Amitābha

In Pure Land sutras such as the Sūtra of Measureless Life (Sūtra of Limitless Life), Amitābha is depicted as a transcendent Buddha who in the deep past made vast vows (praṇidhāna) and thereby established the pure buddhafield Sukhāvatī in the western direction. His eighteenth (fundamental) vow promises that beings who sincerely entrust themselves to him and remember him (even briefly) will be reborn in his land, where conditions favor swift attainment of Buddhahood.

Amitābha is commonly represented as radiating light — a visual emblem of his pervasive wisdom and compassion — and in East Asian art is often depicted as the central Buddha of a triad with Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta. Tibetan iconography distinguishes Amitābha from the related Amitāyus and represents them with differing attributes, though the provided sources emphasize luminous, transcendent imagery rather than detailed physical specifics.

Amitābha is described as the creator and presider of Sukhāvatī, a pure land located in the western direction where beings reborn there possess auspicious bodies and are assured of rapid progress to Buddhahood. He embodies 'measureless' light and life — his radiance metaphorically shines on all beings — and his vows function as salvific power ('Other Power') that, when relied upon through faith and recollection (nianfo/nembutsu), guarantees rebirth in his buddhafield. As Amitāyus he is especially associated with immeasurable lifespan or long-life aspects; Tibetan traditions also associate him with death-time practices such as phowa (transference of consciousness).