ABSTRACT
Zen Buddhist traditions place meditation and wisdom in a position of mutual interrelatedness. They can be described as simultaneously separate in their unique identities and connected in their interpenetration. From the Japanese Soto Zen perspective, which is practice oriented, the primary obstacle to liberation is articulated in terms of action and non-action. Either an individual practices or does not practice; responds to others compassionately or selfishly. In contrast to the Soto Zen emphasis on action and inaction, the Pure Land or Amida Buddhism, which was established by Honen in the twelfth century and it, continues to be a major sect in Japan, views sin as the primary obstacle to salvation. The Japanese Zen teacher, Kosho Uchiyama, describes the difference between Pure Land and Zen through the use of the term gosho o negau, which in the Pure Land tradition expresses hope.
