as “primitive nembutsu" by Fujiwara, who argues that they were only practiced by Shandao as an expression of gratitude to the Buddha (which is a specifically Jōdo Shinshū idea).^[60][61]

However, not all scholars agree with the view that Shandao held vocal recitation as superior to all other forms of buddha recollection.^[62] Julian Pas’ Visions of Sukāhavatī argues for the opposite thesis, that Shandao's main method of practice was the contemplative visualizations of the Contemplation Sutra and that vocal recitation was a minor element of his teaching used as a skillful means for certain laypeople.^[63][64]

Other modern scholars present a more balanced view which see Shandao as teaching the importance of both vocal recitation and meditative visualization. For example, Kenneth Tanaka writes that for Shandao, the main intent of the Contemplation sutra is both meditative guanfo and nianfo. According to Tanaka, "nianfo" for Shandao also "included a wide range of practices such as "recollection" (i), "listening" (wen), and "oral recitation'' (ch'eng)."^[27] This is as opposed to earlier figures like Jingying Huiyuan who wrote that the main intent of the Contemplation Sutra was just meditative visualization.^[27] Shandao's commentary itself states that the doctrinal essence of the Contemplation sutra is both nianfo and guanfo. "I consider both the samadhi of mediation on the Buddha and the samadhi of chanting the name of Buddha [Amitabha] to be the main characteristics of the Contemplation sutra."^[65] Thus according to Atone, Shandao presented both methods with impartiality in his commentary, while also holding that recitation of the name was the primary and most important practice overall.^[66]

Likewise, Jérôme Ducor writes that while Shandao affirmed the visualizations of the Contemplation Sutra as skillful means taught on Vaidehi's request, he saw vocal nianfo as easier and more accessible to all and as more important since it was taught without prompting.^[67]

• Huaigan
• Shaokang
• Tanluan
• Buddhism in China

• Atone, Joji. 1988. “Shan-tao: His Life and Thought.” PhD diss., University of Wisconsin, Madison.
• Fujiwara, Ryosetsu. The Way to Nirvana: The Concept of the Nembutsu in Shan-Tao's Pure Land Buddhism. The Kyoiku Shincho Sha Co., 1974.
• Jones, Charles B. (2019). Chinese Pure Land Buddhism: Understanding a Tradition of Practice, University of Hawaii Press
• Inagaki, Hisao, trans. (1999). Shan-tao's Exposition of the Method of Contemplation on Amida Buddha, part 1, Pacific World, Third Series, Number 1, 77–89.
• Inagaki, Hisao, trans. (2000). Shan-tao's Exposition of the Method of Contemplation on Amida Buddha, part 2, Pacific World, Third Series, Number 2, 207–228.
• Inagaki, Hisao, trans. (2001). Shan-tao's Exposition of the Method of Contemplation on Amida Buddha, part 3, Pacific World, Third Series, Number 3, 277–288.
• Pas, Julian F. (1995). Visions of Sukhavati: Shan-Tao's Commentary on the Kuan Wu-liang- Shou-Fo Ching. Albany, State University of New York Press, ISBN 0-7914-2520-7
• Johnson, Peter, trans. (2020). The Land of Pure Bliss, On the Nature of Faith & Practice in Greater Vehicle (Mahāyāna) Buddhism, Including a Full Translation of Shàndǎo's Commentary Explaining The Scripture About Meditation on the Buddha ‘Of Infinite Life’ (Amitāyur Buddha Dhyāna Sūtra, 觀無量壽佛經) [1], An Lac Publications ISBN 978-1-7923-4208-0
• Tanaka, Kenneth K. 1990. The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhist Doctrine: Ching-ying Hui-yüanʼs Commentary on the Visualization Sutra. Albany: State University of New York Press.

• Inagaki, Hisao: Biography of Shan-Tao A comprehensive look at Shan-Tao's life