This course will de-mystify Pure Land practice and also place it within traditional Mahayana practice. While the practice of listening and chanting may appear foreign to some American Buddhist practitioners, it can be traced back to the historical Buddha and Sangha itself. It also differentiates Pure Land Buddhism from Judeo-Christian traditions. Rather than emanating from the Middle East, Buddhism comes from an Asian culture and perspective. Buddhism is not meant to be learned and obeyed; it is to be experienced through immersion in the teachings. Much like the difference between studying the theory of buoyancy in water and actually entering the water and learning to swim.