Shandao (613–681)
Born 613 CE, died 681 CE.
Shandao (simplified Chinese: 善导大师; traditional Chinese: 善導大師; pinyin: Shàndǎo Dàshī; Japanese: Zendō Daishi; 613–681) was a Chinese Buddhist scholar-monk who is considered a great sage and patriarch in East Asian Pure Land Buddhism. Several modern scholars consider Shandao to be the central figure of the Chinese Pure Land tradition. According to Alfred Bloom, Shandao "systematized Pure Land thought and brought it to its highest peak of development in China." Shandao was one of the first Pure Land authors to argue that all ordinary people, even the most evil persons, can be reborn in the Pure Land by relying on the karmic power of Amitābha Buddha's past vows. Shandao was also one of the earliest Pure Land authors to teach the primacy of faithfully reciting Amitābha's name (nianfo). Shandao saw this practice as sufficient for birth in the Pure Land, and as the supreme practice (even more important than meditation), though he also wrote on and promoted other ritual practices.
Text from the Wikipedia article Shandao, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.