Abhirati (lit. "The Joyous") is the eastern pure land associated with Akshobhya in Mahayana Buddhism.[1] It is described in the Akṣobhyatathāgatasyavyūha Sūtra (Taishō Tripiṭaka, 313), which was first translated into Chinese by Lokakṣema by 186 CE.[2]
| Translations of Abhirati | |
|---|---|
| English | manifest joy |
| Sanskrit | अभिरति |
| Chinese | 妙喜; 阿比羅提 (Pinyin: miàoxǐ; ābǐluótí) |
| Japanese | 妙喜; 歓喜国; 阿比羅提 (Rōmaji: myōki; kangikoku; abiradai) |
| Korean | 묘희 (RR: myoheui) |
| Tibetan | མངོན་པར་དགའ་བ་ (mngon par dga' ba) |
| Vietnamese | Diệu hỷ |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
Although Abhirati emerged in the earliest era of Mahayana thought, Abhirati is far less widely known than Sukhāvatī, the pure land of Amitābha that has been the sole focus of Pure Land Buddhism since the Tang dynasty.[3]
References
edit- ^ Nattier 2000, p. 72.
- ^ Nattier 2000, p. 76.
- ^ Nattier 2000, p. 74.
Bibliography
edit- Nattier, Jan (2000). "The Realm of Aksobhya: A Missing Piece in the History of Pure Land Buddhism". Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies. 23 (1): 71–102.
- Strauch, Ingo (2010). "More missing pieces of Early Pure Land Buddhism: New evidence for Akṣobhya and Abhirati in an early Mahāyāna sūtra from Gandhāra". Eastern Buddhist. 41: 23–66.
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