, often abbreviated to , is the magnum opus of Shinran Shonin, the founder of the Japanese Buddhist sect, Jodo Shinshu. The title is often translated as The True Teaching, Practice, and Realization of the Pure Land Way in English. The work was written after Shinran's exile, and is believed to have been composed in the year 1224. It represents a synthesis of various Buddhist sutras in Mahayana literature, including the Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life, the Nirvana Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Mahaprajñaparamita Sutra. In this way, Shinran expounds Jodo Shinshu thought. The work is divided into six chapters, not including the Preface: Chapter 1 - Teaching Chapter 2 - Practice Chapter 3 - Shinjin, plus additional preface Chapter 4 - Realizing Chapter 5 - The True Buddha and Land Chapter 6 - The Transformed Buddha and Land In addition to frequent quotations from Buddhist sutras, Shinran often quotes the Jodo Shinshu dharma masters, who comprise the teaching lineage, which extends from Shakyamuni Buddha to Shinran's teacher Honen. At the beginning of each chapter Shinran begins with the phrase (in English) "Compiled by Gutoku Shinran, Disciple of Shakyamuni". The name Gutoku or "foolish, stubble-headed one" was the name Shinran gave himself after he was exiled from Kyoto. Chapter 1 This is the shortest of the six chapters, and mostly quotes from the Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life to explain that encountering a Buddha is extremely rare and auspicious for all beings, and that Shakyamuni Buddha's appearance in the world was expressly to propound the Pure Land teachings. Chapter 2 This chapter delves in more detail the basis for Pure Land Buddhist thought namely: That the Buddha Amitabha made a series of vows to save all beings That the most important vow is the 18th or Primal Vow to lead beings to the Pure Land if they recite his name That the Buddha Amitabha sought to excel among Buddhas by providing a way out of suffering that all could practice. Later the chapter quotes at length passages from the writings of Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Shan-tao and Hōnen as well as other Jodo Shinshu Patriarchs in chronological order. Shinran appears to be providing a progression of ideas among Buddhist writers that shows the evolution of Pure Land Buddhism. Among the topics discussed and cited are the recitation of the Amitabha's name, or nembutsu, the Path of the Bodhisattva, and the nature