Amida

views updated May 23 2018

Amida or Amita. In Far Eastern Buddhism the name of the principal Buddha of the Pure Land lineages, the Jap. pronunciation of the Chinese transliteration (O-mi-tʾo) of the Skt. (Amita, ‘Immeasurable One’). The titles Amitābha (Skt., ‘He of Immeasurable Light’) and Amitāyus (Skt., ‘He of Immeasurable Life’) are, contrary to the Tibetan tradition, regarded by the Japanese as synonyms for Amida. The invocation (nembutsu) to Amida is namu Amida butsu, ‘veneration to the Buddha Amida’, the ‘Original Vow’. In Chinese, it is namo o-mi-to-fo, ‘veneration to Amitābha’.

For the basic text, Amida-kyō, see SUKHĀVATĪVYŪHA. See also AMITĀYUS.

More From encyclopedia.com