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@article{ART002517987},
author={Rhi, Juhyung},
title={Did Depictions of Sukhāvatī Exist in Indian Buddhism?: An Examination in Light of the Visuality of Sukhāvatī and Chinese Examples},
journal={불교학리뷰},
issn={1975-2660},
year={2019},
number={26},
pages={9-52},
doi={10.29213/crbs..26.201910.9}

TY - JOUR
AU - Rhi, Juhyung
TI - Did Depictions of Sukhāvatī Exist in Indian Buddhism?: An Examination in Light of the Visuality of Sukhāvatī and Chinese Examples
JO - 불교학리뷰
PY - 2019
VL - null
IS - 26
PB - Geumgang Center for Buddhist Studies
SP - 9
EP - 52
SN - 1975-2660
AB - The question of whether the Amitābha cult ever existed in Indian Buddhism, or in what form it did so, has long remained a mystery for the specialists of Indian Buddhism. Due to the extreme dearth of explicit or tangible evidence, a number of specialists have made efforts to find depictions of Amitābha or Sukhāvatī in visual images. From early on they sought to specifically identify such examples in the region of Gandhāra, which has long been considered to be the origin of major texts of the Amitābha cult. This study attempts to explore whether the so-called Gandhāran examples can be identified as such, by examining the following two problems. First, the fact that depictions of Sukhāvatīgreatly flourished in East Asia prompted many scholars to believe that the visuality of Sukhāvatī presented in the Sukhāvatīvyūha texts was special enough to easily generate its visual depictions. However, a careful examination of textual accounts reveals that this was not necessarily the case. Most of the visual features of Sukhāvatī are also commonly found in descriptions of other paradisiacal places in Indian religious tradition, and there is nothing original or specific in the descriptions of Sukhāvatī. Second, though remarkable affinities may be observed between East Asian depictions of Sukhāvatī and the so-called Gandhāran parallels, the former seems more likely to have been the original creation as an iconographic type by Chinese Buddhists rather than the adoption of the earlier Gandhāran type along with its associated Indian identity. Therefore, the affinities of the so-called Gandhāran examples do not support allegations that they are also the depictions of Sukhāvatī. By focusing on these two problems, this study attempts to assess the extent and nature of the existence of the Amitābha cult in early Indian Buddhism.
KW - Amitābha Buddha;Sukhāvatī;Indian Buddhism;Mahāyāna;Gandhāra;Pure Land Buddhism;Larger Sukhāvativyūha
DO - 10.29213/crbs..26.201910.9
ER -

Rhi, Juhyung. (2019). Did Depictions of Sukhāvatī Exist in Indian Buddhism?: An Examination in Light of the Visuality of Sukhāvatī and Chinese Examples. 불교학리뷰, 26, 9-52.

Rhi, Juhyung. 2019, "Did Depictions of Sukhāvatī Exist in Indian Buddhism?: An Examination in Light of the Visuality of Sukhāvatī and Chinese Examples", 불교학리뷰, no.26, pp.9-52. Available from: doi:10.29213/crbs..26.201910.9

Rhi, Juhyung "Did Depictions of Sukhāvatī Exist in Indian Buddhism?: An Examination in Light of the Visuality of Sukhāvatī and Chinese Examples" 불교학리뷰 26 pp.9-52 (2019) : 9.

Rhi, Juhyung. Did Depictions of Sukhāvatī Exist in Indian Buddhism?: An Examination in Light of the Visuality of Sukhāvatī and Chinese Examples. 2019; 26 : 9-52. Available from: doi:10.29213/crbs..26.201910.9

Rhi, Juhyung. "Did Depictions of Sukhāvatī Exist in Indian Buddhism?: An Examination in Light of the Visuality of Sukhāvatī and Chinese Examples" 불교학리뷰 no.26(2019) : 9-52.doi: 10.29213/crbs..26.201910.9

Rhi, Juhyung. Did Depictions of Sukhāvatī Exist in Indian Buddhism?: An Examination in Light of the Visuality of Sukhāvatī and Chinese Examples. 불교학리뷰, 26, 9-52. doi: 10.29213/crbs..26.201910.9

Rhi, Juhyung. Did Depictions of Sukhāvatī Exist in Indian Buddhism?: An Examination in Light of the Visuality of Sukhāvatī and Chinese Examples. 불교학리뷰. 2019; 26 9-52. doi: 10.29213/crbs..26.201910.9

Rhi, Juhyung. Did Depictions of Sukhāvatī Exist in Indian Buddhism?: An Examination in Light of the Visuality of Sukhāvatī and Chinese Examples. 2019; 26 : 9-52. Available from: doi:10.29213/crbs..26.201910.9

Rhi, Juhyung. "Did Depictions of Sukhāvatī Exist in Indian Buddhism?: An Examination in Light of the Visuality of Sukhāvatī and Chinese Examples" 불교학리뷰 no.26(2019) : 9-52.doi: 10.29213/crbs..26.201910.9