Amitabha
Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, is the central figure of the Pure Land sutras: as the bodhisattva Dharmakara he made a series of vows (forty-eight in the Longer Sukhavati-vyuha Sutra) to establish a land in which any being who calls on his name may be reborn and awaken there.
Amitabha is a Buddha in the Mahayana sense, an awakened being of the sutras and not a creator god; the Pure Land schools' doctrine of other-power (tariki) and the self-power (jiriki) it is set against is a live internal argument, and the entry records the practice rather than a verdict between the schools. His planetary and zodiac attributions here (Sun, Leo, Pisces), the tarot cards and the Sunday and sunset hours are a modern Hermetic overlay — Buddhism gives him no astrological rulership, and Tibetan weekday-planet lore (the gza') is a separate system.
Correspondences
Offerings
- Offerings
- WaterFlowersIncenseButter lampsFruitSaffron waterRecitation of the nameVegetarian food
Sacred timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- Amitabha BuddhaAmidaAmitayusA Mi Tuo FoOmito FoThe Buddha of Infinite Light
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- Buddha of Infinite LightBuddha of Boundless Life (as Amitayus)Lord of the Western Pure LandTathagata of Sukhavati
- Symbols
- LotusDhyana mudraRed robeSukhavatiLong life vase
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneWarm devotionalAddressAmitabhaAmidaBuddha of Infinite LightRelationshipThe vow that does not failWarningThe vow is not a transactionResonanceThe dying the devoted the simple practitioner
- Modern Practice
His name is recited as a standing daily practice (nianfo, the nembutsu, om ami dewa hrih), and at the time of death a recitation is kept going at the bedside. Tibetan practitioners also receive Amitayus long-life initiations — the same western Buddha in a longevity form — and the red Amitabha sits at the centre of many ngondro and death-practice visualisations.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- Infinite lightPure landDevotionCompassionLongevityFaithThe west
- Mythology Summary
Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, is the central figure of the Pure Land sutras: as the bodhisattva Dharmakara he made a series of vows (forty-eight in the Longer Sukhavati-vyuha Sutra) to establish a land in which any being who calls on his name may be reborn and awaken there. That land is Sukhavati, the Land of Bliss, in the west; he is flanked by Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta, and in Tibetan practice he also appears as Amitayus, the red Buddha of long life, who is a distinct figure with his own ritual. Devotion to him is the basis of the East Asian Pure Land schools and of much Tibetan practice, and his image sits in the crown of Guanyin's statue.
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsRedGoldWhiteScentsSandalwoodLotusSaffronMetalsGoldBrassAnimalsPeacockSwan
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