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Amitabha

NameAmitābha (Sanskrit, meaning "Infinite Light")

Central Buddha of the Pure Land School of Mahayana Buddhism

The First to Pass the Flame · Saints & First Transmitters

Mahayana BuddhismPure LandThe Western Paradise

Who they are

The Pure Land tradition of Mahayana Buddhism records that Amitabha was in a past life a monk named Dharmakara, who made forty-eight great vows, the most crucial of which promised that any being who sincerely calls his name will, at death, be reborn in the "Western Paradise" he brought into being. This faith of the "easy path" is profoundly influential in the East Asian Buddhism of China, Japan, and the Korean peninsula, offering ordinary devotees in particular a relatively simple path of practice — an important reason for Buddhism’s wide spread among the people.

Primary sourcesThe Sutra of Infinite LifeThe Amitabha Sutra

Key stories

The Forty-Eight Great Vows of Dharmakara

The Buddhist scripture the Sutra of Infinite Life records that the monk Dharmakara made forty-eight great vows before the Buddha Lokeshvararaja, vowing to establish a pure land free of suffering where all could practice in peace, and promising that any who with a sincere and joyful heart call his name seeking rebirth in the pure land will, at death, be received and reborn there. Through immeasurable eons of perfected practice, Dharmakara became a Buddha — Amitabha — and the land brought into being by his vows is the "Western Paradise."

Version differences

Pure Land practice differs somewhat in China, Japan, and the Korean peninsula (Japan’s Jodo Shinshu stresses "absolute other-power," while Chinese Pure Land more commonly holds "recitation and self-power practice together"), but the core belief of "reciting the name and being reborn in the Pure Land" is a common foundation.

Relationships

Ally

☸️The Buddha 🕊️Guanyin　Often accompanies him in the Pure Land tradition

Echoes today

Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.

"Amitabha" (everyday greeting)In parts of East Asia, in everyday speech and film, "Amituofo" is often used as an exclamation or greeting, partly detached from its original religious meaning, a cultural idiom.

Appears in

The Spread, Division, and Localization of FaithThe Pure Land Faith Coexists With the Popular Deities

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