Pure Land (Chin: Jìngtǔ 浄土) is generally referred to as the Buddhaland. In Sanskrit, it is called Parisodhana-ksetra, which means the field that purifies. Each Buddha has his own Buddhaland. For instance, the Buddha of our world, known as Saha World, is Shakyamuni, while the Buddha of Eastern Lapis World is Bhaisajyaguru. However, the Pure Land sect as prevailed in China is commonly referred to the Western Paradise of Amituofo (Amitabha Buddha), known as Sukhavati. Sukhavati is a Sanskrit word, which means the most blissful of all paradises. In Sukhavati, there is no suffering, no evil paths (i.e. hell beings, ghosts and animals), no gender, in which the entire environment facilitates the attainment of Buddhahood.
The Pure Land is not a heaven-like realm. Instead, like all Buddhas, Amitabha created the Pure Land as a kind of refuge, so sentient beings could be reborn there and progress on the Buddhist path much more easily. The Pure Land has a great community of teachers and followers, and has no obstructions. So, people who have a difficult life, or have difficulty following the Buddhist teachings can choose to be reborn there instead and then make progress.
As explained in the Pure Land Sutras, if you sincerely recite the name of Amitabha Buddha, you can be reborn in the Pure Land upon death. This is based on Amitabha Buddha’s 18th vow:
"If, when I achieve Buddhahood, sentient beings of the ten directions who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, wish to be reborn in my land and recite my name, even ten times, should fail to be born there, may I not attain perfect enlightenment. Excepted are those who commit the five gravest transgressions or slander the correct Dharma."
The Amitabha Sutra describes the Western Pure Land as a beautiful place surrounded by trees made of jewels, ponds filled with gem stones and wondrous colured-light emitting lotuses, buildings made of precious stones, celestial music constantly playing, gorgeous flowers descending from the sky, tawny-gold covered grounds, and birds communicating the Buddha's teachings in their melodious songs. Everything in the Western Pure Land works together to remind the inhabitants of the truths of Buddhism.
The Pure Land is described in the Limitless Life Sutra as a land of beauty that surpasses all other realms. More importantly for the Pure Land practitioner, once one has been "born" into this land (birth occurs painlessly through lotus flowers), one will never again be reborn. In the Pure Land one will be personally instructed by Amituofo (Amitabha Buddha) and numerous Bodhisattvas until one reaches full and complete enlightenment. In effect, being born into the Pure Land is akin to achieving enlightenment, through escaping samsara, the Buddhist concept of "the wheel of birth and death."
