Amitābha

The Big Buddha in Kamakura, an image of Amitabha

Amitabha, the Buddha of Limitless Light (or Life), is the primary deity of the Pure Land school 淨土宗 of Buddhism which developed and spread in China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan and has grown to become the largest sect in Buddhism. (An alternative transliteration "Amitābha" is commonly used and preferred by specialists in Buddhism). He is also known as Amitāyus, Buddha of Limitless Life. Amitābha is a Buddha who possesses infinite meritorious qualities; who expounds the dharma in his pure paradise (Sukhāvatī) in the West, hence the name Pure Land.

According to tradition Amitabha was in ancient times a king who, having come in contact with the Buddhist teaching, renounced his throne and became a monk with the name of Dharmakāra. He resolved to become a Buddha and in this way to come into possession of a paradise in which all who call his name might be born into a life of unbounded joy. This is the result of his forty-eight vows 四十八願, the most important of which are the eighteenth 十八願 and nineteenth 十九願, in which he promises not to achieve supreme perfect enlightenment until he have saved all sentient beings in his paradise. In iconographic art, Amitabha is usually portrayed as having two assistants: Avalokiteśvara (in China Guan Yin 觀音, also considered as his incarnation) who appears on his left and Mahāsthāmaprāpta 勢至 who appears on his right. He is also one of the five buddhas 五佛 of the vajradhātu. The basic doctrine concerning Amitabha and his vows can be found in the Amitābha-sūtra 阿彌陀經 and the Infinite Life Sutra 無量壽經.

Tang Dynasty Amitabha sculpture. Hidden Stream Temple Cave, Longmen Grottoes, China.

The Chinese version of Amitabha's name, repeated as a prayer, is 阿彌陀佛, (Wade-Giles O1 Mi2 T'o2 Fo2); the Tibetan mantra of Amitabha is 'Om ami dhewa hri'.

See Also