The Amita Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha

2. The Name of Sukhāvatī

At that time, the Buddha addressed the Venerable Śāriputra:

"In the western direction, beyond a hundred thousand koṭis of buddha-lands, there is a world called Sukhāvatī. In that land there is a buddha called Amita, who is currently abiding, teaching the Dharma. 

"O Śāriputra! For what reason is that land called Sukhāvatī? The sentient beings in that land do not experience any suffering but only experience all kinds of bliss. For that reason, it is called Sukhāvatī. 

3. The Adornments

"Further, O Śāriputra, the land of Sukhāvatī has seven railings, seven nets, and seven rows of trees, and all over are the four jewels. Therefore, that land is called Sukhāvatī.

4. The Ponds, Jewel Trees, and Lotuses

"Further, O Śāriputra, the land of Sukhāvatī has seven jewelled ponds filled with waters of the eight qualities. The bottoms of the ponds are covered with pure gold sand. On the four sides are staircases made of gold, silver, vaiḍūrya, and crystal. Above them are pavilions, which are gloriously adorned with gold, silver, vaiḍūrya, crystal, sapphire, ruby, and cornelian. The lotus flowers in the ponds are as big as cartwheels, and are blue in colour and blue in light, yellow in colour and yellow in light, red in colour and red in light, white in colour and white in light, and with a sublimely pure fragrance. O Śāriputra! The land of Sukhāvatī is adorned with such merits.

5. The Instruments, Flowers, and Homage to other Buddhas

"Further, O Śāriputra, in that buddha-land, there is always the sounding forth of divine music; the ground is golden; day and night, six times, divine mandārava flowers rain down. Every morning, the beings in that land take a basket of various sublime flowers to make offerings to a hundred thousand koṭis of buddhas in other lands; then, at mealtime, they return to that land to eat and stroll about. 

"O Śāriputra! The land of Sukhāvatī is adorned with such merits.

6. The Birds and the Realms

"Further, O Śāriputra, in that land, there are always various wonderful and colourful birds, such as swans, peacocks, parrots, śārīs, kalaviṅkas, and jīvañjīvakas. These various birds, day and night, six times, emit harmonious and elegant calls; their calls issue forth Dharma teachings such as the five faculties, the five powers, the seven limbs of awakening, and the noble eightfold path. The beings in that land, having heard these calls, all arouse recollection of the Buddha, recollection of the Dharma, and recollection of the Saṅgha. 

"O Śāriputra! Do not think that these birds are actually born as the fruition of karmic faults. For what reason? In that buddha-land, there are no three unfortunate realms. O Śāriputra! In that buddha-land, there are not even the names of the three unfortunate realms, let alone their actual existence. These various birds were all manifested by Amita Buddha to issue forth the sound of the Dharma. 

7. The Sound of the Adornments

"O Śāriputra, the gentle breeze in that buddha-land causes the jewelled rows of trees and jewelled nets to issue forth subtle sounds like the simultaneous playing of a hundred thousand instruments. Those who hear those sounds will naturally arouse thoughts of recollection of the Buddha, recollection of the Dharma, and recollection of the Saṅgha. 

"O Śāriputra! That buddha-land is adorned with such merits.

8. The Name Amitābha

"O Śāriputra! What do you think? For what reason is that Buddha called Amita? O Śāriputra, the light of that Buddha is immeasurable, and its illumination is unobstructed throughout the lands in the ten directions. For that reason, he is called Amit[ābha].

9. The Name Amitāyus and his Saṅgha

"Further, O Śāriputra, the life span of that Buddha and the people there spans an immeasurable, limitless asaṃkhya of kalpas. So he is called Amit[āyus]. 

"O Śāriputra! It has been ten kalpas now since Amita Buddha attained buddhahood. 

"Further, O Śāriputra, that Buddha has innumerable and limitless śrāvaka disciples, all of whom are arhats and whose number cannot be reckoned; the bodhisattvas there are also like that. O Śāriputra! That buddha-land is adorned with such merits.

10. Arising in that Buddha-Land

"Further, O Śāriputra! The beings who arise in the land of Sukhāvatī are all avinivartanīya. Among them, many have one more birth. Their number is extremely great, and it cannot be reckoned and can only be expressed over an immeasurable, limitless asaṃkhya of kalpas. O Śāriputra! Those beings who hear this should always give rise to aspirations, aspiring to be born in that land. For what reason? Because they will come together with such good people.

"O Śāriputra! One cannot arise in that land by the cause and condition of insignificant wholesome roots of merit. O Śāriputra! Whichever son of good family or daughter of good family will hear the name of Amita Buddha and will firmly bear that name whether for one day, two days, three days, four days, five days, six days, or seven days, single-mindedly and without distraction, at the time of their death, Amita Buddha, together with his noble assembly, will appear before them. At the time of their death, their minds will be undisturbed, and they will attain rebirth in Amita Buddha's land of Sukhāvatī. 

"O Śāriputra! I see the benefit in this and, therefore, speak these words: If there are beings who hear this teaching, they should give rise to the aspiration to be born in that land.

11. The Buddhas of the Eastern Direction

"O Śāriputra! Just as I now praise the inconceivable merits of Amita Buddha, there are in the eastern direction also Akṣobhya Buddha, Merudhvaja Buddha, Mahāmeru Buddha, Meruprabhāsa Buddha, and Mañjughoṣa Buddha. These and other buddhas as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges River, each having covered their lands with the marks of their broad and long tongues, which completely cover a cosmos of three thousand great thousand worlds, declare the truth, saying: 'You beings should have faith in this declaration of inconceivable merits, this sūtra 'Protected by all Buddhas.'"

12. The Buddhas of the Southern Direction

"O Śāriputra! There are in the southern direction Candrasūryapradīpa Buddha, Yaśaḥprabha Buddha, Mahārciḥskandha Buddha, Merupradīpa Buddha, and Anantavīrya Buddha. These and other buddhas as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges River, each having covered their lands with the marks of their broad and long tongues, which completely cover a cosmos of three thousand great thousand worlds, declare the truth, saying: 'You beings should have faith in this declaration of inconceivable merits, this sūtra 'Protected by all Buddhas.'"

13. The Buddhas of the Western Direction

"O Śāriputra! There are in the western direction Amitāyus Buddha, Amitaskandha Buddha, Amitadhvaja Buddha, Mahāpradīpa Buddha, Mahāprabha Buddha, Ratnaketu Buddha, and Śuddharaśmiprabha Buddha. These and other buddhas as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges River, each having covered their lands with the marks of their broad and long tongues, which completely cover a cosmos of three thousand great thousand worlds, declare the truth, saying: 'You beings should have faith in this declaration of inconceivable merits, this sūtra 'Protected by all Buddhas.'"

14. The Buddhas of the Northern Direction

"O Śāriputra! There are in the northern direction Arciḥskandha Buddha, Vaiśvānaranirghoṣa Buddha, Duṣpradharṣa Buddha, Ādityasaṃbhava Buddha, and Jaleniprabha Buddha. These and other buddhas as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges River, each having covered their lands with the marks of their broad and long tongues, which completely cover a cosmos of three thousand great thousand worlds, declare the truth, saying: 'You beings should have faith in this declaration of inconceivable merits, this sūtra 'Protected by all Buddhas.'"

15. The Buddhas of the Nadir Direction

"O Śāriputra! There are in the nadir direction Siṃha Buddha, Yaśaḥ Buddha, Yaśaḥprabhāsa Buddha, Dharma Buddha, Dharmadhvaja Buddha, and Dharmadhara Buddha. These and other buddhas as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges River, each having covered their lands with the marks of their broad and long tongues, which completely cover a cosmos of three thousand great thousand worlds, declare the truth, saying: 'You beings should have faith in this declaration of inconceivable merits, this sūtra 'Protected by all Buddhas.'"

16. The Buddhas of the Zenith Direction

"O Śāriputra! There are in the zenith direction Brahmaghoṣa Buddha, Nakṣatrarāja Buddha, Gandhottama Buddha, Gandhaprabhāsa Buddha, Mahārciḥskandha Buddha, Ratnakusumasaṃpuṣpitagātra Buddha, Sālendrarāja Buddha, Ratnotpalaśrī Buddha, Sarvārthadarśin Buddha, and Sumerukalpa Buddha. These and other buddhas as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges River, each having covered their lands with the marks of their broad and long tongues, which completely cover a cosmos of three thousand great thousand worlds, declare the truth, saying: 'You beings should have faith in this declaration of inconceivable merits, this sūtra 'Protected by all Buddhas.'"

17. The Name of the Teaching

"O Śāriputra! What do you think? Why is this sūtra called 'Protected by All Buddhas?' O Śāriputra! Whichever son of good family or daughter of good family who will hear this sūtra, take up, and bear it, or who will hear the name of those buddhas, those sons of good family or daughters of good family will all be protected by those buddhas together, and they will all attain non-retrogression from anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Therefore, O Śāriputra, you should all believe in my words and what those buddhas taught.

"O Śāriputra! Whichever people have already aspired, are now aspiring, or will aspire, wishing to be born in Amita Buddha's land, all these people will attain non-retrogression from anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi and have been born in that land or are now being born, or will be born. Therefore, O Śāriputra, sons of good family and daughters of good family, if they have faith, should give rise to the aspiration to be born in that land.

18. The Praise of Śākyamuni

"O Śāriputra! Just as I now praise those buddhas' inconceivable merits, those buddhas also praise my inconceivable merits, and thus say: 

'Śākyamuni Buddha could do profoundly difficult and rare deeds. He could, amidst the unwholesome age of the five degenerations of the Sahā World, the degeneration of the kalpa, the degeneration of views, the degeneration of defilements, the degeneration of beings, and the degeneration of lifespans, attain anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, and, for the sake of all beings, teach the Dharma which is difficult to believe by all the world.' 

19. The Most Difficult of Difficulties

"O Śāriputra! You should know that I did this difficult deed amidst the unwholesome age of the five degenerations. Having attained anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, for the sake of all beings, I taught this Dharma, which is difficult to believe by all the world. This is profoundly difficult!"