MURYOKO
'Infinite Light'
Journal of Shin Buddhism
Harold Stewart
The Symbolism of the Pure Land
Such a spiritual regeneration is symbolized by Rebirth in the Pure Land, but the fantastic description of the delights of the Western Paradise, characteristic of the luxuriant Indian imagination, is so extravagant that it precludes any literal interpretation, at the same time as it can induce a poetic awe and wonder at their astronomical scope and grandeur. Much of the misunderstanding of Oriental scriptures by Occidental scholars and laymen can be traced to their tendency to read literally the poetic language of the sacred texts that was intended to be taken metaphorically, as a description of spiritual and psycho-physical stages and events along the Way.