delivered by Shakyamuni Buddha

Passing from here through hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddha-lands to the West, there is a land called Ultimate Bliss. In this land, at this moment, a Buddha named Amitabha teaches the Dharma.

The majestic virtue of Amitabha is boundless. His life is so long that it is impossible for anyone to calculate it. All the innumerable, uncountable and inconceivable Buddhas, Tathagatas, in the worlds of the ten quarters praise him.

The ocean of Amitabha's wisdom is deep, vast and boundless. Even sages of the Hinayana cannot fathom it; only the Buddha clearly knows it. Let us suppose that all human beings, without exception, have attained Enlightenment, and, with pure wisdom, realized original emptiness.
Even if they pondered on the Buddha's wisdom for myriads of kalpas, and expounded it with the utmost effort all through their lives, they would not come to exhaustive knowledge of it. The Buddha's wisdom is thus limitless and pure to its depths.

According to the Sutra on Universally Incalculable Longevity the gist of the teaching of the Immaculate Terrain is that many ages ago there was a king who renounced his throne in order to become a monk by the name of Hozo. At this time there was a Buddha called Seijizai-O from whom Hozo sought guidance in order to attain to enlightenment. He became the bodhisattva Dharmakara and made a series of forty-eight vows and avowed to establish his own Buddha terrain. In his eighteenth vow Dharmakara promised to bring all sentient beings to his Immaculate Terrain which he called Sukhavati "Ultimate Bliss" on the invocation of his name.

When I have become a Buddha, my land shall be most exquisite, and its people wonderful and unexcelled; the seat of Enlightenment shall be supreme. My land, being like Nirvana itself, shall be beyond comparison.

I take pity on living beings
And resolve to save them all.

Those who come from the ten quarters shall find joy and serenity of heart; when they reach my land, they shall dwell in peace and happiness.

Amitabha Buddha

For five full kalpas he contemplated the vows, and then chose the pure practices for the establishment of his Buddha-land.

 


The great vows, excerpts

If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and call my Name, even ten times, should not be born there, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment. Excluded, however, are those who commit the Five Grave Offences and abuse the right Dharma.

If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters, 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.


Amitabha hears the calling of his name,
and appears with a host of sages.

If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters who, having heard my Name, concentrate their thoughts on my land, plant roots of virtue, and sincerely transfer their merits towards my land with a desire to be born there, should not eventually fulfill their aspiration, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.

Amitabha Buddha

 

After innumerable kalpas of austerities Dharmakara finally attained the highest, perfect Enlightenment as:

Amitayus Buddha (Sanskrit)
Amituo Fo (China)
Amida Butsu (Japan)
Öpamé (Tibet)

In accordance with his eighteenth vow all those people who remember Amitabha with sincerity can be reborn in his land. In the esoteric doctrine the Buddha Amida is the Buddha of the western region; the Pure Land, the Western Paradise.

Until you were born in this life, you, too, underwent endless cycles of birth-and-death. Now you have been able to learn about Amitabha. What pleasure and joy this is for you and for me to share.

Seek your own emancipation and then turn to saving others; straightforwardly aspire to be born in the Pure Land and accumulate roots of virtue. However hard you may practice in this life, it can only be for a short while. In the life to come you will be born in the land of Amitabha and enjoy endless bliss there.

All good men and women who hear the Name of Amitabha Buddha expounded by all the Buddhas and the name of this sutra are protected by all the Buddhas and dwell in the Stage of Non-retrogression for realizing the highest, perfect Enlightenment. This is why you should accept my words and the teachings of all the Buddhas.

Non-retrogression: One does not fall back into the cycle of life, samsara.