Why is Pure Land In The West?

Namo Amitabha Buddha

In the Amitabha Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha told us that to the West of this land (Planet Earth in the Saha World System), 10 trillion Buddha Lands away, there's a world called Ultimate Bliss (Sukhavati) and there is a Buddha called Amitabha Buddha who is right now teaching the Dharma.

The reason why Shakyamuni Buddha says it's to the West - it's actually also a metaphor. This is because in the spectrum of the universe there is actually no direction; this comes from our understanding of the earth orbiting around the sun, the sun orbiting around the galaxy, the galaxies orbiting around each other, and so on.

The west represents where the sun sets. The sun sets in the West, and it also means that this is where we will go home after this life. Here’s a link from Dharma Master Renshan, who made a great video - a great animation on the Amitabha Sutra. In this animation, it also explains why Shakyamuni Buddha says the Pure Land is to the West.

Our home is in the Pure Land and this is where we will return home, just like the sun sets in the West. It is important to know that, in the Pure Land there is no concept of time, no concept of space and no concept of location. In the Sutras, if we see Shakyamuni Buddha mention about time, location and space, we must understand that these are but ways of convenience to relate to us being here. But, in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss this actually doesn't apply - the concept of time and space does not exist in the Pure Land.

May we all gain rebirth to the Land of Ultimate Bliss!

Here’s a link to watch the video -