From there, these same bodhisattvas and buddhas return to our world to help yet more people while still residing in his land of Sukhāvatī, whose many virtues and joys are described. By the power of his vows, Amitābha has made it possible for all who call upon him to be reborn into this land, there to undergo instruction by him in the dharma and ultimately become bodhisattvas and buddhas in their turn (the ultimate goal of Mahāyāna Buddhism). Sukhāvatī is situated in the uttermost west, beyond the bounds of our own world. The sutra goes on to explain that Amitābha, after accumulating great merit over countless lives, finally achieved buddhahood and created a pure land called Sukhāvatī ( Sanskrit: "possessing happiness"). Pure Land Buddhism seems to have first become popular in Gandhara, from where it spread to China infused with Taoists and Confucian philosophy before spreading to Central and East Asia. This openness and acceptance of all kinds of people has made belief in pure lands one of the major influences in Mahāyāna Buddhism. His nineteenth vow promises that he, together with his bodhisattvas and other blessed Buddhists, will appear before those who, at the moment of death, call upon him. In the versions of the sutra widely known in China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan, Dharmākara's eighteenth vow was that any being in any universe desiring to be reborn into Amitābha's pure land ( Chinese: 淨土 pinyin: jìngtǔ Japanese pronunciation: jōdo Korean: 정토 romaja: jeongto Vietnamese: tịnh độ) and calling upon his name with sincerity, even as few as ten times will be guaranteed rebirth there. These resolutions were expressed in his forty-eight vows, which set out the type of Pureland Dharmākara aspired to create, the conditions under which beings might be born into that world, and what kind of beings they would be when reborn there. He then resolved to become a Buddha and to create a buddhakṣetra (literally "buddha-field", often called a "Pureland" or "Buddha Land": a realm existing in the primordial universe outside of ordinary reality, produced by a buddha's merit) possessed of many perfections. 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. Bronze statue of Amitābha Buddha, 17th century, Khải Tường Temple, Vietnam Statue of the Buddha Amitābha (Mongolia, 18th century) Attainment of Buddhahood Īccording to the Larger Sūtra of Immeasurable Life, Amitābha was, in very ancient times and possibly in another system of worlds, a monk named Dharmākara. He possesses infinite merit resulting from good deeds over countless past lives as a bodhisattva named Dharmākara.ĭoctrine Ming dynasty (1368–1644) statue of Amitābha in Huayan Temple in Datong, Shanxi, China Buddha Amitābha in Tibetan Buddhism, traditional thangka painting The Great Buddha of Kamakura in the Kōtoku-in temple Gilt-bronze statue of Amithabha from 8th century Silla, Korea. In Vajrayana Buddhism, he is known for his longevity, discernment, pure perception, purification of aggregates, and deep awareness of emptiness. Amitābha ( Sanskrit: अमिताभ, IPA: ), also known as Amitāyus, is the primary Buddha of Pure Land Buddhism.
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