SUKHAVATI

(Sanskrit: Pure Land), in Mahayana Buddhism, the Western Paradise of the Buddha Amitabha, described in the Pure Land sutras (Sukhavati-vyuha-sutras). According to followers of the Pure Land sects, which are widespread throughout East Asia, rebirth in Sukhavati is ensured by invoking the name of Amitabha (q.v.), particularly at the moment of death. No woman, however virtuous, may enter Sukhavati until she has first attained masculinity through rebirth. Sukhavati is expressively described in the Pure Land sutras as being a joyous world, soft and glowing, filled with the music of birds and the tinkling of trees adorned with precious jewels and garlands of golden bells. Amitabha sits on a lotus in the midst of a terraced pond, attended by the bodhisattvas (buddhas-to-be) Avalokitsvara and Mahasthamaprapta. The newly dead enter into lotus buds, which unfold when the occupants have become entirely purified. They remain eternally in this land of bliss until the time of their final enlightenment. See also Pure Land Buddhism.