Sukhavati

Mahāyāna Buddhism

Lands

India • China • Japan Vietnam • Korea Singapore • Taiwan Tibet • Bhutan • Nepal Mongolia • United States

Doctrine

Bodhisattva • Śīla Samādhi • Prajñā Śunyatā • Trikāya

Mahāyāna Sūtras

Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras Lotus Sūtra Nirvāṇa Sūtra Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra Avataṃsaka Sūtra Śūraṅgama Sūtra

Mahāyāna Schools

Mādhyamaka Yogācāra Esoteric Buddhism Pure Land • Zen Tiantai • Nichiren

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Sukhāvatī (Sanskrit: सुखावती sukhāvatī) refers to the western Pure Land of the Buddha Amitābha in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Sukhāvatī translates to "Land of Bliss."

In other languages

In traditional Mahayana Buddhist countries, there are a number of translations for Sukhāvatī. The Tibetan name for Sukhāvatī is Dewachen (བདེ་བ་ཅན་, bde ba can). In Chinese it is called Jílè (極樂, "Ultimate Bliss"), Ānlè (安樂, "Peaceful Bliss"), or Xītiān (西天, "Western Heaven"). In Japanese it is called Gokuraku (極楽, "Ultimate Bliss") or Anraku (安楽, "Peaceful Bliss").

Nine levels of birth

In the final part of the Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra, Śākyamuni Buddha discusses the 9 levels into which those born into the Pure Land are categorized. The levels are ranked from highest to lowest as follows:^[1]

1. The highest level of the highest grade
2. The middle level of the highest grade
3. The lowest level of the highest grade
4. The highest level of the middle grade
5. The middle level of the middle grade
6. The lowest level of the middle grade
7. The highest level of the lowest grade
8. The middle level of the lowest grade
9. The lowest level of the lowest grade

These levels would have different Buddhism practice experience in that world.

Other meanings

In Western Tibetan Buddhism, this word describes the Buddhist funeral.^[2]

Sir Charles Eliot suggested that the Buddhist paradise Sukhavati may be linked to the Avestan land of Saukavastan.^[3] In the Avestan Bundahishn it is said: "The land of Saukavastan is on the way from Turkistan to Chinistan, in the direction of the north."^[4]

References

1. ^ http://sfshambhala.org/Ceremony_of_Sukhavati-detailed.pdf
2. ^ http://sfshambhala.org/Ceremony_of_Sukhavati-detailed.pdf
3. ^ C. Eliot, Hinduism and Buddhism, part III, p. 449.
4. ^ The Bundahishn ("Creation"), or Knowledge from the Zand, Translated by E. W. West, from Sacred Books of the East, volume 5, Oxford University Press, 1897. CHAPTER 29. "On the spiritual chieftainship of the regions of the earth", Section 13

External links

• Amitabha | facebook
• The Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra. Lapis Lazuli Texts.
• Sukhavati: Western Paradise: Going to Heaven as Taught by the Buddha