The Founding Narrative
A story forms the heart and foundation of Pure Land Buddhism. Elements of the story are scattered across several texts, much the same way that the life of Jesus rests on four Gospels and a few other sources. Nevertheless, just as most Christians think of the life of Jesus as a single story synthesized from the texts, the narrative about to unfold is “The Story” for all practitioners of Pure Land.
To begin, then, I will recount this narrative, and in the next section I will say a few words about the sources.
Many eons ago, a buddha named Lokeśvararāja appeared in the world. An unnamed king heard of this and developed the aspiration to attain enlightenment under his tutelage and for the sake of all beings. Renouncing his kingdom, he became a monk-bodhisattva named Dharmākara and joined Lokeśvararāja’s assembly.
As Dharmākara outlined his religious aims to his master, he laid particular emphasis upon the various qualities of the “buddha-land” that he intended to establish upon his enlightenment. It would be the best among all such lands, all living beings would have recourse to it, and once there they would escape all suffering, find peace, receive teaching, and be certain of becoming buddhas themselves. After he finished setting forth his objectives, he asked Lokeśvararāja to explain how one goes about arraying such a buddha-land.
Lokeśvararāja praised the sincerity of Dharmākara’s aspiration and described the features of an astoundingly large number of existing buddha-lands for him. After this lesson, Dharmākara spent five eons pondering all these buddha-lands in order to determine the kinds of vows and practices he would need to undertake to grace his future land with all their best features.
When he was done, he went back before Lokeśvararāja to announce his plans and utter the vows that would determine the nature of his buddha-land and of its inhabitants.
Numbering forty-eight in total, these vows all took the same form: only if his land and its inhabitants had such-and-such a characteristic would Dharmākara accept full and perfect enlightenment. After he set forth his vows, Dharmākara embarked on a period of study and training that would last an immeasurable number of eons. During this time he perfected his wisdom, his compassion, and his virtue as he passed from one lifetime to another.
Finally, ten eons ago, he achieved perfect awakening and became the buddha known both as Amitābha (Immeasurable Light) and Amitāyus (Immeasurable Life). The fact that he attained his goal means that all his vows had come to fruition, since he had made this his condition for accepting buddhahood. Thus his land, called “Utmost Bliss” (Sukhāvatī) came into being with all the features he had envisioned. When one knows the vows, one knows the buddha and his land.
Some of these vows establish the character and fame of the buddha Amitābha himself. His life span has no limit (number 13). Buddhas and bodhisattvas dwelling in lands uncountable praise and glorify his name (17). He emits brilliant light that reaches everywhere (12), and whoever the light touches feels profound peace and happiness (33). Just hearing his name will enable beings to realize the deepest truths of Buddhism (34). Likewise, hearing his name will enable women who wish to renounce the female form to do so, and enable all beings to engage in sacred practices until they attain buddhahood (35, 36; we will return to the apparent bias against women in chapter 16).
No beings who hear his name will ever be born with defective sense organs (41). They will also be able to visit and make offerings to innumerable buddhas while immersed in deep meditation and will only be born into noble families (42, 43).
Other vows describe the details of the land and its inhabitants. One will not find the realms of animals, hungry ghosts, or hells there (1), only humans and devas (deities). They will all have the same golden appearance, and they will never again fall into the three evil paths just named (2, 3, 4).
Several vows specify that they will have abilities normally associated with very advanced progress along the path. They will remember uncountable past lives (5) and have the divine eye and divine ear with which to see and hear anything throughout the cosmos (6, 7). They will read others’ minds (8), be able to travel anywhere in the cosmos in an instant (9), be free of all attachments (10), and dwell in the “definitely assured stage” in which they know with certainty that they will reach buddhahood (11).
Practitioners in his land will be numerous beyond measure (14), and their life spans will have no limit (15). All of them will display the thirty-two bodily marks of a “great being” (21), be “once-returners’ ” (that is, beings who will attain buddhahood in one more lifetime (22), and be able to expound the teachings perfectly (23, 29, 30).
The land itself will be made of dazzling jewels (31) and will be outfitted with palaces and pavilions made of jewels and fragrant woods (32). Up to this point, the story seems to indicate that only those who have already traveled far along the Buddhist path will make it into this buddha-land.
However, three of the vows (18, 19, and 20) set out terms without which the Pure Land tradition could never have developed. Here they are in full:
18. 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.
19. If, when I attain buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten directions who awaken aspiration for enlightenment, do various meritorious deeds, and sincerely desire to be born in my land, should not, at their death, see me appear before them surrounded by a multitude of sages, may I not attain perfect enlightenment.
20. If, when I attain buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten directions who, having heard my Name, concentrate their thoughts on my land, plant roots of virtue, and sincerely transfer their merits toward my land with a desire to be born there should not eventually fulfill their aspiration, may I not attain perfect enlightenment.
These vows open up the possibility that practitioners at much lower levels of achievement might also attain rebirth in the Land of Utmost Bliss. As we will soon see, another scripture even removes the restriction against those who have committed the deeds that are said here to exclude them.
There is more, however. While the three vows above seem to open a path into the Land of Utmost Bliss for people with no practice, or even to evil people, the scriptures also indicate that not all rebirths in this land are the same.
There are higher and lower levels of rebirth, and the more one accomplishes before death, the higher the level one gains upon arrival.
A higher level puts one closer to the center, enables one to hear the teachings directly from the buddha Amitābha, and shortens the time it will take to become a buddha.
Conversely, rebirth at a lower level means one alights near the outer border or even in a special zone just outside the land, receives instruction from the Buddha’s bodhisattva assistants rather than from the Buddha, and it will take much longer to complete the path to full awakening.
Despite these differences, the most important thing remains true for all: birth in the Pure Land at any level guarantees that one has escaped the endless round of birth and death and now dwells in a place of perfect bliss, and one may remain there as long as it takes to achieve buddhahood.
To summarize: Once upon a time, a highly motivated bodhisattva just setting out on the path to buddhahood declared that his future buddha-land would be the best one possible, and that beings of all capacities and at any stage of practice would be able to reach it; otherwise, he would not become a buddha.
Now, this buddha has created and arrayed the land called “Utmost Bliss,” which lies to the west of our world beyond countless other buddha-lands. In this way he has provided an “easy path” for ordinary people who cannot engage in strict ascetic practice and study.
Amitābha will meet beings at their time of death and conduct them to birth in this land, and once they are there, they will have escaped suffering forever and can begin their long but unstoppable ascent to perfect awakening. This is a source of hope and the basis for all the practices found under the umbrella of Pure Land Buddhism.
Source: Jones, Charles B. Pure Land: History, Tradition, and Practice. Boulder, Colorado: Shambhala Publications, 2021.
The above text is excerpted from Chapter 1 (“The Story of Amitabha and His Pure Land”) of the book. The title at the top, “A Great Source of Hope”, has been added.
A highly motivated bodhisattva just setting out on the path to buddhahood declared that his future buddha-land would be the best one possible, and that beings of all capacities and at any stage of practice would be able to reach it; otherwise, he would not become a buddha.
Now, this buddha has created and arrayed the land called “Utmost Bliss,” which lies to the west of our world beyond countless other buddha-lands.….
Amitābha will meet beings at their time of death and conduct them to birth in this land, and once they are there, they will have escaped suffering forever and can begin their long but unstoppable ascent to perfect awakening. This is a source of hope and the basis for all the practices found under the umbrella of Pure Land Buddhism.
(Adapted from Charles B. Jones, Pure Land: History, Tradition, and Practice.)