Image courtesy of The Wutai Shan Institute of Buddhism and Eastern Asian Culture 五臺山東方佛教文化研究院
From Huiyuan at Mount Lu to Fazhao at Mount Wutai:
An International Symposium on the Origins and Development of the Pure Land Tradition through the Lens of Sacred Site Transference
June 17-20, 2025
Great Bamboo Grove Monastery 大聖竹林, Mount Wutai 五臺山, Shanxi, China
The “From Huiyuan at Mount Lu to Fazhao at Mount Wutai: An International Symposium on the Origins and Development of the Pure Land Tradition through the Lens of Sacred Site Transference” conference is organized by The Wutai Shan Institute of Buddhism and Eastern Asian Culture 五臺山東方佛教文化研究院 in Shanxi, China, co-organized by the From the Ground Up project based at the University of British Columbia (www.frogbear.org), Institute for Ethics and Religions Studies (IERS) at Tsinghua University 清華大學道德與宗教研究院. The conference will be held between June 17 (arrival) and June 20 (departure), 2025 at the Great Bamboo Grove Monastery 大聖竹林 on Mount Wutai 五臺山.
Since the Song Dynasty (960–1127), Pure Land and Chan Buddhism have been two of the most important traditions in Chinese Buddhism, each with highly influential practices. Over the past millennium, these traditions have profoundly shaped the Buddhist landscape across East Asia, leaving a lasting cultural imprint on secular life across the Sinosphere.
In the Eastern Jin period (317–420), the eminent monk Huiyuan 慧遠 (334–416) fled from his hometown in Yanmen 雁門 (in present-day northern Shanghai) to Donglin Monastery 東林寺 on Mount Lu廬山 during the turmoil of the Five ‘Barbarians’ Regimes. In response to the hardships of the time, Huiyuan and more than one hundred of his disciples, including his own brother Huiyong 慧永 (332–414), Liu Yimin 劉遺民 (352–410), and Lei Cizong 雷次宗 (386–448), devoted themselves to the practice of Buddha-Recitation and aspiring for rebirth in the Western Pure Land. Through their practice of planting white lotuses and forming a society of mutual cultivation, this group became known as the White Lotus Society (白蓮社), and Huiyuan was venerated as the founding patriarch of the Pure Land tradition, also referred to as the Lotus Tradition (蓮宗). Because of this tie, Mount Lu has been regarded as the primary—if not the sole—origin of this highly influential Buddhist tradition, to the extent that Pure Land traditions of other geographical origins have almost faded from scholarly focus or even disappeared from view.
Huiyuan’s origin in Shanxi warrants serious attention, suggesting that the Pure Land tradition might be traced back to the current Shanxi area. The Pure Land tradition truly flourished under the guidance of Tanluan 曇鸞 (476–542) from Yanmen in Datong, Shanxi, during the Northern Wei period. Inspired by miraculous visions on Mount Wutai, Tanluan embraced monastic life in his youth and became a key promoter of Pure Land teachings. His disciples, Daochuo 道綽 (562–645) and Shandao 善導 (613–681) of Bingzhou, Shanxi, carried forward his work. Together, they established Xuanzhong Monastery 玄中寺 in Jiaocheng 交城, Shanxi, as a prominent center for Pure Land tradition, making it a cornerstone of Chinese Buddhism. To this day, Japanese Buddhists still revere these esteemed monks as the founding patriarchs of the Pure Land tradition in Japan.
Following in this lineage was Fazhao 法照 (747–821), known as the Fourth Patriarch of Pure Land in China. Inspired by the legacy of Huiyuan, Fazhao committed himself to the intensive practice of Buddha-Recitation Samādhi (念佛三昧) at Mount Lu. He later developed the Five-Stage Progression for Chanting the Buddha’s Names (五會念佛), earning him reverence as a patriarch of the Pure Land tradition. Fazhao subsequently had a profound vision of a mythical monastery, the Great Sage Bamboo Monastery 大聖竹林寺, where Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva and a gathering of holy figures were expounding the teachings. This vision inspired him to embark on a pilgrimage to Mount Wutai, where he paid homage to the sacred site he had envisioned and subsequently dedicated himself to promoting Pure Land teachings. Historical accounts of Fazhao’s life provide insights into the shifting locations of Pure Land sacred sites, underscoring a deep connection between the spread of religious thought and the relocation of these hallowed places.
The Pure Land tradition, with its origin in the Three Jin periods, has left visible traces that can still be seen today in Shanxi’s historic sites. For instance, the late Tang (846–907) mural Amitābha Preaching (阿彌陀佛說法圖) at Foguang Monastery 佛光寺 on Mount Wutai, along with Pure Land ‘transformation tableaux’ depicted on walls in ancient monasteries across Shanxi, offer a glimpse into this legacy.
From Shanxi, the Pure Land tradition spread throughout China and East Asia, evolving into a widespread religious phenomenon. To truly understand this development, a global, cross-regional, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary approach is essential. Such a multi-layered research path not only opens up new perspectives on the Pure Land tradition but also highlights the significance of Shanxi Buddhism through a broader ‘glocalization’ lens. This approach allows for a progressive study that spans local, regional, national, and global histories of Buddhism.
The study of Buddhist sacred sites is a broad field, encompassing aspects of Buddhist history, teachings and sects, institutional structures, and more. To advance research on the formation and development of the Pure Land tradition, as well as the various roles played by sacred sites in its evolution, this conference brings together scholars from across the global Buddhist academic community to jointly explore key historical and contemporary issues related to these themes.
The scope of this conference includes, but is not limited to, the following areas of research:
- Origins of the Pure Land tradition
- Pure Land tradition, Buddhism at Mount Wutai, and Buddhism in Shanxi
- Development and dissemination of the Pure Land tradition
- The Pure Land tradition and Buddhist sacred sites
- Pure Land sacred sites in Korea and Japan
- Cross-border exchanges of Pure Land sacred sites
- Local and global historical studies of the Pure Land tradition
- The role of the Pure Land tradition in the formation, development, and transformation of East Asian societies
- Modernization of the Pure Land tradition
- Sociological studies on the Pure Land tradition
- Mural art of the Pure Land tradition
- Methodological approaches and new perspectives in Pure Land Studies
- Key historical figures in the Pure Land tradition
The organizing committee cordially invites the submission of papers related to the theme of the formation and transmission of Pure Land Buddhism. We are now enrolling about 20 scholars from all over the world to join the approximately 30 scholars whose participation has been confirmed. All associated costs, including room and board during the conference, will be covered by the host institutions. Depending on necessity and the availability of funding, some travel cost may also be covered. Please email proposals and CVs to frogbear.project@ubc.ca by January 6 (Monday), 2025. Scholars confident of completing the draft papers by the beginning of June, 2025 and finalizing their papers by Mid-September 2025 are welcome to apply. This conference is planned as part of our annual International and Intensive Program on Buddhism (details TBA).
