Amitayurdhyana
Amitayurdhyana
Amitayurdhyana
Amitayurdhyana Sutra
The Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra (Sanskrit; traditional Chinese: 佛 說 觀 無 量
壽 佛 經 ) is a Mahayana sutra in Pure Land Buddhism, a branch of
Mahāyāna Buddhism. It is one of the three principle Pure Land sutras along
with the Infinite Life Sutra and the Amitabha Sutra. Amitāyus is another
name for the Buddha Amitābha, the preeminent figure in Pure Land
Buddhism, and this sūtra focuses mainly on meditations involving complex
visualization. This is reflected in the name of the sūtra, which translates to
the "Amitāyus Meditation Sūtra."
Contents
Basic Outline of the Sutra
Preliminary matters
Attaining birth in the Pure Land
Nine levels of birth
Conclusion
See also
Notes
Further reading
External links
Preliminary matters
The text begins with a story where a prince named Ajatashatru was enticed by the villain Devadatta to murder his
father, King Bimbisara, in order to ascend the throne. Ajatashatru kills his father, and nearly kills his mother, Queen
Vaidehi, but after advice from his other ministers, he relented and threw his mother in prison.
Lamenting her fate, Queen Vaidehi prays to Gautama Buddha for help, and he is able to visit her. Vaidehi expresses her
wish to be born in Amitābha's pure land. Shakyamuni smiles, emitting light from his mouth, and goes on to tell Vaidehi
how to be reborn in the Pure Land. The Buddha tells her that although she is in prison, she could still obtain liberation
through the practices of Amitābha. The Buddha goes on to describe Amitābha and how one could obtain rebirth in his
land of Sukhavati.[6]
This tale references historical incidents of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha, India, and the religious tension between
Gautama Buddha and his brother-in-law, Devadatta.
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Conclusion
The sutra ends with a short section describing the benefits gained by those who listened to these words of the Buddha.
Vaidehi experienced "great awakening with clarity of mind and reached the insight into the non-arising of all
dharmas," while her five hundred female attendants and "innumerable devas" also awakened aspiration for the highest
enlightenment. Shakyamuni names the sutra, mentions benefits connected with the name of Amitabha Buddha, and
exhorts all to hold the words of the sutra in their minds. Shakyamuni then returns through the air to Vulture Peak.
See also
Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra (Infinite Life Sutra)
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Notes
1. Silk 1997, pp. 181ff.
2. Muller 1998, p. 68.
3. Fujita, "The Textual Origins of the Kuan Wu-liang-shou ching: A Canonical Scripture of Pure Land Buddhism", in
Buswell, Robert E.; ed. (1990). Chinese Buddhist Apocrypha, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press,
ISBN 0585349630
4. "Amitayurdhyana Sutra" in Keown, Damien (2003). A dictionary of Buddhism (https://books.google.com/books?id=
985a1M7L1NcC&pg=PA10&dq=Amitayurdhyana&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiTmouphOfJAhVNx2MKHWhUB4s
4PBDoAQgbMAA#v=onepage&q=Amitayurdhyana&f=false). [Oxford]: Oxford University Press. pp. 10–11.
ISBN 9780191579172.
5. Williams, Paul. Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 2nd edition. Routledge, 2009, p. 239
6. Hisao Inagaki, Harold Stewart (transl.): The Three Pure Land Sutras, Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist
Translation and Research 2003, p. XVIII. ISBN 1-886439-18-4
7. Hisao Inagaki, Harold Stewart (transl.): The Three Pure Land Sutras, Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist
Translation and Research 2003, p. XIX. ISBN 1-886439-18-4
8. Hisao Inagaki, Harold Stewart (transl.): The Three Pure Land Sutras, Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist
Translation and Research 2003, pp. XIX-XXI. ISBN 1-886439-18-4
Silk, Jonathan A. (April 1997). "The Composition of the "Guanwuliangshoufo-jing": Some Buddhist and Jaina
Parallels to its Narrative Frame". 25 (2). Journal of Indian Philosophy: 181–256. JSTOR 23448579 (https://www.jst
or.org/stable/23448579).
Further reading
Muller, Charles (1998). "East Asian Apocryphal Scriptures: Their Origin and Role in the Development of Sinitic
Buddhism" (http://www.acmuller.net/articles/1998-03-apocrypha.html). Bulletin of Toyo Gakuen University. 6: 63–
76.
Hisao Inagaki, Harold Stewart (transl.): The Three Pure Land Sutras, Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist
Translation and Research 2003. ISBN 1-886439-18-4 PDF (https://web.archive.org/web/20150521183524/http://w
ww.bdkamerica.org/digital/dBET_ThreePureLandSutras_2003.pdf) retrieved 2013/07/28
Pas, Julian F. (1974). Shan-tao's Interpretation of the Meditative Vision of Buddha Amitāyus (https://www.jstor.org/
stable/1062003), History of Religions 14 (2), 96-116 – via JSTOR (subscription required)
Takakusu, J. (trans.), Friedrich Max Müller, ed.: Amitayurdhyana Sutra. In: The Sacred Books of the East, Volume
XLIX: Buddhist Mahāyāna Texts, Part II. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1894 ISBN 1-60206-381-8 Internet Archive (htt
ps://archive.org/details/buddhistmahy02cowe)
Tanaka, Kenneth K. 1990. The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhist Doctrine: Jìngyǐng Huìyuán's Commentary
on the Visualization Sūtra. Albany: State University of New York Press.
External links
The Contemplation Sutra, translated into English by J. Takakusu (http://web.mit.edu/stclair/www/meditationsutra.ht
ml)
English translation of the Contemplation Sutra (http://www.fodian.net/English/Contemplation_Sutra.htm)
The Taima Mandala (https://web.archive.org/web/20131215142654/http://www12.canvas.ne.jp/horai/con-ex.htm)
Image of the Pure Land from a medieval Japanese scroll, based on the descriptions found in the Contemplation
Sutra. This site offers explanations in English of the various motifs of the scroll.
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