Sukhavati

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Sukhāvatī (Sanskrit: सुखावती sukhāvatī) refers to the western Pure Land of the Buddha Amitābha in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Sukhāvatī translates to "Land of Bliss."

In other languages

In traditional Mahayana Buddhist countries, there are a number of translations for Sukhāvatī. The Tibetan name for Sukhāvatī is Dewachen (བདེ་བ་ཅན་, bde ba can). In Chinese it is called Jílè (極樂, "Ultimate Bliss"), Ānlè (安樂, "Peaceful Bliss"), or Xītiān (西天, "Western Heaven"). In Japanese it is called Gokuraku (極楽, "Ultimate Bliss") or Anraku (安楽, "Peaceful Bliss").

Nine levels of birth

In the final part of the Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra, Śākyamuni Buddha discusses the 9 levels into which those born into the Pure Land are categorized. The levels are ranked from highest to lowest as follows:[1]

  1. The highest level of the highest grade
  2. The middle level of the highest grade
  3. The lowest level of the highest grade
  4. The highest level of the middle grade
  5. The middle level of the middle grade
  6. The lowest level of the middle grade
  7. The highest level of the lowest grade
  8. The middle level of the lowest grade
  9. The lowest level of the lowest grade

Other meanings

In Western Tibetan Buddhism, this word describes the Buddhist funeral.[2]

References

  1. http://sfshambhala.org/pdfs/Ceremony_of_Sukhavati-detailed.pdf
  2. http://sfshambhala.org/pdfs/Ceremony_of_Sukhavati-detailed.pdf

External links

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