(Skt., Chn. 西方極樂世界 Xifang Jile Shijie; 極樂世界 Jile Shijie):
The pureland of Amitabha Buddha. Also known as the Western Realm of Utmost Bliss, the Western Pureland of Ultimate Bliss, or the Western Paradise. Sukhavati is praised by all buddhas in the ten directions as the most beautiful, dazzling, and sublime pureland of all. It is endowed with all kinds of precious jewels, golden sand, waters of eight merits, seven layers of jeweled trees, pagodas, palaces, and beautiful birds such as white cranes, peacocks, kalavinkas, and jivajivas. They all produce the most enticing and harmonious sound of the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment, which induces all beings there to cultivate and rise to a higher realm. All beings in Sukhavati will eventually attain buddhahood; they never regress to samsara. Sukhavati is divided into four levels: from the lowest level to the highest are the Pureland of Mixed Mundane Beings and Sages, the Abundant Pureland for Convenience, the Magnificent Pureland of Real Rewards, and the Pureland of the Eternal Serene Light. The Pureland of Mixed Mundane Beings and Sages is the only pureland where beings with karma can reside.
