A description of Dewachen Taken form the Amitabha sutra The Buddha described Dewachen to Ananda, In the Land of Utmost

Bliss, there are no seas, but there are rivers The narrowest river is ten lea!ues wide and the shallowest water twelve lea!ues deep "ome rivers are twent#, thirt#, and so on, even a hundred lea!ues in depth or width The deepest and widest ones measure up to one thousand lea!ues The water is clear and cool and has the ei!ht meritorious $ualities The deep currents flow rapidl#, !ivin! forth a wonderful sound, which is like the sound of hundreds of thousands of musical instruments pla#ed b# !ods% it is heard all over the Land of Utmost Bliss Beautiful flowers float downstream on the water A !entle bree&e wafts fra!rance of all kinds 'n the two banks of the rivers, there are man# sandalwood trees with lon! branches and dense folia!e interlaced into canopies over the rivers The# produce beautiful, fra!rant flowers and bear lovel#, shin# fruit (eople come here to roam about and en)o# themselves as the# like "ome wade throu!h the water, washin! their feet in the streams and makin! merr# The celestial water is a!reeable to all and alters its depth and temperature at an# time to suit the people in it* Ananda, the bottom of the !reat rivers is covered with !old sand The rivers !ive forth a celestial fra!rance spread b# the wind, with which nothin! worldl# can compare The sweet smellin! water flows alon!, strewed with celestial flowers of the coral tree, blue lotus flowers, red lotus flowers, white lotus flowers and !iant white lotus flowers +urthermore, Ananda, when people in that Buddha,land !o to!ether on an e-cursion to the riverside, those who do not wish to hear the sound of the rapids will not hear it at all, even if the# have ac$uired the deva,ear Those who wish to hear it will immediatel# hear hundreds of thousands of pleasant sounds, such as the sounds of the Buddha, the Dharma and the "an!ha% the sounds of cessation% the sounds of no essence% the sounds of the paramitas% the sounds of the ten powers and the four fearlessnesses% the sounds of miraculous

powers% the sounds of non .action% the sounds of non,arisin! and non,cessation% the sounds of $uiescence% universal $uiescence% and utter $uiescence% the sounds of !reat kindness and !reat compassion% the sound of the /ealisation of 0on,arisin! of Dharmas% and the sounds of anointment and enthronement After hearin! these various sounds, the listeners will be overwhelmed b# feelin!s of !reat )o# and deli!ht, and become responsive to 1the teachin!s on2 contemplation, renunciation, destruction 1of defilements2, $uiescence, universal $uiescence, utter $uiescence, the taste of the doctrine, the Buddha, the Dharma, the "an!ha, the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the miraculous powers, cessation, enli!htenment, "ravakahood, and nirvana* 3+urthermore, Ananda, in the Land of Utmost Bliss, the names of the miserable planes of e-istence are not heard There are no such terms as hindrance, or enshroudin! defilements% nor such terms as 4ama, or animal There are no such terms as the ei!ht adversaries, nor terms for painful or neutral feelin!s There is not even the concept of sufferin!, let alone real sufferin! This is wh# that Buddha,land is called Utmost Bliss Ananda, now I can speak onl# briefl# of this blissful land If I spoke of it in detail, I would not be able to finish even if I spent and entire kalpa* 35oreover, Ananda, all the sentient bein!s of the Land of Utmost Bliss, whether the# have been, are bein!, or will be born there, have e-$uisite bodil# forms and handsome features The# have free command of miraculous powers and a full complement of merits The# en)o# all kinds of palaces, !ardens, !roves, !arments, food and drink, incense, flowers, and necklaces 6hatever the# want appears to them spontaneousl#, as it is with the !ods of the (aranirmita, 7asavartin 8eaven* 3+urthermore, Ananda, in that Buddha,land there is a kind of subtle food which sentient bein!s eat without usin! their mouths% the# feel the# are eatin! the food as soon as the# think about it, as it is with the !ods in the "i-th 8eaven The food nourishes the bod# but produces no e-crement* 35oreover, there are unlimited $uantities of the most a!reeable incense, perfumed ointment, and powdered incense, the fra!rance of

which permeates all that Buddha,land Also found ever#where are banners and scattered flowers Those who do not wish to will smell nothin! * 3If sentient bein!s want palaces, storied buildin!s, or pavilions . whether hi!h or low, lon! or short, wide or narrow, s$uare or round . with various !ems, these thin!s will appear before them spontaneousl# accordin! to their respective wishes, so that ever#one will think he is livin! in a palace of his own* 3Ananda, ever# mornin! , a !entle bree&e blows all over the blissful land, which causes no reverse or disturbin! winds and carries the fra!rance of various flowers to ever# corner of that Buddha,land All sentient bein!s, when touched b# the bree&e, feel as peaceful and comfortable as a monk who has achieved the Dha#ana of 9omplete 9essation of +eelin! and 9onception 6hen trees made of the seven treasures are blown b# the bree&e, their blossoms fall and form piles as tall as seven persons, and the entire Buddha,land is illuminated b# their multicoloured li!hts The flowers are evenl# mi-ed and spread out accordin! to their different colours, as if someone had spread them over the !round and levelled them with his hands The# are e-$uisite flowers, lar!e, and as soft as cotton 6hen the sentient bein!s tread on the piles, their feet sink as much as four fin!ers deep, but when the# lift their feet, the !round returns to its ori!inal condition 6hen the mornin! is over, the flowers spontaneousl# sink into the !round As the old flowers disappear, the !reat earth becomes refreshin!l# clean, and then a rain of new flowers entirel# covers the !round a!ain The same thin! happens 1si- times a da#2: in the earl#, middle, and last part of the da#, and in the earl#, middle and last part of the ni!ht* 3Ananda, all the rarest treasures are found in the Land of Utmost Bliss Ananda, in that Buddha,land, there are lotus flowers made of the seven treasures and each of the lotus flowers has countless hundreds of thousands of 1millions of2 billions of petals in numerous hundreds of thousands of rare colours ;ach lotus is adorned with hundreds of thousands of wonderful wish,fulfillin! pearls and covered with precious nets, all of them mutuall# reflectin! Ananda, a lotus flower there has a diameter of half a lea!ue, or one, two, three, four, even one hundred or one thousand lea!ues, and each emits three

billion si- hundred million m#riads of li!hts In each li!ht appear three billion si- hundred million m#riads of Buddhas These Buddhas are !olden in comple-ion and superbl# adorned with the thirt#,two auspicious si!ns and the ei!ht# minor ones The# emit hundreds of thousands of li!hts to illuminate ever# corner of the world The# !o to the east to preach the Dharma to the people and establish countless sentient bein!s in the Buddha,Dharma +or the same purpose, the# also !o to the south, the west, the north, the four intermediate directions, the &enith and the nadir