Amita-Buddha (Dpag-tu-med, dpag-yas)
Free translation is infinite light, or infinite longevity Buddha. As the leader of the western paradise. Under the threat of avalokitesvara and the two great bodhisattvas, he practiced enlightenment and attracted all beings in the pure land of bliss. This is the most familiar Tathagata in China's Buddhist circles.
According to the Infinite Life Sutra, Amitabha was a king before becoming a monk. Inspired by the Buddha in the world, he initiated the desire to seek the supremacy of Tao and became a monk. When he was practicing, he made forty-eight vows, vowing to build a solemn paradise and save all sentient beings who read the Buddha's name. Among them, there are three wishes:' Make me a Buddha, and all living beings in ten places believe in happiness, and are willing to live in our country for ten years. If they are not alive, they will not be enlightened. Except for the five evils, slander Buddhism. "Make me a Buddha, ten beings are bodhicitta, practice all kinds of merits, and make a wish to give birth to our country. Throughout his life, the fake order does not surround the public to show the front, and he does not take the right sense. " If I get the Buddha, all the people in the ten places will hear my name, cherish our country, cultivate virtues and return to the heart. They want to give birth to our country, and those who fail will not be enlightened. '
Appendix 1: Amitabha (from Buddhist Dictionary)
Amitabha Buddha, also translated as Infinite Pure Buddha, Infinite Life Buddha or Infinite Light Buddha, is regarded as the leader of the western paradise by Pure Land Sect. According to Sanskrit, Amitabha has two kinds of Sanskrit. First, Amita^bha, translated as boundless light. Amita^bha is a combination of adjective amita (boundless) and female noun a^bha^ (bright). The root of "rice" is "horse", which means "quantity"; Adding the suffix ta after mi becomes an adjective, meaning' limited'; Before Tammy, add a conjunction A that means "nothing" or "nothing" to form the word "amita". "A BHA" is the root of BHA (Guangyao), with the combination A with the meaning of "near", and its part of speech belongs to female nouns. But this does not mean boundless light, but the Buddha's name as boundless light. Therefore, the ending a of the root vowel is shortened to a short sound and becomes a male noun. Ami-ta Yus, translated as infinite life. Amita^yus consists of adjective amita and neutral noun a^yus (life span). It is said that the root of a^yus is' an', which means breathing, but some people think that the root of ay is ay (line), followed by the suffix us, which becomes a neutral noun and means' longevity'. When Roche translated the Sutra of Amitabha, he did not distinguish between the two and called it Amitabha.
According to the "Infinite Life Sutra", when the Buddha was born in the past, there was a king who heard the Buddha's words and became a monk, named Fazang. After that, Peter Fazang lived in Wang Qian, absorbed the wonderful land of 2 10 billion Buddha, and made 48 wishes. The eighteenth wish is the most basic wish. His wish said,' If I get the Buddha, all beings in ten places will believe in happiness and want to live in our country for ten years. If you are not born, you will not be enlightened. The Zen master made this wish and has always been enshrined in the solemn pure land. His Buddhist land is ten trillion temples away from here, and it is famous for its happiness.
Appendix II: Twelve Light Buddhas (Excerpt from the Buddhist Dictionary of Complacency Month)
Twelve Light Buddhas are twelve titles used to praise Amitabha's bright virtue. That is, boundless light Buddha, boundless light Buddha, barrier-free light Buddha, opposite light Buddha, flaming king light Buddha, pure light Buddha, joyful light Buddha, intelligent light Buddha, endless light Buddha, hard-to-think light Buddha, unnamed light Buddha and super-sun moonlight Buddha; Language out of the "Infinite Life Classic" volume.
According to the explanation in the volume of Infinite Life Sutra, the Buddha's light is uncountable, hence the name Infinite; There is no reason not to follow the name; No one can hinder the time-honored brand; It is not the name of a bodhisattva; Bright and comfortable, there is nothing better, hence the name of the flame king; The appearance of Buddha without greed and good roots can also remove the greed of all beings, so it is named pure; Born of Buddha's good roots without resentment, it can eliminate the resentment of all beings and make them happy; Starting from the ignorance and kindness of Buddha, light removes the ignorance of all beings, hence the name wisdom; The Buddha's name is not changed to Zhao Yi. Light is not measured by squares, so it is difficult to think; Light is not what Yucheng and others can say, so there is no name; The Buddha's light shines day and night, hence the name Super Sun and Moon.
In addition to the general name of the twelve light buddhas mentioned above, other versions and Sanskrit have different opinions on the names and numbers. For example, in the Great Amitabha Sutra and Isosleep Sutra I, only the Light Sutra sighs, and the Buddha's name is not listed. In Mahayana's solemn Infinite Life Sutra, Volume 17 of Dabaoji Sutra, Infinite Life Tathagata, Sanskrit Infinite Life Sutra, etc. Give the names of thirteen lights, fourteen lights and twenty lights to show the virtue of Buddha's light.
Moreover, in the Shurangama Sutra at the top of the giant Buddha and the Maharani Sutra of nine Amitabha Samadhi, the Twelve Light Buddhas are another name for the Twelve Tathagata. However, these are all translations of the Infinite Life Sutra, which belong to the thoughts of later generations.
◎ Appendix III: Amitabha No.37 (from Buddhist Dictionary)
Amitabha No.37 refers to 37 German names of Amitabha. That is, infinite light, true light, infinite light, equal sense, unobstructed light, inconceivable, no right light, after all, dependence, radiant king, great service, clean light, joyful light, great freedom, intelligent light, constant light, hard-to-think light, unweighted light, ultra-solar moonlight, nothing and so on. Great society, great heart, supreme respect, equal strength and great heart. This is the close love of a Japanese monk. At the beginning of Pure Land and Zan, it is listed as Zan Amitabha. Among them, there are twelve kinds of virtues, such as boundless light, boundless light, unobstructed light, aimless light, radiant king, pure light, joyful light, intelligent light, endless light, hard-to-think light and super-solar moonlight, which are called twelve lights. Amitabha is named for its light.
◎ Appendix 4: Three Buddha Statues of Amitabha (Compilation Group)
The statue of Amitabha refers to the avalokitesvara bodhisattva and the general trend of Amitabha and his entourage. For example, the Infinite Life Sutra says (Dazheng 12.342c):' The Infinite Life Buddha lives in heaven, and Guanyin and the general trend stand as two great men. You can't see the brilliance of the light, and the golden hall of 100,000 can't compare with it.'
Appendix V: The Great Mantra of Amitabha (excerpts from the Buddhist Dictionary of Complacency Month, etc.). )
The mantra of Amitabha refers to the Dalagni of Amitabha (dha^ran! i^)。 From "Endless Ritual". Also known as the infinite life Buddha Dalagni, Amitabha Buddha Tathagata Dalagni or Ten Manna Mantra. It is one of the three major Ranis (Amitabha mantra, Baoyu India Rani, and Sanctity Rani).
The Amitabha mantra transliterated in Chinese characters is as follows: "Yimo, Alloy Mo, Luo Yi Ye Ye, Namo, Aliye, Midopoye, Zuo Yi ■ Ye Yi, Alo River bottom, Sanyu San Pu Toye and Yee.
The Roman pronunciation of this spell is as follows: ∴ Namo Ratnatraya Yanan Ah! A Rya Mita BHA Yatatha Gata Ya Ahart Sam% ·sam%yaksam%buddha^yatadyatha^! ite amr！ itodbhave amr！ ita-sambhave amr！ itagarbhe amr！ I love you! I-Tetye Amru! itavihr！ im%te am%r！ itavihr！ im % tagamineamr！ itagaganaki^rttikare(？ )amr！ it adum % dubhi-svare sarvarthasadhane sarvakarmakrama-s/asks！ ayan%kare(？ )svaha。
Appendix 6: The First Section of Chapter 11 of the Origin and Development of Early Mahayana Buddhism by Yin Shun (excerpt)
From the Amitabha Sutra, the pure land of Amitabha Buddha is unique in the early Mahayana thought of pure land. The monk made twenty-four wishes (or forty-eight wishes) to build a perfect pure land as a Dojo to free all beings and cultivate the pure land in the afterlife. Before choosing 20 billion land and forming 24 wishes, the fundamental characteristics of Amitabha's pure land have been shown in front of the Buddha. For example, "Amitabha" (Three Wota Buddha Tan Tairen) says (Dazheng12 300c):' When I later became a Buddha, I was the most respected Buddha in all directions, with both wisdom and courage. The light on the head, like Buddha's light, shines on infinity. The land where I live, natural Qibao, is extremely soft and very good. Later, when I became a Buddha, the professor's name was heard by many Buddhist countries in all directions, and everyone knew my name. People who have lived in China for a few days and squirmed around, as well as other people who came to our country, all know that being a bodhisattva and being an arhat has no central number and is better than all Buddhist countries. "
The twenty-four wishes or forty-eight wishes mentioned in the scripture are nothing more than the concrete combination of this fundamental will. Amitabha's light is better than all buddhas. The glory and fame of the Buddha were praised by countless Buddhist countries in ten countries and lamented by the people in ten countries, so I made a vow to die: this is the twenty-fourth wish. Amitabha's extraordinary victory is manifested by the light and name of the Buddha. The Buddha's light has relieved the suffering of all sentient beings. There are Buddhist legends in different degrees in the karma of Buddhism being released into the womb and being born into Buddha. Amitabha Pure Land is highly respected because it attaches importance to the interests of all beings in the light. It is Amitabha's fundamental wish to be superior to other Buddhas, so the seventeenth wish is to say,' My eyes, ears and feet are ten times better than those of other Buddhas.' I want to say,' Let me be ten times as wise as the Buddha and say that I am guided by the road.' Perhaps this is too special and not suitable for the principle of "Buddha-Buddha equality", so these two wishes have been omitted in other translations. It is the third wish to achieve the seven treasures of the country in the fundamental will, which is not found in the infinite purity and equality consciousness sutra. In the development of the pure land original wish thought, the merits of those who live in the pure land in the afterlife are emphasized. The focus of pure land thought is not only the ideal natural environment, but also the virtue and further study in pure land and the peaceful direction between sages.
Amitabha means blessing. This sentence is Sanskrit in ancient India, which means, in our current words, a long life is a blessing. May you live a long life and be wise. If you like, the meaning in the blessing is very deep. Where is the depth? I am deeply alert to remind you that we have been in this world all our lives, and the light, boundless light, open-mindedness and selflessness we demand are very important to all people, everything and everything. Every time we hear this sentence, we should be alert to ourselves. Why? I can say that I am destined, so there are not many people who don't believe in past lives and afterlife. Let's just say that this life has not been bright since the day you were born. We put aside selfishness and began to think about society, people, sentient beings, everyone and everything, and make contributions and services wholeheartedly. This heart is aboveboard. Amitabha this sentence contains this profound meaning, the meaning of perfection. Only we can get real happiness, which of course includes health and longevity. From the literal meaning of Amitabha, Amitabha means infinity, Buddha means longevity, and infinity includes all infinity. Everything you think is boundless, so this is a very complete and blessed sentence. This is the first thing we said when we met, Amitabha. This sentence corresponds to the hearts of all sentient beings in the void dharma world. Why? All beings want, so they are in harmony with all beings. There is no superstition in this decision. All the beauty in the world has been summed up, so all the beauty in the world is in this sentence, and this sentence is complete. We understand this meaning, called amitabha, and this meaning is more complete!