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New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1968.
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A. L. DALLAPICCOLA
SUFFERING. SeeDuhkha (Suffering)
SUKHAVAT I. SeePure Lands
SUKHAVATIVYUHA-SUTRA
The title Sukhavatlvyuha-sutra(Sutra Displaying the
Land of Bliss) actually denotes two related but distinct
texts, both of which narrate aspects of the mythic story
of the buddha called AMITABHAor Amitayus (Chinese,
Amito; Japanese, Amida) and the paradise where he
resides called Sukhavat. Following Chinese precedent,
the two texts have commonly been distinguished as the
Larger Sutra (Chinese, Wuliangshou jing, Dajing;
Japanese, Muryojukyo, Daikyo; Sutra on the Buddha of
Immeasurable Life) and the Smaller Sutra(Amito jing,
Amidakyo,Sutra on Amitayus Buddha). These are early
MAHAYANAsutras, probably composed in northwest
India, and translations of the Larger Sutrabegan in
China in the second or third century. The pervasive-
ness of this belief is known by manuscripts of the Larger
Sutraalso extant in Sanskrit, Tibetan, Khotanese,
Uighur, and Xixia. Many core doctrines and practices
of the Pure Land school in East Asia are based on the
Sukhavatlvyuhasutras, but in fact there are 290 trans-
lated scriptures in the Chinese canon that discuss
Amitabha Buddha and his realm.
The sutras describe a cosmic order containing both
a sacred realm inhabited by buddhas and bodhisattvas
living in a paradise of fantastic proportions and an
mundane realm inhabited by ordinary people, ani-
mals, ghosts, and so on, transmigrating but trapped.
The sutras also describe the promise by Amitabha Bud-
dha to enable beings to transmigrate into his paradise.
This is possible through his vows (Sanskrit, prani-
dhana) and the Mahayana doctrine of merit-transfer.
Orthodox East Asian Pure Land thought views the
Buddha’s eighteenth vow in the Sanghavarman Chi-
nese translation as the authoritative expression of the
Buddha’s commitment to help anyone, as it asks only
that one sincerely hold in mind (or recite) the Bud-
dha’s name a minimum of ten moments in order to
be reborn in his Pure Land.See also:Pure Land SchoolsBibliography
Gómez, Luis, trans. and ed. The Land of Bliss: The Paradise of
the Buddha of Measureless Light, Sanskrit and Chinese Ver-
sions of the Sukhavatlvyuha Sutra.Honolulu: University of
Hawaii Press, 1996.
Inagaki, Hisao. The Three Pure Land Sutras: A Study and Trans-
lation from Chinese.Kyoto: Nagata Bunshodo, 1995.MARKL. BLUMSUKHOTHAISukhothai, the first Thai kingdom, was founded
around 1238 in the central part of present-day Thai-
land. In previous centuries, this area was under the sov-
ereignty of Khmer kings who practiced Hinduism and
MAHAYANABuddhism. The Thai, however, adopted
THERAVADABuddhism from Sri Lanka. Upon his re-
turn from Sri Lanka in the early 1330s, Si Satha, a high-
ranking monk, introduced a new Sinhalese sect along
with Buddha relics and artisans. The veneration of
relics played a significant role in this sect, which dra-
matically transformed the architecture and plans of
temple compounds. While earlier STUPAs (Thai, chedi)
in Sukhothai were in Khmer-tower form (prang; e.g.,
Wat Phraphai Luang), new innovative forms were builtSUFFERING