There are many approaches to the study of the Buddhist Dharma. Traditionally there are said to be 84,000, so many indeed that beginners might feel at a loss. Because of his compassion Shakyamuni Buddha was fully aware of the difficulties living beings faced and so he especially delivered the Amithabha Scripture. According to the Amithabha Scripture there is a Pure Land in this universe called the western paradise. In the Pure Land there is no sorrow, no evil, and no pollution; there is only happiness, stillness and good deeds. For this reason any student of Buddhism hopes to attain to this perfect world at the conclusion of their present span of life, arriving at the Land of Utmost Bliss in the West in the last moment of their present life.
The present study opens by clarifying three terms: hospice care, spiritual concern and consolation. The study is based on the three Pure Land texts: the Amitabha Sutra (The Smaller Sutra on Amitayus), the Sukhavativyuha Amitabha Sutra (The Larger Sutra on Amitayus), and the Amitayurdhyana Sutra (The Amitayus Sutra on the Contemplation of Amitayus), and quotes from the texts as well as comments on them so as to increase awareness of the Pure Land. We first introduce the Land of Utmost Bliss in the West and seek to understand the causal factors and forces which explain why Amitabha Buddha created this Land of Utmost Bliss and the conditions established by Amitabha Buddha for entry into the Pure Land. Each one of the three scriptures sets out its own method for attaining the Land of Utmost Bliss in the West in the last moment of one’s life. For instance, the the Amitabha Sutra describes three resources—belief, vow and practice, which are the conditions for rebirth in the Pure Land. The Sukhavativyuha Amitabha Sutra is divided the dead condition into three levels：upper, middle and lower which sentient beings can be reborn. The Amitayurdhyana Sutra describes the nine levels of the wandering mind. The thesis here uses the latest research to present new forms of hermeneutics for the Pure Land.
Another goal of the thesis is to explore deathbed reciting. This is help in right mindfulness so that the person can pass on in safety. The teachings of the Buddhist scriptures are explained so that the person at the point of death can let go of all resentment and emotional and other attachments, so that the mind will be concentrated. A further step is to get the person to recite the name of the Buddha and Bodhisattva, so that trusting to the force of their compassion, one can proceed to the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha, with confidence in what comes after death, and so not be so fearful. Deathbed reciting is also very useful to the dead persons’ relatives. Assistance in mindfulness at the moment of death is helpful to the dying person and at the same time can help the person’s relatives recite Buddhist chants together, and so give peace to their minds. Secondly, from the point of view of the teaching of Buddha, it can suggest how the relatives should deal with the funeral arrangements. This concern and help is of great importance to the relativ
