The life and deeds of Amitabha were related by Sakyamuni Buddha.

When Sakyamuni was preaching to 12,000 believers at Rajagrha, he mentioned that there once was a king called Dharmakara who abandoned his kingdom and entered into the ascetic life as a disciple of Lokesvararaja.

Dharmakara devoted himself to his practices and was determined to attain Buddhahood. He vowed before Lokesvararaja that once he did, the Western paradise under his jurisdiction would have no hell, no ghosts, and no beasts and that all sentient beings of the Buddhist realms could be reborn in that world and live a blissful life without worry or care. There each person could cultivate himself into an arhat or a bodhisattva.

Dharmakara piously asked Lokesvararaja for his opinion. "This vow of mine surpasses the vows of other Buddhas," he said. "I just don't know if it can be achieved." Lokesvararaja encouraged him, saying that nothing was impossible so long as he persevered and practiced diligently.

After undergoing numerous trials and tribulations and practicing extended cultivation, Dharmakara did indeed attain Buddhahood, receiving the name Amitabha.

Sakyamuni lauded Amitabha as the king of Buddhas and the lord of limitless light and life. Owing to his exalted position, Buddhist believers everywhere, no matter which incarnation of Buddha they worship, all recite the name of Amitabha: O-mi-t'ou-fo.

If you chant his name, you should know something about the blissful paradise he conceived.

The ground and forests of the Pure Land of the West are formed of the seven treasures of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, agate, rubies or red pearls, and cornelian, so that the land is brilliant, shining, and incomparably beautiful. The weather is temperate and vernal year-round.

The creatures there are endowed with glorious features and profound wisdom, and their bodies have form without flesh or bone. Their dwellings are constructed of the seven treasures and surrounded by pools of lotuses. Whatever one wishes for is available to the heart's desire.

Since it is such a wonderful place, how can we go there?

Although Buddhism says that everyone has the possibility of attaining Buddhahood, many sects maintain that a person must pass through complex and painstaking cultivation over the course of several lives before doing so.

In contrast, Amitabha and the Amitayus Sutra relate several simple, easy steps to achieve the same thing. So simple, in fact, that all one really needs is firm faith in Amitabha and a strong desire to go to the World of Bliss or to hear or recite the name of Amitabha.

Some people facetiously compare Amitabha to the head of a cram school offering an accelerated course with a guaranteed pass, which explains why he's so popular. You can get in no matter how bad your grades were in the past, and no distinctions are made according to ability. After you've arrived in the Western Paradise, Amitabha and the other Buddhist deities will help you study and catch up so that you can become a Buddha like them and help save others. What's more, once you get there you can't flunk out.

It sounds quick and easy, but Buddha saves only those who are predestined to be saved. If it's not your lot or if your time hasn't arrived, the Pure Land of the West will remain unattainably distant no matter how many O-mi-t'ou-fo you say.

[Picture Caption]

The Pure Land of the West. Amitabha is seated at center, with Avalokitesvara to his left and Mahasthama to his right.