| Tanluan (AD 476-542), a Buddhist eminent monk of Beiwei Period, was the founder of Pure Land theory and the true first ancestor of Pure Land Sect of China. He was worshipped as the initial ancestor among the five ancestors of Pure Land Sect and also worshipped as the third ancestor among the seven ancestors of Pure Land True Sect by Japanese people.The Pure Land thought originated in the period of original Buddhism of India and was passed on to China in Late Han Dynasty, but always with small influence. In the Beiwei Period, Tanluan re-explained and gave play to Indian Pure Land thought according to the actual condition of China and created the Pure Land thought with Chinese feature. Grand masters Daozhuo and Shandao of Sui and Tang Period carried on and developed Tanluan's Pure Land thought while carrying it forward vigorously, so that the belief of Pure Land formed the Buddhist Sect in China. After Tang and Song Period, it might be said that Can Sect and Pure Land Sect dominated the Buddhism of China. Since Ming and Qing Period, the belief of Pure Land was all the more spread extensively. "There was Avalokitesvara in every household and there was Amitabha in every household", which formed the situation that Buddhism was Pure Land and Pure Land was Buddhism. After being passed on to Japan, Pure Land Sect formed the religious schools of Pure Land Sect and Pure Land True Sect of Japan.Why could Pure Land Sect be spread extensively lay in the reasons of many aspects. However, it is not doubtful that Tanluan's Pure Land thought had great influence on the development of Pure Land Sect. Tanluan's Pure land thought is an extensive and numerous-jumbled system and this thesis contains 160 thousand characters in 7 chapters, which will make systematic probe and study of the thought.Chapter one: Origin of Tanluan's Pure Land thought. This chapter discusses that Pure Land thought absorbed the practice of chanting the name of Buddha and the sense of "going up to Heaven" of the period of original Buddhism of India as well as the Pure Land thought of Longshu of Mahynana doctrine Buddhism and Shiqin's thought "having another birth in West"; mixed with and took as reference the theory and practice of the real Taoism of China, as well as developed what is useful and discarded what is not useful of Guanhe's Pure Land thought and Huiyuan's Pure Land thought.Chapter two: Formation of Tanluan's Pure Land thought. This chapter discusses the forming course of Tanluan's Pure Land thought in such social and cultural background that, in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the society was bloodily turbulent, the belief of Confucism was shakened, Taoism grew vigorously and Buddhism was getting more and more flourishing while people longed for an omnipotent god coming to save them. .Chapter three: Surpassing theory. This chapter discusses the philosophic base of Tanluan's Pure Land thought. Different from the thought "taking the trueness like truth of fact as body" of Buddhism of Mahayana doctrine, Tanluan took the Karma strength as body of universe, advocated that Karma strength a forms all things, and emphasized the dynamic role of behaviors of all living creatures for the young death, long life, misfortune and happiness of individuals and for the formation of the natural environment where people exist, such as mountains, rivers and earth. Tanluan observed and recognized the world in the mode of dualistic thinking of opposition between dirty land and pure land and held that the real world is a dirty land, very dirty and full of misery. He also held that there also exists a Buddhist Paradise in the west beyond the territory of one hundred billion Buddhist monasteries, which is a pure land, peaceful, quiet, happy and full of fineness and happiness. He called on all the living creatures to detest and reject the dirty land and have another birth in the pure land, so that he set a object and target of belief for the people and manifested the overpassing nature of the religion of Pure Land Sect. Such a surpassing was mainly embodied in two aspects, i.e., surpassing of reality and guidance for people's behaviors.Chapter four: Another birth theory. Another birth theory is the theory of theoretics of method and effectiveness of another birth in pure land. He held that it was a difficult way to practise Buddhism generation after generation by relying on their own strength while it was a easy way to have another birth in western pure land and become a Buddha by means of publicizing the help of the strength of now generated by Buddha. He actively initiated the Buddhism practicing method of orally chanting the name of Buddha and held that, by specially chanting the monastic name of Amitabha with single-hearted devotion, you can have another birth in the pure land of West by riding the vowing strength of Buddha and, after having another birth in the pure land of West, you will surely become a Buddha. He also laid stress on recalling the Buddha by means of thinking in image and remembering the Buddha with longing at thetheoretical height, to make the Buddhism practisers to personally experience the trueness of the Land of Ultimate Bliss, cultivate the religious feeling for the objects of belief and make firm their faith to practise Buddhism.Chapter five: Theory of becoming Buddha and helping others to become Buddha. This theory was the demonstration of the theory that having another birth in the pure land of West will surely make you become a Buddha. Tanluan advocated the doctrine of nine kinds of persons having another birth in West and the doctrine of persons with evils also having another birth in West, and held that even the persons guilty of the most heinous crimes also can have another birth in the pure land of West with theirselves full of crimes. He also actively initiated the theory of having another birth in double way, criticized those striving for having another birth in the pure land only for their own good fortune and happiness and requested them to surely return their own charitable and pious deeds and apply them extensively to all living creatures, so that they visit Amitabha Tathagata together with all the living creatures.Chapter six: Influence of Tanluan's thought on formation and development of Pure Land Sect. This chapter comprehensively describes the concise history of development of Pure Land Sect of China and the three schools of Pure Land, demonstrates that Tanluan was the true first ancestor of Pure Land Sect of China and also expounds the influence of Tanluan's Pure Land thought on the development of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan and Korean Peninsula while demonstrating that he was the initial ancestor among the five ancestors of Pure Land Sect of Japan and the third ancestor among the seven ancestor of Pure Land True Sect.Chapter seven: Influence of Tanluan's sacred traces on domestic and foreign Buddhism. This chapter expounds the influence of Xuanzhong Temple of Jiaocheng, Shanxi on Daozhuo, Shandao and Pure Land believers of China and Japan, so as to confirm that Xuanzhong Temple is the ancestral court of Pure Land.Tanluan's Pure Land thought mainly have the following five characteristics: I . Saving by others' strength and never forgetting one's own strength.Tanluan's Pure Land thought advocated saving by others' strength, which is a religious theory with very strong religiosity. It emphasized the decisive role of the strength generated by Amitabha's vowing for the course of all living creatures having another birth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss of West and held that all the living creatures chanting Buddha may have another birth in the pure land of west by the marvelousvowing strength of Amitabha and may realize "becoming Buddha" in rebounding mode, which provides the hope for the groups in weak situation of the society free themselves and makes the group in strong situation have more sufficient confidence, in which lies the root for Pure Land belief to have strong attractive force. So long as the social justice has not been thoroughly realized yet, the thirsty of people for saving by others' strength will never be stopped and the saving by others' strength.will still have great vitality.However, we should also see that the saving by others' strength initiated by Tanluan is not the theory of absolute others' strength but is an others' strength saving with Karma world origin theory as philosophic base and one's own effort as conditions, which has significant difference from the absolute others' strength advocated by the Tanluan-close school of Japan. Tanluan's Karma world origin theory combines ajl the things and deeds of the world and holds that deeds are the law of cause and effect to control all things and the personal causes for deeds can cause personal young death, long life, misfortune and happiness while the common cause for deeds of all living creatures can cause the natural environment for oneself and others to exist, such as mountains, rivers and earth, so as to emphasize that personal behaviors creates the personal fate and the behaviors of community fosters the social prosperities and declination. On the question of another birth, he also advocated that the strength of vows generated by Buddha and by oneself must induce way and combination and, without one's own vows and deeds, it is difficult to realize the induction of way and combination so that it is also difficult to rely on the Buddha's strength. Therefore, we can say that Tanluan had not forgot the role of one's own strength while emphasizing others' strength.II. Only faith the highest and only faith the originTanluan's Pure Land thought takes faith as origin and, without faith, Tanluan's Pure Land thought can not be formed. Marvelous Karma, original strength of vow generated by Amitabha, existence of the Land of Ultimate Bliss of West, demonstration of the way and method of another birth, becoming Buddha and all other kinds of outstanding wonders are all the products of belief. If leaving faith, these theories will become dreamy and crazy words and be difficult to form. Therefore, in the theory of Tanluan's Pure Land thought, only the faith is highest and only the faith is the origin and whoever does not believe it will sink into very close hell without date of going out.III. Orally chanting the monastic name of Buddha most simply and most easily Tanluan's Pure land belief laid more stress on religious practice than to theoreticaldemonstration and, therefore, the method of Buddhism practicing advocated by him was most practical. He actively advocated to orally chanting the monastic name of Buddha and held that, so long as you believe the principal and subsidiary causes, wish to have another birth in West and chant the monastic name of Amitabha, you can obtain the help of Buddha's strength and thus have another birth in the pure land. To orally chant the monastic name of Buddha is the simplest and easiest method of Buddhism practicing in the world, which makes the Pure Land Buddhism a religion that every one can practise and every one will practise.IV. Nine kinds of people have another birth and ordinary persons can also have another birth in West.Most religious believes defined the main body of belief with morals as standard, and Tanluan's Pure Land thought gave play to moral tolerance to the limit and lowered the conditions for Buddhism practicing of highest harma to the lowest point. He advocated the theory that nine kinds of people have another birth in West, and held that persons guilty of the most heinous crimes can also have another birth in West. His advocation manifested extremely large forgivingness and equality of belief power, so as to realize the maximization of the belief main-body of Pure Land Buddhism to that Pure Land Buddhism became a religion everybody can practise and everybody arrive at.V. Double-way Buddhism practicing; becoming Buddha and benefiting others Tanluan divided Buddhism practicing into two kinds. One kind was going-phaseBuddhism practicing, i.e., applying the charitable and pious deeds to all the living creatures and vowing to go together to have another birth in the happy pure land of Amitabha; and the other was returning-phase Buddhism practicing, i.e., after having another birth and becoming Buddha, returning to the human world and enlightening by education all the living creatures to take the Buddhist road together. Both kinds of Buddhism practicing are aimed at guiding all the living creatures to leave the sea of suffering. The double-way Buddhism practicing was the basic conditions for becoming Buddha stipulated in Tanluan's Pure Land thought and also the place where the fundamental objective for pursuing becoming Buddha lay. Tanluan's Pure Land thought took human feeling as center and root. Though with the color of religionascetic practice and negative retirement from the world, his thought specially emphasized that the Buddhism practisers must enlighten for all living creatures by education in their pursuance for ideal life and make, through the distillation of their own personality and soul, all the living creature rise to a higher level, so that the real world, i.e., the dirty land, will surpass itself and become a pure land of human world.Tanluan's Pure Land thought is a.part of Buddhist culture of China. Any kind of culture is the product of particular social and historical conditions and thinking and cultural background. After having changed the social historical conditions depending on which come kind of culture exists and develops, the contents and formation of such culture will necessarily generate suitable change. Otherwise, such culture will die. Why the Pure Land Sect religion of China and Japan founded with Tanluan's Pure Land thought as base develops without declination is decided by the objective fact that the real societies still need the Pure Land Sect religon, and also results from the continuous change and adaptation of Pure Land Sect religion with the change of age and environment. Though its form and content has deformed and changed, the Pure Land Sect is still permeated with its basic things, i.e., the feature of Tanluan's Pure Land thought. Therefore, we can believe that Tanluan's Pure Land thought will still produce new influence on the development of domestic and foreign Pure Land Sect religion.To unfold the all-round study of Tanluan's Pure Land thought is not only the need of the history of Pure Land Sect of China, the history of Buddhism and the history of thought of Buddhism of China, but also an important link of studying the thought history of China and the philosophic history of China. It is useful for us to recognize from it, the development law of Pure Land Buddhism and has a certain inspiration effect for us to explore how Pure Land Buddhism suits the real society of China. Therefore, this article, starting from the available historical material and based on the study of our predecestors, tries to make a complete, systematic and multi-layer exposition of the origin, forming course, theoretical system and influence on the development of domestic and foreign Pure Land Buddhism, so as to cause the attentions of people to unfolding the study of Tanluan's Pure Land thought.
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