Hello, continuing off from part 3, let’s look at the next section of this sutra. This is in some ways the most difficult part of the sutra due to its repetitiveness and difficulty in understanding the relevancy. I hope to shed light on this using a second translation of the sutra by Thich Nhat Hanh, which does actually translate the Sanskrit names. I think you’ll see the difference. 
[6] “Shariputra, just as I praise the inconceivable virtue of Amida Buddha, so do the Buddhas in the eastern quarter, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, such as Aksobhya Buddha, Meru-dhvaja Buddha, Mahameru Buddha, Meru-prabhasa Buddha, and Manju-svara Buddha. While dwelling in their own lands, they extend their long, broad tongues and, encompassing with them the universe of a thousand million worlds, pronounce these words of truth: Sentient beings should accept this sutra entitled ‘Praise of the Inconceivable Virtue and Protection by All Buddhas.’
A few things to talk about here. First, these next several passages depict the Buddhas of the various other Buddha lands (mentioned in Part 1), praising the Buddha for preaching this sutra. The symbolism behind the long tongue is something found in Indian literature and means that when one has a long tongue, he preaches the truth, so if your tongue is really long, as is the case here, it emphasizes how true and important are their words. By “embracing” the many worlds in the Universe, this means that what they speak is kind of broadcasted in all directions for people to hear. In other words, it is very accessible and all can learn from it.
Now, what about these Buddhas in the East direction? First is Aksobhya, who is famous for being unmovable, his mind always centered and calm. Next, you see Buddhas whose names in English translate to things like “Buddha Mount Meru” or “Buddha Great Mount Meru”. Mount Meru, or Sumeru, is supposed to be the mythical mountain at the center of our world in this great chain of Buddha lands. So, these Buddhas too have personalities that are solid, unmovable, perfectly calm and collected, just like Aksobhya Buddha.
So, we can say that the East seems to be associated with the calm, centered mind.
[7] “Shariputra, there are in the southern quarter Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, such as Candra-surya-pradipa Buddha, Yashah-prabha Buddha, Maharci-skandha Buddha, Meru-pradipa Buddha, and Ananta-virya Buddha. While dwelling in their own lands, they extend their long, broad tongues and, encompassing with them the universe of a thousand million worlds, pronounce these words of truth: Sentient beings should accept this sutra entitled ‘Praise of the Inconceivable Virtue and Protection by All Buddhas.’
This passage is largely the same, but the Buddhas are different. According to Thich Nhat Hanh’s translations, the names are things like “Buddha Shining Shoulders”, “Buddha Lamp of Sun and Moon” and “Buddha Infinite Energy”. So we can say that the South seems to be associated with light, energy, zeal.
[8] “Shariputra, there are in the western quarter Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, such as Amitayus Buddha, Amita-ketu Buddha, Amita-dhvaja Buddha, Mahaprabha Buddha, Mahaprabhasa Buddha, Ratna-ketu Buddha and Shuddha-rashmi-prabha Buddha. While dwelling in their own lands, they extend their long, broad tongues and, encompassing with them the universe of a thousand million worlds, pronounce these words of truth: Sentient beings should accept this sutra entitled ‘Praise of the Inconceivable Virtue and Protection by All Buddhas.’
Again, this passage is largely the same as above. In the West is Amitayus Buddha, whose another name for Amitabha Buddha. The name means “Infinite Life”. Other Buddhas here include “Buddha Infinite Appearance”, “Buddha Infinite Banners”, “Buddha Great Light” and “Buddha Pure Light”. So the West seems to be associated with Light, Infinity and Purity, just like Amitabha was described in Part 3.
[9] “Shariputra, there are in the northern quarter Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, such as Arci-skandha Buddha, Vaishvanara-nirghosa Buddha, Duspradharsa Buddha, Aditya-sambhava Buddha and Jalini-prabha Buddha. While dwelling in their own lands, they extend their long, broad tongues and, encompassing with them the universe of a thousand million worlds, pronounce these words of truth: Sentient beings should accept this sutra entitled ‘Praise of the Inconceivable Virtue and Protection by All Buddhas.’
In the North are the Buddhas “Conquering Voice”, “Hard to Injure”, “Light of Interbeing” and “Born of the Sun”. So here, the North seems to be associated with strength and light.
[10] “Shariputra, there are in the nadir Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, such as Simha Buddha, Yashas Buddha, Yashah-prabhasa Buddha, Dharma Buddha, Dharma-dhvaja Buddha and Dharma-dhara Buddha. While dwelling in their own lands, they extend their long, broad tongues and, encompassing with them the universe of a thousand million worlds, pronounce these words of truth: Sentient beings should accept this sutra entitled ‘Praise of the Inconceivable Virtue and Protection by All Buddhas.’
In the nadir, the furthest point below, the Buddhas here are “Lion”, “Renown”, “Banner of the Dharma” and “Upholding the Dharma”. So the nadir, the lowest point, seems to be associated with strength, bravery, and fortitude.
[11] “Shariputra, there are in the zenith Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, such as Brahma-ghosa Buddha, Naksatra-raja Buddha, Gandhottama Buddha, Gandha-prabhasa Buddha, Maharci-skandha Buddha, Ratna-kusuma-sampuspita-gatra Buddha, Salendra-raja Buddha, Ratnotpalashri Buddha, Sarva-artha-darsha Buddha and Sumeru-kalpa Buddha. While dwelling in their own lands, they extend their long, broad tongues and, encompassing with them the universe of a thousand million worlds, pronounce these words of truth: Sentient beings should accept this sutra entitled ‘Praise of the Inconceivable Virtue and Protection by All Buddhas.’
Lastly we come to the highest point, the zenith. Here the Buddhas have names like “Supreme Voice”, “Highest Incense”, “Fragrant Voice”, and “King of the Sala Tree”. So, the zenith is associated with nobility and beauty.
So, in all 6 directions, effectively every direction, the Buddhas lend credence to the Buddha’s preaching of the Amitabha Sutra, implying that what Shakyamuni says is both important, and an excellent teaching worth following.
But I think there’s something more here. As you can see, the different directions had different “themes”, all positive traits or symbols in Buddhism, so in a way this section reads like a mandala. I would argue that this section of the sutra is a kind of precursor to the mandalas found later in Buddhism that “map” the world. When you see something like the Womb Realm Mandala in Shingon Buddhism, or the Five Wisdom Buddhas, you can see how they relate to this section of the Sutra. Not directly, but the concept is similar: directions corresponding to traits in Buddhism. Even some of the Buddhas are the same: Aksobhya in the East, Amitabha in the West.
So who is at the center? In the esoteric traditions, this is the Dharmakaya, symbolized as Vairocana Buddha, but in the Amitabha Sutra, Shakyamuni is the one preaching and speaking. So, I am stretching the idea a bit here, but I think this is not the historical Shakyamuni Buddha preaching so much as the Dharmakaya embodied as Shakyamuni. In the Lotus Sutra, I explored this notion of the timeless Buddha, and here I think the same concept is being subtly put forth.
So, while we tend to find Amitabha and the Pure Land strange in our historical, physical world, I think the sutra is trying to speak to us in a more cosmic, timeless way. It’s teaching to us from another angle, and once you get used to the idea, it’s pretty interesting.
Next time we’ll end the commentaries on the sutra with Part 5.
Namu Amida Butsu
Namu Kanzeon Bosatsu
P.S. Sorry for not posting this sooner. Vacation made it hard to sit down long enough to write a commentary. Part 5 will come pretty soon I think.
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