Introduction

Origin and History

i.1The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī is the shortest of three sūtras that expound the Land of Delight, the pure realm of Amitābha, called Sukhāvatī. The Kangyur includes Tibetan translations of two of these texts: this one, often called the “shorter” Sukhāvatī , and the “longer” sūtra, with the formal title The Array of Amitābha (Toh 49 in the Heap of Jewels section). The third, The Amitāyus Meditation Sūtra, is only extant in Chinese.

The shorter sūtra, according to the Sanskrit scholar Luis Gomez, first appeared in its written form during the first century ᴄᴇ, possibly in what was then Northwest India and is now Pakistan.

Source Text and Various Versions

i.2A Sanskrit version of the smaller Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī is extant today, as well as Tibetan and Chinese translations. All the translations show some variation from the Sanskrit source in content and style, which can be attributed in part to cultural and geographic conditions in Tibet and China. The translations have become more influential than the original itself, for which we presently lack any contextual information.

i.3There are several Chinese translations of this sūtra, dating from between 240 and 400 ᴄᴇ, but only one Tibetan version, translated in the eighth or ninth century. The Chinese versions of the sūtra spread through China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam and played an important role in the formation of the Pure Land schools in these countries. These versions appear to embellish the description of the wonders of the realm of Sukhāvatī, whereas the Tibetan version is more subdued and shows its main variations from the Sanskrit original in the names and the number of buddhas presiding over the different buddha realms. The various editions in the Tibetan canon, i.e., the Degé, Narthang, Peking, and Lhasa editions, show no major differences that would alter any meaning.

i.4For the present translation, we have followed the Tibetan text, while comparing it with the Sanskrit original. Concerning the enumeration of names of the buddhas presiding over the various buddha realms, we have retained their original Sanskrit names, unless the Tibetan text had names without a known Sanskrit equivalent, in which case we chose to translate those names into English. The differences are further commented on in notes.

i.5The Tibetan version of the smaller Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī was translated by the Indian preceptor Dānaśīla and the chief editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé, as indicated in the colophon.

Main Points of the Subject Matter

i.6The sūtra’s overall subject is revealed in the title. The Sanskrit term sukhāvatī , in Tibetan Dewachen (bde ba can), designates a realm of delight, a place where no suffering is experienced. The inhabitants of this realm are spiritually advanced beings who enjoy the presence of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats, and engage exclusively in wholesome activities. The principal buddha of this realm has two names, Amitāyus (Limitless Life) and Amitābha (Limitless Light). Even though it is not explicitly stated in this particular sūtra, Amitāyus is, in Vajrayāna contexts, sometimes considered a sambhogakāya form of Buddha Amitābha.

The term vyūha (Tib. bkod pa) means “display,” indicating that the sūtra is to a large extent a description of this buddha realm and its characteristics. It is a land with lakes and forests full of jewels, with magical birds, and with little bells producing lovely sounds. Its ideal environment enhances the spiritual practice of Sukhāvatī’s inhabitants.

Four Main Topics

i.7The sūtra contains four main topics: (1) the description of Sukhāvatī; (2) the prerequisites needed to take birth in this realm; (3) praise of this discourse expressed by other buddhas; and (4) the Buddha Śākyamuni’s supreme feat.

The Setting

i.8The narrative of the sūtra takes place in Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, where the Buddha Śākyamuni, in the presence of a large audience consisting of arhats and bodhisattvas, addresses his disciple Śāriputra and tells him about the realm of Sukhāvatī. The sūtra is in large part a discourse spoken by the Buddha. Even though the Buddha regularly asks the question, “Śāriputra, what do you think about this?” Śāriputra speaks only at the very end of the sūtra and praises the Buddha.

The sūtra ends with a short dialogue between Śāriputra and the Buddha Śākyamuni that highlights the difficulty of the Buddha Śākyamuni’s attaining enlightenment and preaching in a degenerate age.

The Significance of Buddha Realms

i.9The notion of innumerable buddha realms coexisting with our reality became popular with the emergence of Mahāyāna Buddhism around the first century ᴄᴇ. They have been interchangeably translated as buddhafields, buddha realms, or pure lands.

In The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī, the Land of Delight is described as a realm beyond space and time. The two larger sūtras elaborate on the history of its emergence. According to those sūtras, the Land of Delight is the result of the powerful vows of the Buddha Amitābha, who out of great compassion created a safe environment for fortunate beings to progress toward spiritual maturity. The smaller sūtra, however, refers only to the existence of such a realm and its characteristics.

In this sūtra, the Buddha Śākyamuni explains the manner in which beings take birth in this realm: fortunate sons and daughters are told to accumulate a significant amount of merit and direct their faith single-mindedly toward the Buddha Amitābha.

Śākyamuni’s discourse mentions an alternative title for this sūtra. He explains that there are countless buddha realms with tathāgatas who praise Sukhāvatī with a Dharma discourse called “Complete Embrace by All Buddhas.”

References to the Sūtra in the Tibetan Canon

i.10The various sūtras of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī have inspired Tibetan masters to write prayers and practice rituals that allow adepts to enter Amitābha’s realm. There are numerous Sukhāvatī-related compositions available in the Tengyur and in different collected works (gsung ’bum).

The Collection of Prayers for Sukhāvatī (bde smon phyogs bsgrigs) is a collection of prayers, practice rituals, and commentaries concerning the pure land of Amitābha. An edition was published in Chengdu in 2007 by Sichuan Minorities Publishing House (Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang).

One of the Tibetan masters who made Sukhāvatī a particular focus of attention was Chagmé Rinpoché (’chags med, 1610–78). He composed The Long Prayer of Sukhāvatī (mkhas grub rā ga a syas mdzad pa’i rnam dag bde chen zhing gi smon lam), among others.

Furthermore, the well-known Noble King of Prayers for Good Conduct (’phags pa bzang po spyod pa’i smon lam gyi rgyal po), recited by adherents of all Tibetan schools, concludes with the aspiration for rebirth in the pure realm of Sukhāvatī. Praying to be born in the pure realm of Amitābha has become a major practice in Mahāyāna Buddhism.

Academic Research

i.11There appears to have been no translation of the Tibetan Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī prior to the one published here. However, the Sanskrit version of the sūtra was translated into English and edited by Max Müller and Bunyiu Nanjio in Müller and Nanjio (1883).

Luis O. Gomez has published a nonliteral, poetic translation of the Sanskrit and Chinese versions of the smaller and larger sūtras and gives an introduction to the main topics (Gomez 1996). His literal translation of the same sūtras is forthcoming. Hisao Inagaki has translated the three Pure Land sūtras on the basis of their Chinese versions; this translation appears in the BDK English Tripiṭaka Vol. 12, Berkeley, 1995. An earlier translation from the Chinese was published in Utsuki (1924).

Nakamura (1987) presents an historical introduction to the beginnings of Pure Land Buddhism and its textual sources in Indian Buddhism.