The Vow That Built a Paradise of Light
Long before time flowed as we know it, a bodhisattva named Dharmākara lived. In a distant aeon, in the presence of the Buddha Lokeśvararāja, Dharmākara beheld the endless suffering of beings and was pierced by a compassion so vast that it shattered the shell of self-concern.
He stood before the Buddha and made forty-eight mighty vows, each more generous than the last. Among them, one was bold beyond imagining:
“If, when I attain Buddhahood, any being who sincerely calls my name is not born in the Pure Land I have envisioned, then I shall not awaken.”
It was not a vow to save some. It was a vow to save all. Across uncountable lifetimes, Dharmākara practiced, gave, purified, and ripened merit. When all his vows were fulfilled, he attained supreme enlightenment and became Amitābha, the Buddha of Infinite Light.
From the power of his vows emerged Sukhāvatī, a realm of unspeakable beauty, where jewel ponds ripple with dharma sounds, where lotuses bloom with the arrival of each awakened soul, and where suffering cannot take root. Time in that land flows with clarity, not confusion. Every moment is a step toward full realization, guided by Amitābha’s light.
But Sukhāvatī is not a distant heaven. It is both real and symbolic. It is mind purified, reality when seen without delusion. And Amitābha’s promise remains those who, with faith and longing, recite his name even just ten times, even once with a pure heart, will be reborn in that land, free from sorrow, free to realize their Buddha-nature without obstruction.
Bodisattavas as company
Amitābha is generally seen with four-armed Avalokiteshvara to his right, and to his left two-armed Vajrapani. They are disciples of Amitābha Buddha and are known to be working to liberate the sentient beings till the samsara is emptied.
