Western Paradise (Buddhism)

Sukhavati (Sanskrit: सुखावती, IAST: Sukhāvatī; "Blissful"; Chinese: 極樂世界, lit. "realm of ultimate bliss") is the Pure Land (or Buddhafield) of the Buddha Amitābha in Mahayana Buddhism. Sukhavati is also called the Land of Bliss or Western Pure Land and is the most well-known of the Mahayana Buddhist pure lands due to the popularity of Pure Land Buddhism in East Asia. Sukhavati is also an important postmortem goal for Tibetan Buddhists, and is a common Buddhafield used in the practice of phowa ("transference of consciousness at the time of death"). Sukhavati was widely depicted in Mahayana Buddhist art and remains an important theme in Buddhist art. Different traditions understand the nature of Sukhavati differently. The Pure Land Buddhist traditions often sees it as a Samboghakaya pure land (this was the view of Shandao), while other traditions, like some Tibetan Buddhists, see it as a nirmanakaya Pure Land. Furthermore, in Chinese Buddhism, there are two views on Sukhavati (which are most often combined together): the view which sees Sukhavati as being a realm far away from ours ("other-direction Pure Land") and the view which sees Sukhavati as non-dual with our world which only appears impure due to our minds (known as "mind-only Pure Land").