Buddhism as magic: Amitabha's heaven

The Tale of Amitabha Sutra, [not] spoken of by the [historical] Buddha

(Wisdom Tellers) March 29, 2024: Explore the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss (Sukhavati) with Buddha Amitabha, [not] spoken by the [historical] Buddha [but added later in apocryphal texts attributed to the Buddha, as many Mahayana sutras are something other than authentic texts spoken by the historical figure of the Buddha and his first enlightened disciples as represented in the Pali language canon].

Join us on a profound journey through the realms of [the journey to] enlightenment. #Amitabha

What is the "pure land"?

Sukhavati (Sukhāvatī, "blissful") is the pure land of Amitābha ("Infinite Light") in Mahayana Buddhism.

• Mahayana ("Greater Vehicle") is an amalgamation of Hinduism (Brahminical Brahmanism) taking the historical Buddha's Doctrine (Dharma) and making it align with the very (Vedic) beliefs the Buddha opposed and argued against, revivifying the meaning of obscure texts and stories from the ancient "Knowledge Books" of Proto-India. But the Brahmins had their views and were not going to lose them to this new shramana ("wandering ascetic") movement headed by Shakyamuni Buddha (the Scythian Siddhartha Gautama) and Mahavira (the Nigantha Nattaputta, founder of Jainism).
• Therefore, elements of Mahayana Buddhism are almost indistinguishable from modern Hinduism even if at their core their ambition is different. One would not know it's different because it's clothed in the same sort of fanciful language of a "higher self" (atman) merging with the Infinite (Brahman) until there's no distinction (advaita) and we are returned to our original luminous state of mind. The historical Buddha spoke of "pure lands" as worlds where once-returners and non-returners might be reborn to advance towards arhatship. Such worlds only exist when the teaching of a Buddha still exists in the world because that is how they came to be once-returners and non-returners. It may sound silly, but this is because when someone reaches the first stage of enlightenment (called stream entry), one will at most be reborn seven more times. If one progresses no further, one is nevertheless sure of reaching full enlightenment within seven lives. 
• Although there are other stages detailed in the Path to Freedom (Vimuttimagga), these are abbreviated to four in the later commentarial and exegetical text the Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga), which is regarded as canonical (official doctrine) in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. This abbreviation results in four classes of enlightened individuals: stream-enterers, once-returners, non-returners, and arhats. There is more than one kind of stream-enterer, who have at most fewer and fewer rebirths to endure.
• With practice, a stream-enterer may become an arhat in the same life. Practicing no further, that same person nevertheless faces no more than seven more rebirths. The next class of noble ones (Aryans) is the once-returner who will at most be reborn in this world one more time. (This seems to open up the possibility of being reborn in a sukhavati, a place where all the beings study the Dharma until they reach liberation without again being reborn in a lower world. As there are more than one such worlds, one can imagine being reborn in more than one of those worlds). Still such attainers are once-returners (sakkadagamis).
• The next stage and class is non-returning, who is no longer liable to being reborn in the human world again. (One of the extraordinary things about stream-enterers and the others is that they have all overcome the possibility of being reborn in any world lower than the human plane). But the non-returner, not returning to this plane of existence, is reborn in a sukhavati (pure abode), there to reach arhatship in however long it takes.
• The arhat is the fully enlightened person, who it must be noted is not the "supremely" enlightened. The enlightenment of a buddha and that of a disciple is the same in many respects. But a disciple is not likely to be able to teach others effectively and can in no way establish the Dharma in the world. This kind of enlightenment is called "supreme" (samma-sam-bodhi, "all the way around enlightenment" with the linguistic and other abilities to be able to establish the Dharma and a Sangha).
• There is another kind of "full" enlightenment between these two, and that is the enlightenment of a pacceka-buddha ("non-teaching" or "silent" buddha). This person sees all and knows all just like a supremely awakened buddha but does not possess the Ten Powers of a Buddha to effectively teach or establish the Dharma.
• All three are nevertheless called arhats; therefore, all buddhas are arhats, but not all arhats are buddhas. It's nitpicking, but it's important to make the distinction for scholarship purposes. The more interesting nitpicking distinctions are those in the first category: Stream entry has four kinds, like those born among noble families and the bija-bija. See The Path to Freedom (Upatissa) for details.

Sukhavati Pure Land is also called the "Land of Bliss" or the "Western Paradise" and is the most well-known of the Buddhist pure lands due to the popularity of faith-based Pure Land Buddhism in East Asia.

Etymology and names

Sukhavati the word is the feminine form of the Sanskrit word sukhāvat ("full of joy," "blissful") [1, 2] from sukha ("delight," "joy") and -vat ("full of") [3].

Sukhavati is known by different names in other languages. East Asian names are based on Chinese translations, and longer names may consist of the words "Western," "Blissful," and "Pure Land" in various combinations.

Some names and combinations are more popular in certain countries. Due to its importance, Sukhavati is often simply called "The Pure Land" without distinguishing it from other pure lands. Wiki: Sukhavati

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