The preceding brief glance at the history of Pure Land school conveyed that Shakyamuni Buddha and Amitabha Buddha were the sources of its teaching; Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas expounded it; Asvaghosa and Nagarjuna imbued the teachings with vigor; Kuang Lu, T'ien Tai, Chin Liang, Yung Ming, Lien Chih and Ou I propagated it.  Thousand of years ago countless bodhisattvas searched, found and selected Pure Land, thereby giving all of us the opportunity to end the cycle of birth and death and be reborn (with karma) in the Pure Land in this very life.  Pure Land Dharma is both accessible and profound, expedient yet authentic.  The attainment that its practice leads to is sudden, complete, perfect and easy.  By including the teachings of Ch'an and Vinaya, it surpasses them both.  Considering pure land in the context of the Tathagata's teachings, the two following features become apparent: Firstly, there is the adaptability of the teachings to suit a given potential.  Since potentials vary, the conditions may be deep or shallow, the teaching should be correspondingly great or small depending on and in harmony with an individual's potential.  Pure Land is the only sect that makes liberation accessible to those of all three levels and accommodates both sharp and dull capacities equally well.  According to the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Tathagata spoke the supreme Dharma to forty-one great bodhisattvas soon after his great awakening.  The Avatamsaka, reputed to be the highest among sutras, closes with a narrative about Sudana, a virtuous youth who, in search of enlightenment, visits fifty three great sages prior to the attainment of his goal.  One of his hosts is Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, who teaches Sudana the ten Great Vows so that not only Sudana, but all those present at the time, may obtain rebirth in Pure Land.  The Amitabha Sutra recommends that for their practice to be successful, those less well qualified should use a less demanding method.  Their karma probably contains some unwholesome elements, but they surely accumulated some good roots in their previous existences.  When life reaches its end and hell appears before their eyes, these people still can be guided by Buddha to rebirth in Pure Land, providing they recite "Buddha Amitabha" [with all their hearts] at least ten times.  The Mahasamgata sutra reveals that in the Dharma-ending age there will be countless practitioners, but very few will succeed in attaining liberation; they will be able, however, to reverse the round of birth and death by accepting dependency on recitation of the Buddha's name.  This teaching can be explained as follows: Upward it aims at bodhisattvahood and the complete and perfect enlightenment; moving downward, it makes attainment possible for those with unwholesome, mundane concerns.  We notice how much wider this spectrum is compared to the customary one polarizing the holy and the worldly.  Pure Land practice is open to everyone.  Had the Buddha not taught this Dharma, by what means would sentient beings end the rounds of birth and death?  Some look down on the practice of reciting "Buddha" because it is easy; even the dullest can do it.  Such people are advised to take a look at the gathering of the Avatamsaka and those forty Mahasattvas who eradicated their ignorance and saw the true nature of dharmas.  All took the original vow, were transformed and all attained buddhahood in a world without a buddha.  Although the Avatamsaka (Hua Yen in Chinese) realm contains untold buddha-fields or lands, all the participants wish to be short route to enlightenment and away from suffering.

Secondly, the Dharma of recitation of the Buddha's name accommodates those practicing the path of self-reliance, eradicating delusion, and attaining truth by bringing the cyclic pattern of birth and death to a halt.  Because the teaching of the recitation of the Buddha's name brings the power of Buddha to the practitioner, anyone who has eradicated delusion can attain buddhahood quickly.  Those who have not broken off delusion can likewise be reborn in Pure Land, burdened with karma as they may be.  Pure Land practice has benefited multitudes because it is so easy; yet fully enlightened bodhisattvas can obtain advantage from it as well.

These reasons should make the practice attractive, because it is conducive to great results with small effort and because, though easy, the practice may lead to the highest attainment.