Sukhavati

Japanese painting of the Taima Mandala depicting Sukhavati. Kamakura period, 13th century.

Sukhavati (IAST: Sukhāvatī; "Blissful") is the pure land of Amitābha in Mahayana Buddhism. It is also called the Land of Bliss or Western Pure Land and is the most well-known of Buddhist pure lands due to the popularity of Pure Land Buddhism in East Asia.

Etymology and names

The word is the feminine form of the Sanskrit word sukhāvat ("full of joy; blissful"), from sukha ("delight, joy") and -vat ("full of").

Sukhavati is known by different names in other languages. East Asian names are based on Chinese translations, and longer names may consist of the words "Western", "Blissful" and "Pure Land" in various combinations. Some names and combinations are more popular in certain countries. Due to its importance, Sukhavati is often simply called "The Pure Land" without distinguishing it from other pure lands.

Chinese-based names
Hanzi	Chinese	Korean	Japanese	Vietnamese	English
極樂	Jílè	Geungnak	Gokuraku	Cực Lạc	Ultimate Bliss
安樂	Ānlè	Annak	Anraku	An Lạc	Peaceful Bliss
淨土	Jìngtǔ	Jeongto	Jōdo	Tịnh Độ	Pure Land
西方淨土	Xīfāng Jìngtǔ	Seobang Jeongto	Saihō Jōdo	Tây Phương Tịnh Độ	Western Pure Land
極樂淨土	Jílè Jìngtǔ	Geungnak Jeongto	Gokuraku Jōdo	Cực Lạc Tịnh Độ	Ultimate Bliss Pure Land
西方極樂淨土	Xīfāng Jílè Jìngtǔ	Seobang Geungnak Jeongto	Saihō Gokuraku Jōdo	Tây Phương Cực Lạc Tịnh Độ	Western Ultimate Bliss Pure Land
西天	Xītiān*			Tây Thiên	Western Heaven
Other names
Tibetan	English
Dewachen (བདེ་བ་ཅན་)	Blissful

* Only common in Chinese.

Nine levels of birth

In the final part of the Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra, Gautama Buddha discusses the nine levels into which those born into the pure land are categorized. These are as follows:

1. The highest level of the highest grade of rebirth: devoted followers of the Mahayana who have deep faith and engage in virtuous actions. Upon their death, they are welcomed by Amitābha and a multitude of sages. Once they are born in Sukhavati, they are immediately able to see Amitābha and hear his teachings, and immediately attain several high spiritual states.
2. The middle level of the highest grade: those who have faith in the law of karma and are able to understand the Mahayana teachings. Upon their death, they are welcomed by Amitābha and a multitude of sages. Seven days after their rebirth in the pure land, they gain the stage of non-retrogression.
3. The lower level of the highest grade: those who believe in the law of karma and develop bodhicitta. Upon their death, they are welcomed by Amitābha and a multitude of sages. They are enclosed in lotus buds for a single day, and after seven days they can see Amitābha and gradually gain enlightenment.
4. The highest level of the middle grade: those who observe the five precepts and other precepts. Upon their death, they are welcomed by Amitābha and a multitude of sages. Once their lotus buds open, they are able to hear the Dharma and attain arhatship.
5. The middle level of the middle grade: those who follow various Buddhist precepts, even for a single day. Upon their death, they are welcomed by Amitābha and a multitude of sages. Their lotus buds open after seven days, immediately becoming stream-enterers and attaining arhatship half a kalpa later.
6. The lower level of the middle grade: those who do good deeds in their current life, such as being dutiful to their parents. Upon their death, they are welcomed by Amitābha and a multitude of sages. Their lotus buds open after seven days, and attain arhatship after a small kalpa.
7. The highest level of the lower grade: those who commit various evil actions, but hear Mahayana sutras before they die and are instructed to recite the name of Amitābha. Upon their death, they are escorted by the transformed body of Amitābha and the transformed bodies of several bodhisattvas. They are confined in lotus buds for seven weeks, and when they are freed they hear the dharma from the two attendant bodhisattvas of Amitābha, Mahāsthāmaprāpta and Avalokiteśvara. After ten small kalpas, they attain the first bhūmi as bodhisattvas.
8. The middle level of the lower grade: those who commit various offenses against the Dharma and the sangha, and break various precepts. When they are about to die and be reborn in the hell realms, they hear about Amitābha from a virtuous teacher. After they are reborn in the pure land, they are confined in lotus buds for six kalpas, and once they are freed they can finally hear the Mahayana teachings.
9. The lower level of the lower grade: those who are true evildoers and commit the gravest offenses, which would inevitably let them be reborn in the lowest levels of hell. Before they die they meet a good teacher who encourages them to repeat the name of Amitābha. Once they have repeated his name ten times, their evil karma is extinguished, and they are able to see golden lotus pods at death. After twelve long kalpas, their lotus buds open, and they can finally hear the Mahayana teachings.

Buddhist funerals

In Tibetan Buddhism, the world of Sukhavati is invoked during Buddhist funerals as a favorable destination for the deceased. Such rituals are often accompanied with the tantric technique of phowa ("transference of consciousness") to the pure land of Amitābha, performed by a lama on the behalf of the departed. Halkias (2013:148) explains that "Sukhavati features in funeral rites and scriptures dedicated to the ritual care of the dead ('das-mchod). The structure and performance of Tibetan death ceremonies varies according to a set sequence of events...For the duration of these rites, the consciousness of the dead is coaxed into increasing levels of clarity until the time for the ritual transference to Sukhavati."

Raigō (来迎, "welcoming approach") in Japanese Buddhism is the appearance of the Amida on a "purple" cloud (紫雲) at the time of one's death. The most popular belief is that the soul would then depart to the Western Paradise. A number of hanging scroll paintings depict the western paradise.

Namesakes

A number of temples are named after Sukhāvatī:

• Kek Lok Si, Malaysia
• Kek Look Seah, Malaysia
• Jile Temple, Harbin, China
• Shinshōgokuraku-ji, Kyoto, Japan

Gallery

• 
  Painting of Amitabha in Sukhavati. Tibet, circa 1700.
• 
  Amitābha welcomes Chūjō-hime to the Western Paradise. Japan, 16th century.
• 
  Silk painting of the paradise of Amitabha (Sukhavati). Japan, Heian period, 794–1185.

See also

• Sukhāvatīvyūha, two sūtras
• Naraka (concept of hell in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism)

Further reading

• Inagaki, Hisao, trans. (2003), The Three Pure Land Sutras (PDF), Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, ISBN 1-886439-18-4, archived from the original on May 12, 2014{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
• Tanaka, Kenneth K. (1987). Where is the Pure Land?: Controversy in Chinese Buddhism on the Nature of Pure Land, Pacific World Journal (New Series) 3, 36-45
• Halkias, Georgios (2013). Luminous Bliss: a Religious History of Pure Land Literature in Tibet. With an Annotated Translation and Critical Analysis of the Orgyen-ling golden short Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra. University of Hawai‘i Press.
• Johnson, Peter, trans. (2020). The Land of Pure Bliss, Sukhāvatī: On the Nature of Faith & Practice in Greater Vehicle (Mahāyāna) Buddhism, Including The Scripture About Meditation on the Buddha ‘Of Infinite Life’ (Amitāyur Buddha Dhyāna Sūtra, 觀無量壽佛經) [1] and a full translation of Shandao's Commentary on it [2], An Lac Publications, ISBN 978-1-7923-4208-0

External links

• The Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, the Amitabha Sutra
• Dol-po-pa’s: A Prayer for Birth in Sukhāvatī