Editing Amitābha (section)

== Names==
[[File:Nembutsu (Manpukuji Osaka).jpg|thumb|Six-character Name (Jp: "Namo Amida Butsu") with Images of Sakyamuni and Amida, [[Manpuku-ji]], [[Osaka]], Japan]]

The proper form of Amitābha's name in [[Sanskrit]] is ''{{IAST|Amitābha}}'', masculine, and the [[nominative case|nominative]] singular is ''{{IAST|Amitābhaḥ}}''. This is a compound of the Sanskrit words ''amita'' ("without bound, without limit") and ''ābhā'' ("light, splendor"). Consequently, the name literally means boundless light or limitless light.<ref name=":5">Nattier, Jan. “The names of Amitābha/Amitāyus in early chinese Buddhist translation” (1). ARIRIAB Vol IX (March 2006): 183-199.</ref> The name ''Amitāyus'' (nominative form ''{{IAST|Amitāyuḥ}}'') means limitless life, from the Sanskrit ''ayus''.<ref name=":5" />  

In [[Chinese language|Chinese]], the most common name is {{Lang|zh-hant|阿彌陀佛}}, which is pronounced "Ēmítuófó" or "Amítuófó" in modern Chinese. The Chinese 阿彌陀佛 is either a transliteration of the Sanskrit "Amitābha" or possibly the [[Prakrit]] form "Amidā'a". It is not, according to [[Jan Nattier]], a transliteration of "Amita" ("Limitless") alone.<ref name=":5" /> "Fo" (佛) is the Chinese word for "Buddha".<ref>{{cite web|title=Buddhist Charms|url=http://primaltrek.com/buddhist.html|access-date=22 May 2014}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> This transliteration goes back to the early translations of [[Lokaksema (Buddhist monk)|Lokaksema]].<ref name=":5" /> [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], [[Korean language|Korean]], and Japanese traditionally use the same Chinese characters, though they are pronounced differently (Japanese: ''Amida Butsu'', Korean: ''Amita Bul'', Vietnamese: ''A Di Đà Phật'').

In addition to [[transliteration]], the name Amitābha was also been [[Translation|translated]] into Chinese using [[Chinese characters|characters]]. One of the earliest such translations was 無量 Wúliàng ("Limitless").<ref>Nattier, Jan. “The names of Amitābha/Amitāyus in early chinese Buddhist translation” (2). ARIRIAB Vol X (March 2007): 359-394</ref> This was also used in longer names like "Infinite Light" (Wúliàngguāng 無量光) and "Infinite Purity" (Wúliàng Qīngjìng 无量清净, possibly from the Prakrit *Amidā'a-viśuha).<ref name=":5" /> In the same fashion, the name Amitāyus ("Infinite Life") has been translated as 無量壽 (Wúliàngshòu), though this appears at a later date than the Amitābha derived names.<ref name=":5" /> These translated names are not, however, very commonly used.

In Japanese, Amitābha is also called {{nihongo|Amida Nyorai|阿弥陀如来||lead=yes|"the [[Tathāgata]] Amitābha"}}. 

In esoteric Buddhist texts, Amitābha is often called [[Amṛta]] (甘露, or 甘露王, lit. sweet-dew king).<ref name=":18" />  

In Tibetan, Amitābha is called {{bo-textonly|འོད་དཔག་མེད་}} {{bo|w='od dpag med|s=Öpakmé}} and Amitāyus is translated as {{bo-textonly|ཚེ་དཔག་མེད་}} {{bo|w=tshe dpag med|s=Tsépakmé}}.

Apart from these standard names, numerous other sources contain other names of Amitāyus. Alternative names include: Aparimitāyus (Unlimited Life), Aparimitāyur-[[jñāna]] (Unlimited Life and Wisdom), Vajra-āyuṣa ([[Vajra]] Life), Dundubhisvara-rāja, [[Amrita|Amṛta]]-dundubhisvara-rāja (King of the Drum of Immortality) and Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja (The Blazing King Who Is Completely Certain of Immeasurable Longevity and Wisdom).<ref name=":20">[https://read.84000.co/translation/UT22084-091-072.html#introduction The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra (1), 84000.co]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra (2) / 84000 Reading Room |url=https://read.84000.co/translation/UT22084-091-073.html#introduction |access-date=2024-08-19 |website=84000 Translating The Words of The Buddha |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":21">{{Cite web |title=The Essence of Aparimitāyus / 84000 Reading Room |url=https://read.84000.co/translation/toh673a.html#introduction |access-date=2024-08-19 |website=84000 Translating The Words of The Buddha |language=en}}</ref>

=== Significance of the Name ===
[[File:Kuya_Portrait.JPG|thumb|A sculpture of the Japanese itinerant monk [[Kūya]] reciting the nembutsu. Each Chinese characters of the Name is represented by a small [[Amida Nyorai|Amida]] figure emerging from his mouth]]
Pure Land Buddhism places profound significance on "the Name" (Ch: 名号 mínghào, Jp: myōgō) of Amitābha. The Name is central to Pure Land doctrine and practice (being the core of [[nianfo]]/nembutsu practice in most of Asia. According to patriarch [[Daochuo]], the Name is the essence of Amitābha Buddha's Vow to save all sentient beings.<ref name=":72">Conway, Michael. [https://epa.oszk.hu/04500/04539/00026/pdf/EPA04539_tavol-keleti_tanulmanyok_2023_2_001-029.pdf Practice and Other Power in Daochuo’s Pure Land Buddhism.] ''Journal of East Asian Cultures'' 2023/2: 1–29 <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.38144/TKT.2023.2.2</nowiki></ref> According to the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Vows in the ''Infinite Life Sutra'', Amida vowed that his Name would be praised by all Buddhas and that anyone who recites it with faith will be assured of birth in the Pure Land. According to Pure Land figures like [[Tan-luan|Tanluan]] and [[Shinran]], the Name is not merely a conventional label or word, but embodies the totality of Amida's virtue, wisdom, and compassion. Since the Buddha infused the Name with all of his power and virtues, it is the most accessible means for ordinary beings to tap into Buddha's [[Other power|other-power]] and attain liberation.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Fujiwara |first=Ryosetsu |title=A Standard of Shinshu Faith |url=http://www.nembutsu.info/standard/name_function.htm |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=www.nembutsu.info}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite journal |last=Tanaka |first=Muryo |date=2015 |title=Wisdom and Amituo's Name in Tanluan's Thought: |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ibk/63/2/63_KJ00009870706/_article/-char/en |journal=Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies (Indogaku Bukkyogaku Kenkyu) |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=792–797 |doi=10.4259/ibk.63.2_792|doi-access=free }}</ref>  

The Name is deeply intertwined with [[Tathātā|Thusness]] ([[Dharmakāya|Dharmakaya]]) and serves as a bridge between the ultimate reality of Buddhahood and the limited experience of ordinary beings. Tanluan and Shinran emphasized that the Name is not an empty linguistic [[Signified and signifier|signifier]] but the very manifestation of Amida's Wisdom and Compassion. It is indeed Amitābha himself in the form of sound. Through the Name, Amida communicates with sentient beings, making his presence tangible and accessible. Shinran further elaborated that the Name is inseparable from the Dharma-nature itself, meaning that reciting "Namu-Amida-Butsu" is not just an act of devotion but a direct engagement with the ultimate truth.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":15" />  

The Name also plays a crucial role in the awakening of faith ([[shinjin]]) in practitioners. Pure Land teachers like Shinran taught that faith is not something generated by the individual but is received through the Name. The Name acts as the medium through which Amida's compassion is transferred to the practitioner, transforming their mind and aligning it with the Dharma. This process underscores the Name's dual function: it is both the means of salvation and the expression of Amida's Vow.<ref name=":8" /> To illustrate the power of the name, the Chinese patriarch Tanluan compares the Buddha's name to a bright light which can instantly illuminate a pitch black room, even if that room has been dark for eons.<ref name=":10">Jones (2019), p. 17.</ref> Tanluan also writes: <blockquote>If all who hear the meritorious Name of Amitabha but have faith in, and take joy in what they have heard, and if for one instant of thought they have utmost sincerity, and if they transfer these merits and desire rebirth, then they shall attain rebirth [in the pure land].<ref name=":7">Shinkō Mochizuki (2000), p. 162</ref></blockquote>

=== The Lights of Amitābha ===
The ''[[Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra]]'' contains twelve or more epithets of Amitābha Buddha which are also called "Buddha's lights".<ref name=":02">Atone, Joji; Hayashi, Yoko. ''The Promise of Amida Buddha: Honen's Path to Bliss'', p. 12. Simon and Schuster, May 1, 2011</ref><ref name=":6">Shibata, Yasushi (柴田 泰). [https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ibk1952/15/2/15_2_690/_pdf/-char/en <nowiki>"On the Twelve Light Buddhas in the Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life [無量壽経十二光佛について]."</nowiki>]</ref> Vasubandhu's ''[[Discourse on the Pure Land|Treatise on Birth in the Pure Land]]'' references these "lights of Amitābha".<ref name=":02" /> These "Buddha lights" were seen as manifestations of Amitābha Buddha in Chinese Buddhism.<ref name=":6" /> The recitation of these names were also taught by Chinese Pure Land figures like [[Shandao]].<ref>Jōji Atone. ''Shan-tao: His Life and Thought,'' p. 83. University of Wisconsin, 1989.</ref> 

There are various sets of these names found in different sources, which include ''Infinite Life Sutra'', the ''[[Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra]]'' (''Dà bǎo jī jīng''), and the ''Tathāgatācintyaguhyanirdeśa Sūtra''.<ref name=":6" /> 

The ''[[The Amitāyus Sutra|Infinite Life sutra]]'' lists twelve names of Amitābha:<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":18" />     

# 無量光 (Wúliàng guāng) - '''Boundless light'''
# 無邊光 (Wúbiān guāng) - '''Unlimited Light'''
# 無礙光 (Wú'ài guāng) - '''Unobstructed Light''' or '''Irresistible Light'''
# 無對光 (Wúduì guāng) - '''Incomparable Light'''
# 燄王光 (Èwáng guāng) - '''King of Blazing Light''' (or '''Flame-king light''')
# 清浄光 (Qīngjìng guāng) - '''Pure Light'''
# 歡喜光 (Huānxǐ guāng) - '''Joyful Light'''
# 智慧光 (Zhìhuì guāng) - '''Light of Wisdom'''
# 不断光 (Bùduàn guāng) - '''Uninterrupted Light''' or '''Unending Light'''
# 難思光 (Nánsī guāng) - '''Inconceivable Light'''
# 無構光 (Wúgòu guāng) - '''Indescribable light'''
# 超日月光 (Chāo rìyuè guāng) - '''Light Surpassing the Sun and Moon''' 
The surviving [[Sanskrit]] edition of the ''Sutra of Infinite Life'' meanwhile has a different list with eighteen names:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sukhavativyuha, Vistaramatrika [longer version] |url=https://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/1_sanskr/4_rellit/buddh/bsu033_u.htm |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de. |series=Based on the ed. by P.L. Vaidya: Mahāyāna-sūtra-saṃgrahaḥ, Part 1) Darbhanga : The Mithila Institute, 1961, pp. 221-253. (Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, 17)}}</ref>

# Tathāgato 'mitābha - The [[Tathāgata]] Immeasurable Light
# Amitaprabha - Immeasurable Radiance
# Amitaprabhāso - Unbounded Radiance
# Asamāptaprabha - Unending Radiance
# Asaṃgataprabha - Inconceivable Radiance
# Prabhāśikhotsṛṣṭaprabha - [The one with a] splendorous crest which emits radiance
# Sādivyamaṇiprabha - [The one with] Divine Jewel Splendor
# Apratihataraśmirāgaprabha - [The one with] light rays that are unobstructed and radiant
# Rājanīyaprabha - King Radiance
# Premaṇīyaprabha - Lovable Radiance
# Pramodanīyaprabha - Joyful Radiance
# Saṃgamanīyaprabha - Harmonious Radiance
# Upoṣaṇīyaprabha - Worshipful Radiance
# Nibandhanīyaprabha - Unbreakable Radiance
# Ativīryaprabha - Supremely vigorous radiance
# Atulyaprabha - Incomparable Radiance
# Abhibhūyanarendrāmūnnayendraprabha - Surpassing the splendor kings and gods
# Śrāntasaṃcayendusūryajihmīkaraṇaprabha - Surpassing the splendor of the moon and stars