is a school of Pure Land

Pure land

A pure land, in Mahayana Buddhism, is the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. The various traditions that focus on Pure Lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bön.The notion of 'pure...

 Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 that focuses on the ritual recitation of the Nianfo

Nianfo

Nianfo , is a term commonly seen in the Pure Land school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...

 (or Nembutsu), the name of the Amitabha

Amitabha

Amitābha is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism...

 Buddha

Buddhahood

In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...

.

Followers believe this recitation benefits not just the speaker, but the entire world as well. The sect began in the twelfth century when a monk named Ryōnin wrote commentary on rituals and hymns in practice at the time and founded the school.

Its distinction lies in its emphasis on the nature of interconnectedness amongst phenomena. The recitation of the nembutsu was not merely an individual quest for salvation in the Pure Land

Pure land

A pure land, in Mahayana Buddhism, is the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. The various traditions that focus on Pure Lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bön.The notion of 'pure...

. A practitioner's chants of nembutsu benefitted everybody else and everybody else's chants of nembutsu benefitted the solo practitioner.