Hand Painted Amitabha Buddha Pureland Thangka Painting

Amitabha Buddha Pure Land Thangka Scroll Painting

 Amitabha Buddha – The Buddha of Infinite Light

According to the Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life, the magnificence of Amitabha surpasses that of all other great beings, thus he is known as the Buddha of all the Buddhas. Buddha Shakyamuni once said of Amitabha, "The majestic glory of his light could not be exhaustively described if I praised it continuously, day and night, for the period of one kalpa."

Amitabha dwells in a pure celestial realm, created via the power of his infinite merit accumulated over countless lifetimes as a Bodhisattva. His light shines brilliantly from this celestial realm, pervading the entire universe. According to the Sutra, if sentient beings encounter his light, their defilements are removed; if they see his light, they are relieved and freed from affliction. At the end of their lives, beings who have faith in Amitabha reach emancipation, as he gives them rebirth in his Pure Land. And as Shakyamuni explains, "Sentient beings who are born in that Buddha-land all reside among those assured of nirvana."

Gesture and Attributes

Amitabha is depicted in Dhyana Mudra, the gesture of meditation, with both palms face up and lying in his lap. His right hand, resting on top, symbolizes the state of enlightenment, while his left hand, resting below, represents the world of appearance. Thus, Amitabha's posture expresses his mastery over the world of appearance through enlightenment, and signifies the enlightened state of mind for which samsara and nirvana are one. In some representations, he holds the traditional begging bowl of an ordained Buddhist monk. The bowl is filled with amrita, the elixir of awakening and immortality, and symbolizes Amitabha's infinite openness and receptivity toward all sentient beings.

About this Scroll Painting

 Amitabha Buddha in Pure Land (Sukhavati) Paradise Thangka

Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, in his western palatial Buddhaverse, Sukhavati the blissful. He sits in meditation posture on a luscious pink lotus with a pale green cushion on a moon disc. He holds a mendicant’s bowl in his lap, filled with elixir food. He is surrounded by the usual deep blue, truth-realm light. The blissful land sutra states that the Buddha’s body in Sukhavati is ninety million miles in height, as this is a pure energy realm in the summit (Akanishta) center of the universe, just at the speed of light boundary where mass becomes infinite in the formless realm of infinite space. Behind the Buddha’s throne, a remarkable jewel tree rises. Initiatory goddesses lean from clouds pouring elixir from their vases and dropping precious things like jewels, flowers and blessings to the jeweled ground below. Below the Buddha’s throne is a pond in which lotus flowers are blossomed on top of which disciples are seen paying homages to the Buddha Amitabha. Amitabha - The Buddha of Infinite Light is surrounded by different Bodhisattvas attendants, monks and disciples paying homage and making offerings to the Buddha.

This is a Tibetan Style Thangka Scroll Painting which is entirely hand painted by the experienced artisan using same ancient techniques. This Amitabha Buddha Pure Land Thangka Scroll Painting is hand painted on cotton canvas with 24 karat gold detailing; by the artisans of Patan in Nepal who have been in the business from generations.