in
Sukhavati scroll showing Amida welcoming
Chûjô-hime to the pure land, Taima Temple, Japan
Amitābha's Sukhāvatī Sukhāvatī ("The Blissful") is by far the most popular pure land in
East Asian Mahayana Buddhism. It is also the main goal of
Pure Land Buddhism, which is centered around faith and devotion to
Amitābha Buddha as the means of attaining rebirth in his pure land. It is also a popular pure land in
Tibetan Buddhism as well. The key canonical teachings on Sukhāvatī are found in the "three pure land sutras", the main sources for East Asian Pure Land Buddhism: the
Smaller Sukhāvatī-vyūha (T 366), the
Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, and the
Amitayus Contemplation Sutra (
i.e. The Contemplation Sutra). According to Mahayana scriptures, in his past life, Amitabha was a devoted king of a joyous kingdom in a distant eon who renounced his throne to become a monk and
vowed to attain buddhahood. He made forty-eight vows which focus on the greatness of his future pure land, pledging that he would not accept buddhahood if any of these vows went unfulfilled. The vows are dedicated to establishing a pure realm accessible to all beings who aspired to be reborn there. This monk would ultimately become Buddha Amitabha. His vows were grounded in hearing his name ("Amitabha"), establishing virtue, and dedicating
merit toward rebirth in this pure land. Some Mahayana sutra teachings say that after Amitabha attains
final nirvana, the successors of Amitabha in Sukhāvatī will be
Avalokiteśvara, followed by
Mahāsthāmaprāpta. There are numerous East Asian texts discussing the various experiences of Pure Land Buddhists who have gone to the Pure land or had a vision of Sukhavati. Some Buddhists and followers of other religions claimed to have seen Sukhavati and numerous East Asian popular faiths and cults also discuss Sukhavati.
Śākyamuni's Pure Land ; from an illustrated
Lotus Sutra, c. 1257. The
Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra states that
Śākyamuni Buddha has his own Pure Land which is far away and is called "Unsurpassable" (Chinese: Wúshèng 無勝). Śākyamuni Buddha is said to manifest from his Pure Land into our world in order to teach the Dharma.
Śākyamuni Buddha is also associated with the assembly in open space over
Vulture Peak (靈鷲山釋迦淨土), which is the site of the preaching of the
Lotus Sutra.
Tiantai tradition holds that while the founder
Zhiyi was chanting the
Lotus Sutra, he had a vision of this pure assembly. His teacher
Nanyue Huisi is said to have told Zhiyi that they had met in a previous life at this assembly. The Japanese monk
Nichiren taught his disciples that through faith in the
Lotus Sutra, one could be reborn in the pure land of Vulture Peak after death, promoting it as an alternative postmortem destination to Sukhavati. Japanese Buddhist schools like
Tendai and
Nichiren Buddhism see Śākyamuni's pure land as being continuous with this world. This becomes pronounced in Nichiren Buddhism, which affirms the non-duality of this world and the pure land of Vulture peak. Even when addressing one's postmortem destination, Nichiren insisted that the "pure land of Vulture Peak"—while including the deceased faithful—is also a sacred reality accessible in this world through faith in the
Lotus Sutra. For Nichiren, the
samsaric world itself, when properly understood and engaged through faith, is the eternally abiding pure land. This leads to the attainment of buddhahood in one's present body (
sokushin jōbutsu), without rejecting samsara or aspiring to a realm beyond it.
Pure Lands of Buddha Vairocana statue of Vairocana Buddha on a thousand petaled lotus. According to the
Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra, the whole
universe is a vast pure buddha-field which has been purified by the cosmic
Vairocana Buddha. This is the view of Pure Land which is found in the Chinese
Huayan tradition and in
Chinese Esoteric Buddhism. According to this view, our world is just one small part of this universal Pure Land which is named: "Ocean of worlds, whose surface and inside are decorated with an arrangement of flowers" (Sanskrit:
Kusumatalagarbha-vyūhālamkāra-lokadhātusamudra). It is also called the "Lotus Treasury World" (Chinese: 華蔵世界, Skt.
Padmagarbha-lokadhātu), since it is an array of billions of worlds in a
lotus flower shape. Furthermore, Ghanavyūha (Dense Array or Secret Adornment) is considered to be the supreme pure buddhafield specific to
Vairocana. It appears in Mahayana sutras like the
Ghanavyūha Sutra. According to this sutra, by following virtuous teachers, hearing and contemplating Buddha Dharma, and letting go of all concepts and craving, one can be reborn there, achieve enlightenment, and manifest in countless ways to help all beings. In East Asian Esoteric Buddhist traditions, like
Shingon, the dual
mandalas of the
Vajradhatu and
Garbhadhatu mandalas are considered to be the representation of the buddhafield of
Mahāvairocana Buddha, the supreme cosmic Buddha.
Inner court of Tuṣita in
Tushita Heaven, over the entrance of
Maya Cave, Kizil,
Xinjiang, China. The "Inner Court of Tushita" (兜率內院) is
Maitreya's pure land, which is actually located in the deva realm of
Tuṣita. Some Buddhist scriptures teach that Maitreya is currently teaching at the Inner Court of Tuṣita. Some Buddhist Masters, such as
Xuanzang, expressed a wish to be reborn there. Other Buddhist monks, such as
Xuyun, also aspired to be reborn in the Inner Court of Tuṣita in order to meet Maitreya. The Inner Court of Tuṣita was historically a popular place for Buddhists to wish to be reborn in; however, the vast majority of Pure Land Buddhists today hope to be reborn in
Sukhavati. Some followers of the
Chinese Salvationist religion called
Yiguandao have also claimed to have traveled there.
Pure Lands of the Five Tathāgatas Later Indian Buddhism developed a schema of five main Buddhas (called the
Five Tathāgatas). In this schema, which is popular in
Esoteric Buddhism and is organized as a
mandala, there the five Pure Lands of the five key Buddhas are: • In the center,
Akaniṣṭha-Ghanavyūha, hosted by
Vairocana Buddha. In
Tibetan Buddhism,
Ghanavyūha Akaniṣṭha is the supreme
Saṃbhogakāya buddhafield of
Vajradhara, out of which emanate all
Nirmāṇakāya Buddhas and Buddhafields such as
Sukhāvati. • In the East,
Abhirati, hosted by
Akṣobhya Buddha • In the South, Śrīmat, hosted by
Ratnasaṃbhava Buddha • In the West,
Sukhāvatī, hosted by
Amitābha Buddha • In the North, Karmaprasiddhi or Prakuṭā, hosted by
Amoghasiddhi Buddha Other identified Pure Lands •
Abhirati ("Joyous") is the buddhafield of
Akshobhya Buddha, located in the eastern direction. This pure land is suggested by some scholars to be the earliest buddhafield mentioned in
Mahayana sutras. • Vaidūryanirbhāsa (“Pure Blue Beryl”, Ch: 東方淨琉璃世界) of
Bhaiṣajyaguru in the east is compared by some Pure Land Buddhists to Amitabha's Pure Land in the west. Bhaiṣajyaguru is also said to have manifestations in six other Pure Lands. • Vimala ("Spotless",) is the pure land of bodhisattva
Manjushri. • The city
Ketumati is also described as Maitreya's future Pure Land on earth. • The female bodhisattva
Tara was also held to have a pure land, either termed Khadiravaṇa (
Acacia Forest) or "Turquoise Leaf Land" (Tibetan: Yulokod). •
Shambhala, a pure land in the
Vajrayana Buddhist
Kalachakra cycle of tantras and teachings. • The pure land of
Vajrayogini, called Khechara or Dhagpa Khadro. == In East Asian Buddhism ==