,
Indonesia (1368–1644) statue of Amituo as one of the
Five Tathagathas at
Huayan Temple in
Datong,
Shanxi, China
In the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtras The most influential Amitābha focused Mahayana sutras are two sutras known by the Sanskrit title
Sukhāvatī-vyūha (
Blissful Array, or the
Array of Sukhāvatī)
. These two are the
Short Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra (also known as the
Amitābha Sutra) and the
Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra (also known as the
Sutra of Infinite Life). These sutras are the main Indian Mahayana sources for the teachings on Amitābha and his
pure land. In these sutras, Amitābha is a transcendent and immortal Buddha who resides in a pure
buddhafield that he created. This pure land is located billions of worlds away in the western direction and all beings can attain rebirth there, where they can swiftly become Buddhas themselves. According to the
Sūtra of Limitless Life, eons ago, Amitābha was a bodhisattva monk named Dharmākara. In some versions of the
sūtra, Dharmākara is described as a former king who, having come into contact with Buddhist teachings through the buddha
Lokeśvararāja, renounced his throne and became a monk. For five eons (
kalpas), Dharmākara contemplated all the qualities of all the pure
buddhafields (realms created by a Buddha existing outside of
ordinary reality) throughout the cosmos. He then resolved to become a Buddha and to create the best of all pure
buddha-fields possessed of many supreme qualities. The sutra then recounts how Dharmākara made a series of
bodhisattva vows (
praṇidhāna), pledging that unless these vows were fulfilled, he would not attain Buddhahood. Different versions of the text list varying numbers of these vows (the most common sutra contains
forty eight vows), which serves as the foundation for Pure Land doctrine. These solemn resolutions set out the type of pure land Dharmākara aspired to create, the conditions under which beings might be born into that world, and what kind of beings they would be. After many eons of bodhisattva practice, Dharmākara became Amitābha Buddha (his enlightenment having occurred ten kalpas ago). Since he now presides over the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī ("Utmost Bliss") in the western direction, it is understood that his vows were indeed fulfilled.This vow is also called the
"original" or "fundamental" vow in East Asian Pure Land Buddhism, indicating its special status in this tradition. This vow, along with some other passages, made it possible to argue that all kinds of people would attain birth in the pure land, even very wicked, deluded and
defiled persons. Barring that one did not commit the five grave acts (patricide, matricide, the murder of an
arhat, harming a Buddha, causing schism in the
sangha), this scripture seems to open up the possibility of birth in the pure land to everyone who faithfully thinks of the Amitābha even just ten times. The sutra also explains how, at the moment of death, Amitābha will appear to those who have aspired to be born in Sukhāvatī. In the Larger
Sukhāvatīvyūha, Shakyamuni also describes the Buddha Amitābha's light as inconceivable and ultimate indescribable, saying that he "could never describe it completely", even if he spent eons trying.
References in other sutras Amitābha is also mentioned in numerous other Buddhist sources.
Kenneth Tanaka notes that "Thirty one Sanskrit texts and over one hundred Chinese and Tibetan translations refer to Amitābha* and/or Sukhavati.*"", Japanese painting, at the
Met.The earliest Buddhist
sutra mentioning Amitābha is the translation into Chinese of the
Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra (般舟三昧經;
Bozhōu Sānmèi Jīng) by the
Kushan monk Lokaksema (Buddhist monk)|. This text has been dated to between the 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE by modern buddhologists and may have been translated from the
Gandhari language (a fragment of which was discovered in 2018). Other important Mahayana texts which mention Amitabha and his pure land of
Sukhavati include the
Ajitasena Sutra, the
Lotus Sutra, the
Nirvana Sutra, the
Mahāmegha Sutra, and the
Samādhirāja Sūtra. There are also several Indian
Dhāraṇī sutras (sutras focused on specific magical chants) which are focused on Amitābha including various editions of the
Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Dhāraṇī, as well as the ''Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the King of the Sound of Amitābha's Drum,
the Anantamukhanirhāra-dhāraṇī
and the Fundamental Dhāraṇī of Immeasurable Life Tathagata
(T.930).'' Jeff Wilson writes that over a fifth of the sutras in the
Taishō Tripiṭaka reference Amitābha, but three sutras in particular have become seen as canonical in East Asian Buddhism: the two
Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtras discussed above and the
Amitāyus Contemplation Sūtra. The
Contemplation Sūtra is believed to have been translated into Chinese by Kalayāśas in the early fifth century and belongs to
a group of texts focused on the visualization of Buddhas. Unlike other Pure Land sūtras, the
Contemplation Sūtra emphasizes meditative practices to have a vision of Amitābha, including thirteen stages of visualization. These include meditating on the setting sun, pure water turning into beryl, and eventually visualizing the entire Pure Land with its jeweled pavilions, lotus throne, Amitāyus (Amitābha), and his attendant Bodhisattvas, Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta. The authorship of this text has been disputed by some scholars, including Akira Hirakawa.
Vasubandhu (
fl. 4th to 5th century CE) is traditionally credited with composing the
Discourse on the Pure Land (T.1524), a commentary on the
Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, which only survives in Chinese translation by the Indian translator
Bodhiruci (6th century). This work outlines a five-part practice that may have functioned as a visualization meditation. Amitābha and his pure are also briefly discussed by Vasubandhu's brother
Asanga in his
Mahāyānasaṃgraha. The author of the
Ratnagotravibhāga concludes the text with the following dedication to Amitāyus: "By the merit I have acquired through [writing] this [treatise], may all living beings come to perceive the Lord Amitāyus* endowed with infinite light." Numerous Amitābha
Buddha images have been discovered in the Greater
Gandhāra region (in modern
Pakistan and
Afghanistan) from about the first century CE onwards during the Kushan era (30–375 CE). This, along with evidence which suggests that the two main Pure Land sutras were written in
the Gandhari language, indicates that Amitābha rose to prominence in
Gandharan Buddhism (and in the greater
Kushana Empire) during the first century CE. Japanese scholars like Kōtatsu Fujita meanwhile tend to place the origin of Amitābha Buddha squarely within Buddhist tradition. One of their sutras is cited by
Vasumitra (in a passage that was translated three times by different Chinese figures) as stating that "the form body (
rupakaya), supernatural power (
prabhāva) and lifespan (
ayus) of a Buddha is unlimited (
ananta)." The first known
epigraphic evidence for Amitābha is the bottom part of a statue found in Govindnagar,
Pakistan and now located at
Government Museum, Mathura. The statue is dated to "the 26th year of the reign of Huvishka|" i.e., 104 CE. Another example is found in a caitya in a courtyard of Tyagal Tol in Patan which has been dated to the late sixth or early seventh century and mentions the classic Amitabha triad. It states: I always venerate Amitabha, the Sun-like Jina, in the world of Sukhavati, who has destroyed the darkness of the great illusion of existence with the light of great wisdom; Mahasthamaprapta, whose mind is affectionately disposed due to [unlimited] compassion, and Lokesa, who holds a lotus and wards off the dangers of arising in the world.One of the last Indian sculptures of Amitābha can be found in the trademark black stone of the
Pala Empire (c. 750–1161 CE), which was the last Buddhist empire of India. The appearance of sculptural remains dating to the end of the second century suggests that Amitābha was becoming popular in the first and second centuries CE in Gandhara and Central Asia. Apart from the Gandhara region, not much evidence has been found for extensive Amitabha worship in the rest of the
Indian subcontinent before the 8th century. During the
Sui Dynasty (581–618) and the succeeding
Tang dynasty, China saw a growth in the creation of Amitabha images and paintings. Some exemplary Amitabha art from this period can be found in
Dunhuang. ==In East Asian Buddhism==