thumb|Illustrated Amitabha Sutra, Korea, Deokjusa Temple
thumb|right|Japanese sutra book open to the Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra
thumb|Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra in Vietnam, 1600s
thumb|Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra written in [[katakana, Siddhaṃ scripts and kanji. Published in 1773 in Japan.]]
The Amitābha Sūtra (Ch.: 阿彌陀經, pinyin: Āmítuó Jīng, or 佛說阿彌陀經, Fóshuō Āmítuó Jīng; Jp.: Amida Kyō, Vi.: A Di Đà Kinh), also known as the [Shorter] Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra (Sanskrit, The Array of "the Blissful Land", or The Arrangement of Sukhāvatī) is one of the two Indian Mahayana sutras that describe Sukhāvatī, the Pure Land of Amitābha.
The Amitābha Sūtra is highly influential in East Asian Buddhism, including China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam since it is considered one of the "Three Pure Land" sutras which are the key scriptures in Pure Land Buddhism. A later translation of this sutra was completed by Xuanzang (602-664 C.E.), but it is not as widely used as Kumārajīva's, which is the standard edition in the East Asian tradition.
The sutra was commented on by numerous East Asian authors. The 7th century Pure Land patriarch Shandao commented on the sutra in his Fashizan 法事讚 (Praise for Dharma Rites), which focuses on the rites associated with the recitation of the sutra.
The work of these figures raised the status of the Amitābha Sūtra, and it became a central text in Chinese Buddhism. Today, it remains a very popular sutra in East Asian Buddhism. Its short length has also contributed to it becoming a widely chanted sutra in Buddhist temples and monasteries. Another Ming era commentary called the Foshuo Amituo jing yaojie (佛說阿彌陀經要解) was later written by the Ninth Patriarch of the Chinese Pure Land tradition, Ouyi Zhixu (1599–1655), and has been translated into English as Mind Seal of the Buddhas by J.C. Cleary. The revivalist and Thirtieth Patriarch of the Tiantai tradition Youxi Chuandeng (1554-1628), who was a teacher of Ouyi Zhixu, also wrote a Ming-era commentary called the Amituo Jing lüjie yuanzhong miao (阿彌陀經略解圓中鈔) which explains the explains the sutra from the perspective of Tiantai doctrines. The three Ming-era commentaries were later highly endorsed by various eminent monks, including the Thirteenth Patriarch of the Chinese Pure Land tradition, Yinguang (1862–1940), and remains very influential in contemporary Chinese Pure Land tradition. The entire sūtra is still chanted as part of daily liturgical services during the evening service (known as the wanke) on odd-numbered days in most Chinese Buddhist temples.
In Japan, Hōnen also commented on the work along with the other Pure Land sutras. The influential Japanese Pure Land thinker Shinran (1173- 1263) also wrote a series of notes and marginalia to a copy of the sutra, which is now known as the Amida-kyō chū (阿弥陀経註).
In Vietnam, the monk (1628 - 1715) wrote a vernacular exegesis on the Amitābha Sūtra, his commentary was later compiled into a work entitled Di Đà kinh thích giải Hoa ngôn (彌陀經釋解華言).
A study in English of both the Amitabha and the Amitayus sutras (known as the "longer" Sukhāvatīvyūha in Sanskrit) was also published by Luis O. Gomez in 1996.
Content
The bulk of the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, considerably shorter than other Pure Land sutras, consists of a discourse that Gautama Buddha gave at Jetavana in Śrāvastī to his disciple Śāriputra. The teaching concerns the wonderful adornments and features found in the buddhafield (or "pure land") of Sukhāvatī ("the Blissful"), including jeweled ponds, colorful jeweled lotuses, raining flowers, jeweled trees that make Dharma sounds, and so on. It also discusses the beings that reside there, including the Buddha Amitābha (meaning "Measureless Light" or "Boundless Radiance"), who is said to be so called because "the light of the Tathāgata Amitābha shines unimpeded throughout all buddha realms". </blockquote>The Buddha then describes the various buddhas of the six directions and how they also teach the same teaching on rebirth in Sukhāvatī in their own buddhalands.