佛語阿難 彼極樂界 無量功德 具足莊嚴 永無衆苦 諸難惡趣魔惱之名 亦無四時 寒暑雨冥之異 復無大小江海 丘陵坑坎 荊棘沙礫 鐵圍須彌 土石諸山 唯以自然七寶 黃金爲地 寬廣平正 不可限極 微妙奇麗 淸淨莊嚴 超逾十方一切世界 其菩提樹 高四百萬里 其本周圍五千由旬 枝葉四布二十萬里 一切衆寶自然合成 月光摩尼 持海輪寶 以衆妙寶 而莊嚴之
Fó yǔ ā nán bǐ jí lè jiè wú liàng gōng dé jù zú zhuāng yán yǒng wú zhòng kǔ zhū nàn è qù mó nǎo zhī míng yì wú sì shí hán shǔ yǔ míng zhī yì fù wú dà xiǎo jiāng hǎi qiū líng kēng kǎn jīng jí shā lì tiě wéi xū mí tǔ shí zhū shān wéi yǐ zì rán qī bǎo huáng jīn wéi dì kuān guǎng píng zhèng bù kě xiàn jí wēi miào qí lì qīng jìng zhuāng yán chāo yú shí fāng yī qiē shì jiè qí pú tí shù gāo sì bǎi wàn lǐ qí běn zhōu wéi wǔ qiān yóu xún zhī yè sì bù èr shí wàn lǐ yī qiē zhòng bǎo zì rán hé chéng yuè guāng mó ní chí hǎi lún bǎo yǐ zhòng miào bǎo ér zhuāng yán zhī
Key Message
The magnificent description of Sukhāvatī is a concrete expression of the perfect Buddha-land brought into being by Amitābha's vow-power — a realm free of suffering where practice arises naturally.
▸This chapter describes the specific adornments of Sukhāvatī (極樂世界) — the Land of Utmost Bliss — as it came into being through Amitābha's fulfilled vows.
This chapter describes the specific adornments of Sukhāvatī (極樂世界) — the Land of Utmost Bliss — as it came into being through Amitābha's fulfilled vows. In the Land of Utmost Bliss there are no sufferings whatsoever, no evil destinies, no torment by demons; no seasons, no variation of cold and heat; no rivers or oceans large or small, no hills or gullies, no thorns or gravel, no Iron Ring Mountains or Mount Sumeru. The ground is naturally formed of the seven precious substances — spread as golden earth, boundlessly wide, level and smooth, wondrous and beautiful beyond all worlds of the ten directions. The Bodhi Tree rises four million leagues high with a circumference of five thousand yojanas at the base, its branches spreading two hundred thousand leagues in all directions, formed naturally of all precious substances, adorned with moon-radiance maṇi jewels and ocean-wheel treasures. This description is not mythological fantasy but a symbolic representation of how completely the power of a pure vow can construct a realm where suffering is absent and practice arises spontaneously.