The World Abhirati and the Protection of True Dharma

Abstract

The Mahāyana Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra （MPM）, a middle period Mahāyāna sūtra, introduces Abhirati, the Buddha-land of Akṣobhya, as the place in which the Dharma protectors who defend the pure bhikṣu, the keeper of precepts, from the violence of the corupt monks who will appear in the latter days of Buddhism are reborn. In addition, in his previous life, the Buddha Śākyamuni was a Dharma protector who risked his life to protect the pure bhikṣu, and through the merits of that time he attained the Vajra body. On the other hand, the Akṣobhyavyūha （AV）, an early Mahāyāna sūtra, does not refer to Abhirati as the land of the Dharma protectors. However, it refers to the downfall of Dharma. MPM attributes this to “the appearance of bhikṣus who do not keep the precepts,” while the AV explains that the reason for this is that “people no longer have the desire to listen to the Dharma, and the Dharma preachers no longer teach the Dharma.”

In this paper, I will examine the aspects of Abhirati as described in MPM and consider the protection of the true Dharma as well as the downfall of Dharma based on its description in AV.