**7. Conclusions**

The early concepts of the Pure Land as "sukhavati" in the Chinese translation, such as the "anle" and "jile," which signify "extreme happiness," become more concrete and powerful through images for visualization and meditation rituals, in the mixture of a supernatural transcendent being in Taoism with a chakravartin king in Buddhism.

Furthermore, the Pure Lands as the abodes of miscellaneous deities correspond to the lands of Taoist hermits in their quest for immortality, and the cosmic order that symbolizes the authority of rulers. Images of paradise appear in the buildings (e.g., platforms, pile-built constructions called "galan," high-rise pavilions, pagodas), landscape (e.g., mountains, clouds, ponds), and simultaneously through the architectural representation of Buddhist temples.

Together with these ceremonial constructions, the rituals and samadhi practice towards the Pure Land served as powerful tools to dignify and strengthen the Buddha Land's position. Cults and practices as tools controlled the behavior of laypeople and monks. They satisfied their psychological and emotional needs in the law of dependent origination (Pratityasamutpada) between buildings and devotees.

The Monastery Bulguksa is a ritual apparatus. The architectural representation of a Pure Land that subsumes lotus ponds, courtyards, and open terraced platforms with banisters as stages for dancers and musicians is further emphasized. It provides an application of the elevated vantage point from a perspective and focuses on ritualized practices associated with meditation and votive events linked to pure land ceremonies.

As a result, based on Buddhist narratives, such framed story structures of the Pure Land continue to produce an integrated and pure world far away from the secular one, and toward the sacred places of key events in the Buddha's life.

**Funding:** This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (No.2021R1I1A3059811).

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
