The Jingtu zong， or Pure Land school of East Asian Buddhism， whose chief tenet is salvation by faith in Amita^bha 阿弥陀 Buddha. The Pure Land school， which taught relatively simple methods of recitation of the Buddha's name （念佛） for the purpose of attaining rebirth in the Western Heaven （Pure Land）， became the most popular form of Buddhism among the common people and lay practitioners in East Asia. One of the most important early figures in the history of the Pure Land school was Huiyuan 慧远 who is usually associated with the founding of a Pure Land society in 402. The next important figure in the movement was Tanluan 昙鸾 （476-542） from near Wutai shan， who is credited to be the first to actively propagate Pure Land doctrines to society. The leaders considered most fully responsible for the spread of the school in China were Daojo 道绰 and his disciple Shandao 善导 （613-681）. Shandao's principal work was the 观无量寿佛经疏， where he wrote that the five main activities that could lead to rebirth in the Pure Land were （a） uttering the name of the Buddha （b） chanting the sutras， （c） meditating on the Buddha， （d） worshipping images of the Buddha and （e） singing praises of the Buddha. Later on， the primary practices would become the recitation of the Buddha's name and the chanting of the Pure Land Sutra.
（2） The Pure Land teaching was transmitted to Korea as Ch'ongto chong during the 5-7th centuries. Korea's most important Buddhist scholar， Wonhyo 元晓， would late in his career give up his writing and take to the streets spreading the Pure Land teaching among the common people. Although Pure Land would never really become established in Korea as a distinct sect， its teachings remained popular with the common people throughout the history of Buddhism in Korea.
（3） The Pure Land sect in Japan （Jo^do shu^）was founded by Ho^nen 法然 in 1175， when he was converted to Pure Land Buddhism upon reading Shandao's Sanzen-gi. Before this time Pure Land teachings had been present in Japan， but it had not existed as a distinct sect. Ho^nen's Senjaku hongan nenbutsu shu^ 选择本愿念佛集 （T 2608） became the fundamental text of the Japanese Jo^do sect. In it he teaches that anyone who believes in Amita^bha's original vow and recites his name， will be reborn in the Pure Land. Ho^nen chose as the main scriptures of the school: the Wuliangshou jing 无量寿经， the GuanWuliangshou jing 观无量寿经， the Amituo jing 阿弥陀经 and the Ching-t'u lun 净土论.