The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1893 page)

(Pers.,
pardah
, ‘curtain’). The Muslim seclusion of women from strangers, related to
hij
b
(the veil). The basis is in Qur’
n 33. 53.

 
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see
HUNG-JEN
.

 
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(Skt.,
sukh
vat
; Chin.,
ching-t'u
; Jap.,
j
do
). An untainted transcendent realm created by the
Buddha
Amit
bha (
Amida
), to which his devotees aspire to be born in their next lifetime. Since all the conditions in Pure Land propel one toward enlightenment, anyone born there will attain
nirv
na
quickly and easily. According to
Mah
y
na
doctrine, there are countless Pure Lands or Buddha Lands
(Skt.,
buddhak
etra
; Chin.,
fo-t'u
; Jap.,
butsudo
), each produced by a different Buddha. In addition to Amit
bha's, the one created by the Buddha
Ak
obhya
is frequently mentioned in Buddhist writings. None the less, only the Pure Land of Amit
bha ever achieved widespread popularity in E. Asian Buddhism. Hence, in China, Korea, and Japan the expression ‘Pure Land’ came to be used as a proper noun signifying Amit
bha's transcendent realm rather than as a generic term for any Buddha Land.
Detailed descriptions of the Pure Land are contained in three Pure Land s
tras (
Sukh
vat
vyuha S
tras