Encyclopedia of Buddhism Volume One A -L Robert E. Buswell

S UFFERING
Hallade, Madeleine, Gandharan Art of North India and the
Graeco-Buddhist Tradition in India, Persia, and Central Asia.
New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1968.
Huntington, Susan, and Huntington, John C. The Art of Ancient
India. New York and Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1985.
Isaacs, Ralph, and Blurton, T. Richard. Visions from a Golden
Land: Burma and the Art of Lacquer. London: British Museum,
2000.
Knox, Robert. Amaravati: Buddhist Sculpture from the Great
Stu pa. London: British Museum, 1992.
Marshall, John. A Guide to Sañcl, 3rd edition. New Delhi: Manager
of Publications, 1955.
Michell, George. The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India,
Vol. 1: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu. London: Viking, 1989.
Sarkar, H., and Misra, B. N. Nagarjunakonda, 3rd edition. New
Delhi: Director General, Archaeological Survey of India,
1980.
Volwahsen, Andreas. Indien: Bauten der Hindus, Buddhisten,
und Jains. Munich: Hirmer Verlag, 1968.
Zwalf, Wladimir. Buddhism: Art and Faith. London: British Museum,
1985.
A. L. DALLAPICCOLA
Uighur, and Xixia. Many core doctrines and practices
of the Pure Land school in East Asia are based on the
Sukhavatlvyu ha sutras, but in fact there are 290 translated
scriptures in the Chinese canon that discuss
Amitabha Buddha and his realm.
The sutras describe a cosmic order containing both
a sacred realm inhabited by buddhas and bodhisattvas
living in a paradise of fantastic proportions and an
mundane realm inhabited by ordinary people, animals,
ghosts, and so on, transmigrating but trapped.
The sutras also describe the promise by Amitabha Buddha
to enable beings to transmigrate into his paradise.
This is possible through his vows (Sanskrit, pranidhana)
and the Mahayana doctrine of merit-transfer.
Orthodox East Asian Pure Land thought views the
Buddha’s eighteenth vow in the Sanghavarman Chinese
translation as the authoritative expression of the
Buddha’s commitment to help anyone, as it asks only
that one sincerely hold in mind (or recite) the Buddha’s
name a minimum of ten moments in order to
be reborn in his Pure Land.
See also: Pure Land Schools
Bibliography
SUFFERING. See Duh kha (Suffering)
SUKHA VATI. See Pure Lands
Gómez, Luis, trans. and ed. The Land of Bliss: The Paradise of
the Buddha of Measureless Light, Sanskrit and Chinese Versions
of the Sukhavatlvyu ha Su tra. Honolulu: University of
Hawaii Press, 1996.
Inagaki, Hisao. The Three Pure Land Sutras: A Study and Translation
from Chinese. Kyoto: Nagata Bunshodo, 1995.
MARK L. BLUM
SUKHA VATIVYU HA-SU TRA
The title Sukhavatlvyu ha-su tra (Su tra Displaying the
Land of Bliss) actually denotes two related but distinct
texts, both of which narrate aspects of the mythic story
of the buddha called AMITABHA or Amitayus (Chinese,
Amito; Japanese, Amida) and the paradise where he
resides called Sukhavat. Following Chinese precedent,
the two texts have commonly been distinguished as the
Larger Su tra (Chinese, Wuliangshou jing, Dajing;
Japanese, Muryo jukyo , Daikyo ; Su tra on the Buddha of
Immeasurable Life) and the Smaller Su tra (Amito jing,
Amidakyo ,Su tra on Amitayus Buddha). These are early
MAHAYANA sutras, probably composed in northwest
India, and translations of the Larger Su tra began in
China in the second or third century. The pervasiveness
of this belief is known by manuscripts of the Larger
Su tra also extant in Sanskrit, Tibetan, Khotanese,
SUKHOTHAI
Sukhothai, the first Thai kingdom, was founded
around 1238 in the central part of present-day Thailand.
In previous centuries, this area was under the sovereignty
of Khmer kings who practiced Hinduism and
MAHAYANA Buddhism. The Thai, however, adopted
THERAVADA Buddhism from Sri Lanka. Upon his return
from Sri Lanka in the early 1330s, Si Satha, a highranking
monk, introduced a new Sinhalese sect along
with Buddha relics and artisans. The veneration of
relics played a significant role in this sect, which dramatically
transformed the architecture and plans of
temple compounds. While earlier STU PAs (Thai, chedi)
in Sukhothai were in Khmer-tower form (prang; e.g.,
Wat Phraphai Luang), new innovative forms were built
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