蓮宗

The Lotus sect founded by 慧遠 Huiyuan circa A.D. 390 at his monastery, in which was a 自蓮池 white lotus pond. It has no connection with the White Lily Secret Society which arose during the Mongol or Yuan dynasty. The Lotus sect is traced to the awakening of Huiyuan by the reading of the <Prajñāpāramitā sūtra>. He then turned his attention to calling on the name of Buddha to obtain salvation direct to his Pure Land. The school became that of the Amitābha or Pure-land sect, which in later years developed into the principal Buddhist cult in the Far East.