Amitabha Buddha’s 48 vows function as the doctrinal heart of Pure Land devotion, shaping both its faith and its practice. These vows, made in the time when Amitabha was the bodhisattva Dharmakara, articulate his promise to create a Pure Land and to bring beings to liberation there. They describe Sukhāvatī as a realm free from suffering, filled with enlightened beings and ideal conditions for progress toward Buddhahood. In this way, the vows define who Amitabha is, what the Pure Land is, and what spiritual benefits await those who are reborn there, including non-retrogression from the path to enlightenment.

Among the 48 vows, the 18th, 19th, and 20th are especially central for devotional life. The 18th, often called the “Primal Vow,” promises that beings who entrust themselves to Amitabha, desire rebirth in the Pure Land, and recite his name will be reborn there; this establishes the nembutsu—calling the name “Namo Amitābha Buddha”—as the core practice. The 19th vow supports those who cultivate various meritorious deeds and dedicate them toward Pure Land rebirth, while the 20th vow assures rebirth for those who hear Amitabha’s name and aspire to be born in his land. Together, these vows outline a path that is accessible to people of differing capacities and circumstances, yet unified by aspiration and reliance on Amitabha.

The vows also ground the distinctive Pure Land emphasis on “Other-Power” (tariki). They affirm that Amitabha has already completed the necessary causes—merit, wisdom, and compassionate intention—to save beings, and that his own enlightenment is bound up with fulfilling these promises. Devotees therefore place their trust not in their own fluctuating virtue or meditative skill, but in the reliability of Amitabha’s vow-power. Simple, sincere faith and recitation of the Buddha’s name become sufficient conditions for rebirth in the Pure Land, transforming the path from one of self-reliant effort to one of grateful reliance on boundless compassion.

Because some vows explicitly refuse Buddhahood unless beings of various moral and spiritual levels can be saved, Pure Land devotion takes on an inclusive and compassionate character. It offers assurance that even those who feel spiritually inadequate or burdened by past actions are not excluded from the possibility of liberation. The 48 vows thus provide not only a theological framework but also an existential reassurance: they give content to devotion, shape ethical and devotional orientation, and offer a clear promise that rebirth in the Pure Land and steady progress toward Buddhahood are truly available to all who respond with sincere trust and aspiration.