Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Amitabha Buddha - Pureland (Sukhavati)

སངས་རྒྱས་འོད་དཔག་མེད། 无量寿佛
(item no. 77)
Origin Location Eastern Tibet
Date Range 1700 - 1799
Lineages Karma (Kagyu)
Size 80.01x50.17cm (31.50x19.75in)
Material Ground Mineral Pigment, Fine Gold Line on Cotton
Collection Rubin Museum of Art
Catalogue # acc.# P1994.19.1
Painting School Palpung / Situ
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Appearance: Buddha

Gender: Male

Interpretation / Description

Amitabha, Buddha (Tibetan: o pa me, sang gye. English: the Enlightened One of Immeasurable Light) seated in the pureland of Sukhavati. The Six Buddhas of the six realms stand at the sides and the Eight Great Bodhisattvas are slightly below, accompanied by numerous other buddhas, bodhisattvas, deities and monks.

Jeff Watt 9-2000


No. 77 Identification: Sukhavati (bde ba can), Amitabha's Buddhafield

I. Main figure a. Name: Amitabha ('od dpag med) b. Inscription i) Transliteration: 'od dpag med gi gtsos zhing khams gi lha tshogs rnams la na mo ii) Translation: "I pay Homage to Amitabha and the deities of his Pure Land" c. Descriptive or biographical notes The Dharmakaya Buddha according to the Lotus family.

II. Surrounding figures: 1) The five so called "Dhyani Buddhas", or Buddhas of the five families (buddha, vajra, ratna, padma, and karma). 2 and 3) The ten *? 4) Hayagriva (rta mgrin) 5) Vajravarahi (rdo rje phag mo) 6 and 7) The eight *? 9) Nagarjuna (klu grub) 10 and 11) Masters of the Karma Kagyu lineage 12 and 13) The munis of the six realms of samsara (ston pa rigs drug) 14) "The Ocean Like Victorious One" (rgyal ba rgya mtsho), a form of Avalokiteshvara widely practiced in the Kagyu lineage. 15) Vajrapani (phyag na rdo rje) /check on the tangka, photo not very clear. The eight Bodhisattvas: 16) Avalokiteshvara 17) Samantabhadra 18 and 19) The other six.

M Ricard 12/97

Front of Painting
English Translation of Inscription: ii) Translation: "I pay Homage to Amitabha and the deities of his Pure Land"

Wylie Transliteration of Inscription: b. Inscription i) Transliteration: 'od dpag med gi gtsos zhing khams gi lha tshogs rnams la na mo

Related Items
Thematic Sets
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art: Painting Gallery 6
Buddhist Deity: Amitabha Buddha Main Page (阿弥陀佛 / འོད་དཔག་མེད།)
Subject: Sukhavati Paintings (Namcho Tradition)