Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Pure Land (Sukhavati)

Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Pure Land (Sukhavati)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Amitayus, the Buddha of Eternal Life, is also known as Amitabha, one of the five Cosmic Buddhas of Esoteric Buddhism. He is shown in his paradise, Sukhavati, the Western Pure Land, enthroned beneath a flowering tree festooned with strands of jewels and auspicious symbols. To either side the sky is filled with throngs of ecstatic demigods who bear offerings and scatter flowers. Seated below are the eight great bodhisattvas, and between them are two large, low tables covered with offerings. To either side are the vast assembled audiences who receive Amitayus’s message. At the bottom, set within a vast panoramic landscape, are courtyards, giant lotus flowers, and pools from which the purified are being reborn.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Pure Land (Sukhavati)Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Pure Land (Sukhavati)Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Pure Land (Sukhavati)Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Pure Land (Sukhavati)Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Pure Land (Sukhavati)

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.