Amida Nyorai

English

Etymology

From Japanese 阿弥陀如来 (Amida Nyorai).

Proper noun

Amida Nyorai

1. (Japanese mythology, Buddhism) The Japanese name for the Western Buddha, Amitābha, one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas.
   • 1906, Edward Dillon, The Arts of Japan (Little books on art), Methuen, →OCLC, page 36:

     The Tendai may indeed be regarded as the mother sect of all later developments of Japanese Buddhism, and Amida Nyorai is even of greater importance in Japanese art than Sakya Muni, the founder of the religion.

   • 2011 February 1, Jan Dodd, Simon Richmond, The Rough Guide to Japan (Rough Guide to...)‎^[1], Penguin, →ISBN, →OCLC:

     The 13m-tall image represents Amida Nyorai, the future Buddha who receives souls into the Western Paradise, and was built under the orders of Minamoto Yoritomo to rival the larger Nara Buddha, near Kyoto.

   • 2019, U. Dessì, “The Pure Land and this World in Hishiki Masaharu’s Shin Buddhist Ethics”, in G. T. Halkias, R. K. Payne, editors, Pure Lands in Asian Texts and Contexts, University of Hawaii Press, →ISBN, page 578:

     Pure Land Buddhism suggests that the problem of suffering should not be addressed as a spiritual matter but at the level of change in the social environment. The desired social environment is the peaceful and equalitarian environment envisioned by Amida Nyorai’s vows in the Larger Sūtra and especially in the First Vow.

Coordinate terms

• Dainichi Nyorai
• Ashuku Nyorai
• Hōshō Nyorai
• Fukūjōju Nyorai

Japanese

Romanization

Amida Nyorai

1. Rōmaji transcription of あみだにょらい