Tan-luan


Tánluán was a Chinese Buddhist monk. He is credited by Hōnen as the founder of Pure Land Buddhism in China. He is also considered the Third Patriarch of Jōdo Shinshū, a popular school of Buddhism in Japan.
Tanluan was originally a Buddhist scholar, but after becoming ill, he studied Taoism in order to seek the Elixir of Life. However, after an encounter with Bodhiruci, a Buddhist monk from India, Tanluan became a devotee of Pure Land Buddhism and burnt his Taoist texts.
Tanluan later wrote his commentaries on the Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra. The commentaries taught that the all beings could be reborn in Sukhavati, the pure land of Amitābha, through sincere nianfo. Tanluan is also credited for having developed the six-character phrase "南無阿彌陀佛" used throughout Pure Land Buddhism today.
Tanluan also had a strong impact on Daochuo, revered as the Fourth Patriarch of the Jōdo Shinshū school, who once visited his temple.

Literature