Aaron Proffitt is an Associate Professor of Japanese Studies at The University at Albany-SUNY. He earned his PhD in Buddhist Studies at the University of Michigan in 2015, and his first book, Esoteric Pure Land Buddhism (University of Hawaii Press, 2023), explores the ways that Buddhists in East Asia employed tantric thought and practice to attain rebirth in the Pure Land, and contains the first translation of Dōhan’s (1179–1252) Himitsu nenbutsu shō into a modern language. His research and publications have explored Esoteric Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, and the Lotus Sutra, and his current research explores the way that emptiness has been understood and employed within the Pure Land tradition.His book Esoteric Pure Land Buddhism will be published in September by University of Hawaii Press.
Aaron Proffitt
Recent Articles
A Brief History of Pure Land Buddhism
Pure Land is both a distinct school of Buddhism that developed in Japan and, says Aaron Proffitt, a cornerstone of the whole Mahayana tradition.
The Buddha Amitābha in the Himitsu nenbutsu shō
An excerpt of chapter 7 of Aaron P. Proffitt’s new book, "Esoteric Pure Land Buddhism" — reviewed in the Summer 2023 issue of Buddhadharma.