Buddhist Deity: Amitayus Buddha (Aparimitāyurjñāna, 无量寿佛, སངས་རྒྱས་ཚེ་དཔག་མེད།)
Amitayus Masterworks - Art History
- Iconography
- Religious Context
Videos:
- Amitayus Buddha
- Amitabha-Amitayus Conflation (From HAR on Patreon)
Amitayus, of the Aparimitagunasamchaya or Amitavyūhavatī pure realm, is typically depicted in the apparitional buddha form (sambhogakaya), red in colour, wearing a crown and jewels, holding a long life vase above the two hands placed in a gesture of meditation. In the Mahayana Tradition of Buddhism a buddha is described as having three bodies: a form body (nirmanakaya), an apparitional body (sambhogakaya) and an ultimate truth body (dharmakaya).
In the Himalayan and Tibetan traditions there is a great deal of conflation between the two buddhas - Amitayus and Amitabha. In the early sutra literature Amitayus and Amitabha Buddha are not the same entity, or person. (For a detailed explanation of the differences between Amitayus and Amitabha see the introduction to the Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra: Aparimitāyus, Amitāyus, and Amitābha).
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Jeff Watt 10-2008 [9-2011, 5-2017, 6-2021]
