奉蓮社之旨趣，願求蓮邦之宗門也。蓮宗寶鑒自敘曰：「東晉遠公祖師，因聽彌天法師講般若經，豁然大悟。（中略）遊止廬山，與高僧朝士結緣修行，故云諸教三昧其名甚眾，功高易進念佛為先，因以蓮宗名其社焉。」又曰：「元貞元元年正月，述明居士燕覺道破衣和尚，欽奉聖旨勅開蓮宗善法堂護持教法。貞元二年正月又欽奉聖旨，賜通慧大師蓮社正宗。」雲棲彌陀經疏鈔二曰：「六趣眾生，則中陰之身自求父母，往生善士，則一彈指頃蓮華化生。是蓮華者，乃卸凡殼之玄宮，安慧命之神宅。往詣之國，號曰蓮邦。同修之友，號曰蓮祐。約禪誦之期，號曰蓮漏。定趣向之極曰蓮宗，重其事也。」
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.
一蓮宗 即淨土宗。願求往生阿彌陀佛淨土（蓮邦）之宗派。起於東晉慧遠於廬山東林寺創建白蓮社，發願往生西方淨土。又稱蓮門。依優曇普度所著蓮宗寶鑑之自敘（大四七‧三O四上）：「東晉遠公祖師，因聽彌天法師講般若經，豁然大悟，入於無量甚深三昧。遊止廬山，與高僧朝士結緣修行。故云諸教三昧其名甚眾，功高易進，念佛為先，因以白蓮名其社焉。」蓋以蓮花為極樂依報之象徵，彼土之眾總以蓮花為居所，並以蓮臺來迎願生者，故以蓮宗稱之。〔蓮宗九祖傳略、阿彌陀經疏鈔卷二、蓮宗諸戒儀〕（參閱「淨土宗」5902）p7712
淨土宗。