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. Among these “past vows”, Dharmākara promised that all beings born in his land would never fall into lower realms and would possess golden divine bodies with many superpowers.
He also vowed that they would be firmly established on the path to Buddhahood and could enjoy profound peace, happiness and an unlimited lifespan there. The central aspect of these vows is the ones which discuss how to attain birth in the pure land. In Pure Land Buddhism, one of the most influential passages has been the eighteenth vow, which states:
If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten directions who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and think of me even ten times should not be born there, may I not attain perfect enlightenment. Excluded however, are those who commit the five grave offenses and abuse the Right Dharma.
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. A modified version of this universalist teaching (which even removes the exclusion of beings who commit the five grave acts) would become a central doctrine of Pure Land Buddhism and remains part of its lasting appeal. The sutra also explains how, at the moment of death, Amitābha will appear to those who have aspired to be born in Sukhāvatī. Bodhisattvas who arrive in Sukhāvatī enter the state of non-retrogression (from which there is no falling back into lower states of rebirth), and the state of “one more birth,” meaning they require only one additional lifetime before attaining Buddhahood. Once in Sukhāvatī, all beings can also easily visit other pure lands to make offerings to innumerable Buddhas. In Sukhāvatī, beings are born asexually, appearing fully formed upon lotus flowers in Amitābha’s presence. Some lotuses remain closed, signifying individuals who still harbor doubts about Amitābha. Such beings remain enclosed for 500 years, experiencing their lotus as a palace, yet deprived of the Buddha’s presence. Eventually, as they dispel their doubts, they emerge from this period of purification and witness the splendor of Amitābha.
Both versions of the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra provide various descriptions which may have served as a guide for meditating on Amitābha within his Pure Land. According to the sutras, those aspiring to be reborn there should cultivate bodhicitta, listen to Amitābha’s name, contemplate him, pray for rebirth in his land, and accumulate merit as a basis for their future birth. Given these conditions, rebirth in Sukhāvatī and eventual enlightenment are significantly more accessible than striving for Buddhahood under the harsh conditions of this world, which is Amitābha Buddha’s ultimate intent for creating the pure land. This teaching about an easily accessible afterlife made Amitābha a popular Buddha in Gandhara, from where it spread to Central Asia and East Asia. Regarding the Smaller Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, this text primarily describes the various features of Sukhāvatī and further clarifies the methods of attaining rebirth there. It describes, for example, how the birds and trees of Sukhāvatī, themselves manifestations of Amitābha, continuously sing song of the Dharma. According to this sūtra, rebirth in Sukhāvatī is achieved by sincerely holding Amitābha’s name in mind with undistracted focus for one to seven days—an application of the ancient meditation known as buddhānusmṛti (recollection of the Buddha).
