Amitāyus Contemplation Sūtra

However, it is generally considered by modern scholarship to be a non-Indian composition, possibly written in China or in Central Asia.

[4][5][6][1][7][8][9] Jonathan Silk has also shown that the frame narrative is based on a story which was known in India, so that at least this element of the sutra has an Indic basis.

Modern scholars generally accept that the text describes a meditation which was practiced in Central Asia, but with Chinese additions.

[7] The text begins with a story where a prince named Ajātasattu was enticed by the villain Devadatta to murder his father, King Bimbisara, in order to ascend the throne.

[12] This tale references historical incidents of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha, India, and the religious tension between Gautama Buddha and his brother-in-law, Devadatta.

I shall describe it to you in detail with various illustrations, so that all ordinary people in the future who wish to practice pure karma may also be born in that Western Land of Utmost Bliss.

Whoever wishes to be born there should practice the three acts: first, caring for one’s parents, attending to one’s teachers and elders, compassionately refraining from killing, and doing the ten good deeds; second, taking the Three Refuges, keeping the various precepts, and refraining from breaking the rules of conduct; and third, awakening aspiration for enlightenment (bodhicitta), believing deeply in the law of causality, chanting the Mahayana sutras, and encouraging people to follow their teachings.

The sixteen contemplations are described in order as follows:[14][3] In the final part of the Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra, Gautama Buddha discusses the nine "lotus levels" into which those born into the pure land are categorized.

[15] The levels are ranked from highest to lowest as follows:[16] According to the Buddha, all nine grades of human beings can achieve rebirth into the Pure Land if they contemplate Amitābha or at least call on his name.