Editing Amitābha (section)

=== The Lights of Amitābha ===
The ''[[Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra]]'' contains twelve or more epithets of Amitābha Buddha which are also called "Buddha's lights".<ref name=":02">Atone, Joji; Hayashi, Yoko. ''The Promise of Amida Buddha: Honen's Path to Bliss'', p. 12. Simon and Schuster, May 1, 2011</ref><ref name=":6">Shibata, Yasushi (柴田 泰). [https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ibk1952/15/2/15_2_690/_pdf/-char/en <nowiki>"On the Twelve Light Buddhas in the Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life [無量壽経十二光佛について]."</nowiki>]</ref> Vasubandhu's ''[[Discourse on the Pure Land|Treatise on Birth in the Pure Land]]'' references these "lights of Amitābha".<ref name=":02" /> These "Buddha lights" were seen as manifestations of Amitābha Buddha in Chinese Buddhism.<ref name=":6" /> The recitation of these names were also taught by Chinese Pure Land figures like [[Shandao]].<ref>Jōji Atone. ''Shan-tao: His Life and Thought,'' p. 83. University of Wisconsin, 1989.</ref> 

There are various sets of these names found in different sources, which include ''Infinite Life Sutra'', the ''[[Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra]]'' (''Dà bǎo jī jīng''), and the ''Tathāgatācintyaguhyanirdeśa Sūtra''.<ref name=":6" /> 

The ''[[The Amitāyus Sutra|Infinite Life sutra]]'' lists twelve names of Amitābha:<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":18" />     

# 無量光 (Wúliàng guāng) - '''Boundless light'''
# 無邊光 (Wúbiān guāng) - '''Unlimited Light'''
# 無礙光 (Wú'ài guāng) - '''Unobstructed Light''' or '''Irresistible Light'''
# 無對光 (Wúduì guāng) - '''Incomparable Light'''
# 燄王光 (Èwáng guāng) - '''King of Blazing Light''' (or '''Flame-king light''')
# 清浄光 (Qīngjìng guāng) - '''Pure Light'''
# 歡喜光 (Huānxǐ guāng) - '''Joyful Light'''
# 智慧光 (Zhìhuì guāng) - '''Light of Wisdom'''
# 不断光 (Bùduàn guāng) - '''Uninterrupted Light''' or '''Unending Light'''
# 難思光 (Nánsī guāng) - '''Inconceivable Light'''
# 無構光 (Wúgòu guāng) - '''Indescribable light'''
# 超日月光 (Chāo rìyuè guāng) - '''Light Surpassing the Sun and Moon''' 
The surviving [[Sanskrit]] edition of the ''Sutra of Infinite Life'' meanwhile has a different list with eighteen names:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sukhavativyuha, Vistaramatrika [longer version] |url=https://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/1_sanskr/4_rellit/buddh/bsu033_u.htm |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de. |series=Based on the ed. by P.L. Vaidya: Mahāyāna-sūtra-saṃgrahaḥ, Part 1) Darbhanga : The Mithila Institute, 1961, pp. 221-253. (Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, 17)}}</ref>

# Tathāgato 'mitābha - The [[Tathāgata]] Immeasurable Light
# Amitaprabha - Immeasurable Radiance
# Amitaprabhāso - Unbounded Radiance
# Asamāptaprabha - Unending Radiance
# Asaṃgataprabha - Inconceivable Radiance
# Prabhāśikhotsṛṣṭaprabha - [The one with a] splendorous crest which emits radiance
# Sādivyamaṇiprabha - [The one with] Divine Jewel Splendor
# Apratihataraśmirāgaprabha - [The one with] light rays that are unobstructed and radiant
# Rājanīyaprabha - King Radiance
# Premaṇīyaprabha - Lovable Radiance
# Pramodanīyaprabha - Joyful Radiance
# Saṃgamanīyaprabha - Harmonious Radiance
# Upoṣaṇīyaprabha - Worshipful Radiance
# Nibandhanīyaprabha - Unbreakable Radiance
# Ativīryaprabha - Supremely vigorous radiance
# Atulyaprabha - Incomparable Radiance
# Abhibhūyanarendrāmūnnayendraprabha - Surpassing the splendor kings and gods
# Śrāntasaṃcayendusūryajihmīkaraṇaprabha - Surpassing the splendor of the moon and stars