A Little Bird Told Me: The Magical Birds of the Pure Land
This article considers the unique case of the birds in Amitābha’s Pure Land, Sukhāvatī. Pure Land scriptures highlight the two main roles of the birds: their ornamental beauty and their amplification of the Dharma through their birdsong. In addition to the scriptures, the birds appear in Chinese com...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2021
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| In: |
Journal of Chinese religions
Year: 2021, Volume: 49, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-19 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
China
/ Sukhāvatīvyūha
/ Pure Land Buddhism
/ Birds (Motif)
/ Folk religion
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| IxTheo Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion BL Buddhism KBM Asia |
| Further subjects: | B
Pure Land
B 善導 B Buddhism B Animals B 佛教 B Birds B 淨土 B 鳥類 B Shandao 善導 B 眾生 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article considers the unique case of the birds in Amitābha’s Pure Land, Sukhāvatī. Pure Land scriptures highlight the two main roles of the birds: their ornamental beauty and their amplification of the Dharma through their birdsong. In addition to the scriptures, the birds appear in Chinese commentarial and liturgical literature and popular tales. Although scriptures indicate that the birds are Amitābha’s skillful creations, they provided a familiar connection in this life to the Pure Land for those who aspired to be reborn there. This allowed for Pure Land practitioners to reimagine their spaces to gain a momentary experience of the Pure Land on earth. |
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| ISSN: | 2050-8999 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Chinese religions
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