Amitabha Buddha

Amitabha is head of the Lotus Family, one of oldest & significant of the Five Buddha Families. This family represents love, purity, compassion & peace. Amitabha Purelandis a place of infinite bliss & boundless light. He will guide you along a path of simplicity and purity towards such a place where you can find inner contentment. Amitabha will help you overcome addictions and cravings.

Amitabha Buddha is also one of the five Tathagatas representing the wisdom of discriminating awareness (skt. Pratyavekshanajnana). When discriminating wisdom dawns on us we realize Non-production or non-origination of all things. He also represents purified form of desire.

Amitabha Buddha is red in color. He is represented in the stupa facing to the west. He rides on peacock symbolizing that he can take away the suffering of others just as the peacock eats poisonous plants and yet his tail shines forth.


Amitabha in Sanskrit means immeasurable light or limitless light. He resides in the western land of unlimited bliss (skt. Sukhavati). He is assisted by two Bodhisattvas viz. Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta. When he was a bodhisattva he was called Bhikshu Dharmakara. He made vows to establish an adorned land of unlimited bliss to ferry over those living beings who recite his name. On the basis of those vows, any living being who has faith, makes vows and practices diligently will be received by this Buddha and reborn in the pure land of unlimited bliss.

Amitabha Buddha presides over the Bhadrakalpa i.e. Fortunate Aeon. He always exhibits Dhyana mudra. He belongs to the Lotus family. He originates from the seed syllable Hrih. He can be recognized through the symbol of the lotus. With his extensive vows and great compassion this Buddha has ferried over innumerable sentient beings. The recitation of the name of Amitabha Buddha is a common practice in China and Japan. In Tibet too, devotees recite very often the prayer to be reborn in the land of Amitabha Buddha.urity

Commentary

The word 'Amitabha' is composed of 2 syllables. Amita-[Skt.] translates as infinite & -bha universal life or simply the universe. Related Sanskrit words include bha-va asin Bhavachakra & Bha-gavad as in Bhagavad Gita. Amitabha is often translated as Boundless Light which is taken to be the boundless Universe. Amitabha realised a Pure Land called Sukhavati which meanspossessinghappinessin Sanskrit. Sukhavati is situated in the uttermost west beyond the bounds of rational understanding. By the power of his vows he made it possible for all who call upon him to be reborn into this land, there to undergo instruction by him in the dharma and ultimately become bodhisattvas & Buddhas. Amitabha is one of the five Transcendent Buddhas emanated from the primeval 'Adi' Buddha Vajrdhara. Each of the transcendent Buddhas has arisen to help us overcome the five obstructions [Skt. Kleshas] to our spiritual growth and each is the Head of a Family. The Sanskrit word Klesha means poison in the sense of curruption. For this reason the transcendent Buddhas are called Wisdom Buddhas; they possess the wisdom to overcome viz. transcend the five obstructions are greed, hatred, delusion, jealousy & pride. Amitabha is formed to help us overcome greed [often expressed as desire]. Greed is conceived of as a thirst [Skt. Tanha] or appetite for the destructive things that harm us such as smoking, alcohol & selfishness. The transcendent Buddhas are sometimecalled the Meditation [Skt. Dhyana] Buddhas as people meditate on their wisdoms to overcome the five obstructions to spiritual growth to anable us to reach a higher level of understanding.

Mantra of Amitabha Buddha