Who is Amitabha Buddha (Amida Buddha), and what is Pure Land Buddhism?

This video answers these questions by looking at a gorgeous 14th-century Japanese painting on silk titled “Welcoming Descent of the Buddha of Infinite Light and Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas.”

This video describes who Amitabha (Amida Buddha in Japanese) is, how Amitabha Buddha differs from Shakyamuni Buddha (or the historical Buddha), and how we can recognize Amitabha in Buddhist art. Viewers will also learn about Pure Land Buddhism and Amitabha’s heavenly realm, the Western Paradise, which worshippers hope to be reborn into. Today, this painting on silk is in the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington D.C.

This short video is part of a series that breaks down key terms in art history, archaeology, and history!

CHAPTERS

0:00 An introduction to Welcoming Descent of the Buddha of Infinite Light and Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas

1:02 Who is Amitabha?

1:47 The monk Genshin and Amitabha’s descent from the Western Paradise, or the Pure Land

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