Infinite Life Sutra
Encyclopedia
The Infinite Life Sūtra, or Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra ( ; ) is a Mahāyāna
Buddhist
sūtra, and the primary text of Pure Land Buddhism
. It is the longest of the three major texts of Pure Land Buddhism. Alternate Sanskrit titles of this text include Amitābhavyūha Sūtra, Amitāyuḥ Sūtra, and Aparimitāyuḥ Sūtra.
bhikṣu
s, which flourished in the Gandhāra
region. It is likely that the longer Sukhāvatīvyūha owed greatly to the Lokottaravāda sect as well for its compilation, and in this sūtra there are many elements in common with the Mahāvastu
. The earliest of these translations show traces of having been translated from the Gāndhārī language
, a prakrit
used in the Northwest. It is also known that manuscripts in the Kharoṣṭhī script existed in China during this period.
Traditionally the Infinite Life Sūtra is believed to have been translated twelve times from the original Sanskrit into Chinese from 147 to 713 CE. Of those, only five translations are extant in the Chinese Buddhist canon
. The earliest of the five translations is attributed to Zhi Qian
, who came from the Kuṣāṇa kingdom to Luoyang during the decline of the Han Dynasty
and translated the sūtra sometime between 223 and 253 CE. This translation is known most commonly as Dà Āmítuófó Jīng (大阿彌陀經), or "Larger Sūtra of the Amitābha Buddha." This translation has also been attributed to the earlier Han period Kuṣāṇa translator Lokakṣema
, who arrived in Luoyang
in 164 CE and translated works through 186 CE.
The most well-known version of the Infinite Life Sūtra is the two-fascicle Fó Shuō Wúliángshòu Jīng (Ch. 佛說無量壽經), which translates to "The Buddha Speaks of the Infinite Life Sūtra." This translation is traditionally attributed to the Indian Buddhist monk Saṅghavarman (Ch. 康僧鎧 Kāng Sēngkǎi), who translated the text in 252 CE at White Horse Temple
in Luoyang, during the Three Kingdoms Period
. However, the common opinion now is that it was more likely a work of the later Indian monk and translator Buddhabhadra
(359-429 CE).
In addition to the Chinese translations, the Infinite Life Sūtra is also extant in Sanskrit.
begins by describing to his attendant Ānanda
a past life of the buddha Amitābha. He states that in a past life, Amitābha was once king who renounced his kingdom, and became a bodhisattva
monk named Dharmākara ("Dharma Storehouse"). Under the guidance of the buddha Lokeśvararāja ("World Sovereign King"), innumerable buddha-lands throughout the ten directions were revealed to him. After meditating for five eons as a bodhisattva, he then made a great series of vows to save all sentient beings
, and through his great merit, created the realm of Sukhāvatī ("Ultimate Bliss"). This land of Sukhāvatī would later come to be known as the Pure Land (Ch. 淨土) in Chinese translation.
The sūtra describes in great detail Sukhāvatī and its inhabitants, and how they are able to attain rebirth there. The text also provides a detailed account of the various levels and beings in the Mahāyāna Buddhist cosmology.
The sūtra also contains the forty-eight vows of Amitābha Buddha to save all sentient beings. The eighteenth vow is among the most important as it forms a basic tenet of the Pure Land school. This vow is most commonly known as shí niàn bì shēng yuàn (Ch. 十念必生願), because it states that if a sentient being makes even "ten recitations" (Ch. 十念 shí niàn) of the Amitābha Buddha's name they will attain "certain rebirth" (Ch. 必生 bì shēng) into the Pure Land.
Lastly the sutra shows the Buddha discoursing at length to the next Buddha to come, Maitreya
, describing the various forms of evil that Maitreya must avoid to achieve his goal of becoming a Buddha, as well as other admonitions and advice.
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
sūtra, and the primary text of Pure Land Buddhism
Pure Land Buddhism
Pure Land Buddhism , also referred to as Amidism in English, is a broad branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism and currently one of the most popular traditions of Buddhism in East Asia. Pure Land is a branch of Buddhism focused on Amitābha Buddha...
. It is the longest of the three major texts of Pure Land Buddhism. Alternate Sanskrit titles of this text include Amitābhavyūha Sūtra, Amitāyuḥ Sūtra, and Aparimitāyuḥ Sūtra.
History and translations
Some scholars believe that the Infinite Life Sūtra was compiled in the age of the Kuṣāṇa Dynasty, in the first and second centuries CE, by an order of MahīśāsakaMahisasaka
Mahīśāsaka is one of the early Buddhist schools according to some records. Its origins may go back to the dispute in the Second Buddhist Council...
bhikṣu
Bhikkhu
A Bhikkhu or Bhikṣu is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni Nepali: ). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline...
s, which flourished in the Gandhāra
Gandhara
Gandhāra , is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
region. It is likely that the longer Sukhāvatīvyūha owed greatly to the Lokottaravāda sect as well for its compilation, and in this sūtra there are many elements in common with the Mahāvastu
Mahavastu
The Mahāvastu is a text of the Lokottaravāda school of Early Buddhism. It describes itself as being a historical preface to the Buddhist monastic codes...
. The earliest of these translations show traces of having been translated from the Gāndhārī language
Gandhari language
Gāndhārī was a north-western prakrit spoken in Gāndhāra. Like all prakrits, it is thus descended from either Vedic Sanskrit or a closely related language. Gāndhārī was written in the script...
, a prakrit
Prakrit
Prakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
used in the Northwest. It is also known that manuscripts in the Kharoṣṭhī script existed in China during this period.
Traditionally the Infinite Life Sūtra is believed to have been translated twelve times from the original Sanskrit into Chinese from 147 to 713 CE. Of those, only five translations are extant in the Chinese Buddhist canon
Chinese Buddhist canon
The Chinese Buddhist Canon refers to the total body of Buddhist literature deemed canonical in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese Buddhism...
. The earliest of the five translations is attributed to Zhi Qian
Zhi Qian
Zhi Qian was a Chinese Buddhist layman of Yuezhi ancestry who translated a wide range of Indian Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. He was the grandson of an immigrant from the country of the Great Yuezhi, an area that overlapped to at least some extent with the territory of the Kushan Empire...
, who came from the Kuṣāṇa kingdom to Luoyang during the decline of the Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
and translated the sūtra sometime between 223 and 253 CE. This translation is known most commonly as Dà Āmítuófó Jīng (大阿彌陀經), or "Larger Sūtra of the Amitābha Buddha." This translation has also been attributed to the earlier Han period Kuṣāṇa translator Lokakṣema
Lokaksema
Lokakṣema , born around 147 CE, was the earliest known Buddhist monk to have translated Mahayana sutras into the Chinese language and as such was an important figure in Buddhism in China. The name Lokakṣema means 'welfare of the world' in Sanskrit.-Origins:Lokaksema was a Kushan of Yuezhi ethnicity...
, who arrived in Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
in 164 CE and translated works through 186 CE.
The most well-known version of the Infinite Life Sūtra is the two-fascicle Fó Shuō Wúliángshòu Jīng (Ch. 佛說無量壽經), which translates to "The Buddha Speaks of the Infinite Life Sūtra." This translation is traditionally attributed to the Indian Buddhist monk Saṅghavarman (Ch. 康僧鎧 Kāng Sēngkǎi), who translated the text in 252 CE at White Horse Temple
White Horse Temple
White Horse Temple is, according to tradition, the first Buddhist temple in China, established in 68 AD under the patronage of Emperor Ming in the Eastern Han capital Luoyang. Today the site is located just outside the walls of the ancient Eastern Han capital, some east of Luoyang in Henan...
in Luoyang, during the Three Kingdoms Period
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...
. However, the common opinion now is that it was more likely a work of the later Indian monk and translator Buddhabhadra
Buddhabhadra
There were two Indian Buddhist masters named Buddhabhadra in China, both lived during the 5th century CE:* Buddhabhadra * Buddhabhadra...
(359-429 CE).
In addition to the Chinese translations, the Infinite Life Sūtra is also extant in Sanskrit.
Contents
In the Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, the BuddhaGautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
begins by describing to his attendant Ānanda
Ananda
Ānanda was one of the principal disciples and a devout attendant of the Buddha. Amongst the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda had the most retentive memory and most of the suttas in the Sutta Pitaka are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council...
a past life of the buddha Amitābha. He states that in a past life, Amitābha was once king who renounced his kingdom, and became a bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
monk named Dharmākara ("Dharma Storehouse"). Under the guidance of the buddha Lokeśvararāja ("World Sovereign King"), innumerable buddha-lands throughout the ten directions were revealed to him. After meditating for five eons as a bodhisattva, he then made a great series of vows to save all sentient beings
Sentient beings (Buddhism)
Sentient beings is a technical term in Buddhist discourse. Broadly speaking, it denotes beings with consciousness or sentience or, in some contexts, life itself. Specifically, it denotes the presence of the five aggregates, or skandhas...
, and through his great merit, created the realm of Sukhāvatī ("Ultimate Bliss"). This land of Sukhāvatī would later come to be known as the Pure Land (Ch. 淨土) in Chinese translation.
The sūtra describes in great detail Sukhāvatī and its inhabitants, and how they are able to attain rebirth there. The text also provides a detailed account of the various levels and beings in the Mahāyāna Buddhist cosmology.
The sūtra also contains the forty-eight vows of Amitābha Buddha to save all sentient beings. The eighteenth vow is among the most important as it forms a basic tenet of the Pure Land school. This vow is most commonly known as shí niàn bì shēng yuàn (Ch. 十念必生願), because it states that if a sentient being makes even "ten recitations" (Ch. 十念 shí niàn) of the Amitābha Buddha's name they will attain "certain rebirth" (Ch. 必生 bì shēng) into the Pure Land.
Lastly the sutra shows the Buddha discoursing at length to the next Buddha to come, Maitreya
Maitreya
Maitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...
, describing the various forms of evil that Maitreya must avoid to achieve his goal of becoming a Buddha, as well as other admonitions and advice.
Commentaries
In addition to translations and manuscripts of the Infinite Life Sūtra, many historical commentaries on this text were written in China, Japan, and Korea.External links
- The Infinite Life Sutra, Part One - translation from Chinese by Hisao Inagaki
- The Infinite Life Sutra, Part Two - translation from Chinese by Hisao Inagaki
- 佛說無量壽經 - The Infinite Life Sutra in traditional Chinese. (Acrobat PDF file)
- The Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra or The Sutra on the Buddha of Eternal Life Translated from the Sanskrit by F. Max Mueller, edited by Richard St. Clair