261. Large Amitabha Buddha Palace Thangka (Thanka). Free Brocade / Free Shipping.

Who is Amitabha? According to Mahayana Buddhist sutras he was a king in the remote period of time. Renouncing his kingdom, he became a monk and was named Dharmakara, which means 'Treasury of Dharma'. Inspired by the teachings of the then Buddha of that time, Lokesvaraja Buddha, who taught him the way to supreme enlightenment many aeons ago, he made forty eight great vows for the saving of the sentient beings. The Eighteenth Vow, which is the basis of the Pure Land, ran like this: 'If upon the attainment of Buddhahood all sentient beings in the ten quarters who aspire in sincerity and faith to be reborn in my land, recite my name up to ten times and fail to be born there, then may I not attain the Perfect Enlightenment. Since then, the Bodhisattva Dharmakara, after five aeons of self-cultivation, finally attained the Supreme Enlightenment and became the Buddha Amitabha. This means that his grand and infinitely compassionate vow is now a reality, the paradise known as Pure Land or Sukhavati has been established, suffering beings must and will be delivered if only they will have the full faith to call upon his name. Amitabha, ( Sanskrit: “Infinite Light”) also called Amitayus (“Infinite Life”), Japanese Amida, Chinese Emituo Fo, in Mahayana Buddhism, and particularly in the so-called Pure Land sects, the great saviour buddha. As related in the Sukhavati-vyuha-sutras (the fundamental scriptures of the Pure Land sects), many ages ago a monk named Dharmakara made a number of vows, the 18th of which promised that, on his attaining buddhahood, all who had faith in him and who called upon his name would be reborn in his paradise and would reside there in bliss until they had attained enlightenment. Having accomplished his vows, Dharmakara reigned as the buddha Amitabha in the Western Paradise, called Sukhavati, the Pure Land. Great bronze Amida (Daibutsu), the Buddha of the Pure Land, 1252; at Kamakura, Japan. Great bronze Amida (Daibutsu) at Kamakura, Japan, 1252 Asuka-en, Japan Devotion to Amitabha came to the fore in China about 650 ce and from there spread to Japan, where it led in the 12th and 13th centuries to the formation of the Pure Land school and the True Pure Land school, both of which continue to have large followings today. Depictions of Amitabha’s Pure Land and of Amitabha descending to welcome the newly dead are beautifully expressed in the raigō paintings of Japan’s late Heian period (897–1185). Amitabha as a saviour figure was never as popular in Tibet and Nepal as he was in East Asia, but he is highly regarded in those countries as one of the five “self-born” buddhas (dhyani-buddhas) who have existed eternally. According to this concept, he manifested himself as the historical Buddha Gotama and as the bodhisattva (“buddha-to-be”) Avalokiteshvara. His colour is red, his posture one of meditation (dhyana-mudra), his symbol the begging bowl, his mount the peacock, his consort Pandara, his family Raga, his element water, his sacred syllable “ba,” or “ah,” his skandha (element of existence) sanjna (perceptions of sense objects), his direction the west, his sense perception taste, his sense organ the tongue, and his location in the human body the mouth. As a bestower of longevity, Amitabha is called Amitayus, or “Infinite Life.” In China and Japan the two names are often used interchangeably, but in Tibet the two forms are never confounded, and Amitayus is worshiped in a special ceremony for obtaining long life. He is depicted wearing ornaments and a crown and holding the ambrosia vase from which spill the jewels of eternal life. Size: Size without Brocade: 28 inches by 38 inches Shipping: We ship within 2 business day. DHL Shipping: 5 to 8 business days with tracking number. Insurance against loss. We do wholesale too. Our one and only priority in this business is to provide "Hassle free Customer Satisfaction". We have "Quality Products" with "Cheapest Price" in the market. Please contact us to resolve any issues. Contact us via email before leaving any negative or neutral comments. We promise you that we will resolve any issues. Please confirm the return address with us before returning the product.