A Who's Who of World Mythology : Amida


Amida (also O-mi-t’o Fu or Amitabha) is a deity of the Chinese/Japanese Buddhist pantheon. Originally he was an abstract ideal of boundless light. The Great Buddha of Kamakura, Daibutsu, is said to be a fifty-foot representation of this god. He is highly revered and placed with Kuan Yin as second in importance to Sakyamuni.

According to some stories, Amitabha was a king who gave up his throne to become a monk after encountering the Buddha. He took forty-eight vows promising to help all those who attempted to tread the path to enlightenment and eventually reached Nirvana through meditation and became the buddha Amitabha. He is associated with the element of water (symbolized by a water jar), a lock of hair (for he is said to have shaved himself bald), twilight, and the afterlife. He is depicted in red, seated on a lotus blossom or riding a pair of peacocks. Often he is shown in the Yab-yum posture of embrace with his Sakti (corresponding female energy), Pandara. In Tibet, his attributes include a bell, a jewel, and three monkish robes.

While Sakyamuni taught that Nirvana could be reached only through meditation, Amitabha revealed that it could also be reached through faith. This doctrine became widely popular, as it meant Nirvana could not be confined to the pure ascetics but was accessible to all. This teaching spread from northern India through Nepal, Tibet, and Mongolia, to China, Korea, and Japan, inspiring the Pure Land school of Buddhism in the 8th century. At the hour of death, some followers of this faith believe that invoking the Buddha will ensure they are reborn in Pure Land (Sukhavati), Amida’s Western Paradise, where they will remain free from desire and pain until the time comes for their final enlightenment.