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Media Kit
This book is an anthology of passages gathered from the leading monks and teachers of the Pure Land, or Shin, school of Buddhist teaching. Extending from the foundational texts and first interpreters in the 4th century, to Rennyo in the 15th century, Professor Bloom’s selections trace the development of Shin Buddhist teaching from monastic visualization practices to the widely popular path to salvation through faith in, and recitation of, the name of Amida Buddha.
The collection features a Foreword by Kenneth K. Tanaka and an insightful Introduction by renowned scholar and editor, Alfred Bloom, whose selected passages have been arranged topically for easy reference on issues of Pure Land teaching.
The key interpreters featured in the book are the Seven Great Teachers from India, China, and Japan (Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu; T’an-luan, Tao-ch’o, Shan-tao; Genshin, Honen), selected as doctrinal authorities by Shinran (1173-1263), the founder of the Japanese Pure Land sect. A second volume is in preparation.
About the Author(s)
Alfred Bloom
Rev. Dr. Alfred Bloom (1926–2017) was one of the world's foremost authorities on the study of Shin Buddhism. He taught World Religions and Buddhism at the University of Oregon and the University of Hawaii and wrote many books and articles on Shin Buddhism and spirituality in general. Prof. Bloom was Dean at the Institute of Buddhist Studies, sponsored by the Buddhist Churches of America. He was an ordained Shin priest. About Dr. Bloom, the well-known Buddhist magazine Tricycle: The Buddhist Review said: “Bloom is widely regarded as one of the most important American figures of the past five decades in the Jodo Shin school of Buddhism.”Prof. Bloom's contributions to World Wisdom books include: UL REMOVED
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Kenneth K Tanaka
Dr. Kenneth Kenshin Tanaka is an author, editor, scholar, and translator whose work focuses on Buddhism. He has also been ordained as a Jōdo Shinshū priest. Dr. Tanaka has authored and edited many articles and books, including The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhist Doctrine, Ocean: An Introduction to Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in America, and Amerika bukkyo (American Buddhism). Dr. Kenneth K. Tanaka has contributed the “Forewords” to a two-volume World Wisdom work edited by Dr. Alfred Bloom: The Shin Buddhist Classical Tradition: A Reader in Pure Land Teaching (vol 1). The forthcoming second volume of this work also features a “Foreword” by Dr. Tanaka.
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Reviews
- The Shin Buddhist Classical Tradition: A Reader in Pure Land Teaching is a beautifully written and edited book that traces the evolution of Pure Land, a branch of Buddhism that dominates in much of East Asia. Spanning several hundred years and the writings of a multitude of Pure Land scholars and monks in India, China, and Japan, the 360 carefully footnoted readings in this attractively packaged book are an important addition to the library of literature about this fascinating and often misunderstood philosophy.
Alfred Bloom, the editor, has his PhD In Japanese Pure Land Buddhism and has written several highly acclaimed books on Shin Buddhism. His passionate commitment to the dissemination of the history of Pure Land Buddhism and its continuing relevance is palpably evident in the meticulous care taken in making this work highly readable and meaningful to scholars and laypeople.
Bloom’s twenty-page introduction provides an invaluable background to the complex and sometimes contradictory origins and teachings of Pure Land Buddhism.…
Profound wisdom and compassion emanate from every reading, and even when the writers are struggling with whether women, or those who say the name of Amida Buddha ten times, but without sufficient faith, are still eligible for birth in Pure Land, the context absolves them.
There is an accessible and necessary glossary at the end, as many core words that come up repeatedly, such as nembutsu, which means recitation of the Buddha’s name, and shinjin, faith in the vow or true entrusting, work better untranslated, as they contribute to the meditative flow of the narrative.
The Shin Buddhist Classical Tradition: A Reader in Pure Land Teaching is professionally packaged on every level, and would be an excellent addition to the lexicon of Buddhist titles in libraries and bookstores.ForeWord Reviews, from a review by Patty Sutherland
- The Shin Buddhist Classical Tradition symbolizes Dr. Bloom’s deep personal wish for this branch of Buddhism to be made known to as wide an audience as possible. The vital passages of the tradition are categorized along topics that make the teachings more accessible to a contemporary audience regardless of their previous knowledge of Pure Land Buddhism.
Kenneth K. Tanaka, author of The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhist Doctrine
- Alfred Bloom’s new anthology brings together a wide range of excerpts from sutras, commentaries, sermons, essays, letters, poetry, and other sources. Many of these materials have hitherto not been readily available in English translation. The volume’s thematic arrangement recommends it to both scholars and general readers. It will be welcomed by those interested in Shinran’s intellectual antecedents as well as the broader East Asian tradition of Pure Land Buddhism.
Jacqueline Stone, Princeton University, author of Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism
- Professor Alfred Bloom has spent a full and productive career making the ideas and values of Shin Buddhism accessible to English readers. In this momentous undertaking, he brings together his lifetime of insights into the tradition by gathering and organizing passages from the complete range of Pure Land teachings. Like Shinran’s Kyogyoshinsho, Bloom’s selections serve as a handbook for personal study and engagement with the tradition. Keeping his own commentary to a minimum, Bloom leaves it to his readers to discover the spiritual riches for themselves.
Thomas P. Kasulis, Ohio State University, co-editor of Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook
