Amida

Amida , ancient city, E Asia Minor, on the Tigris River. It became (AD 230) a Roman colony and was later (4th cent.) captured by Shapur II of Persia. It is the modern Diyarbakir , Turkey.

Amida or Amita. In Far Eastern Buddhism the name of the principal Buddha of the Pure Land lineages, the Jap. pronunciation of the Chinese transliteration (O-mi-tʾo) of the Skt. (Amita, ‘Immeasurable One’). The titles Amitābha (Skt., ‘He of Immeasurable Light’) and Amitāyus (Skt., ‘He of Immeasurable Life’) are, contrary to the Tibetan tradition, regarded by the Japanese as synonyms for Amida. The invocation (nembutsu) to Amida is namu Amida butsu, ‘veneration to the Buddha Amida’, the ‘Original Vow’. In Chinese, it is namo o-mi-to-fo, ‘veneration to Amitābha’.

For the basic text, Amida-kyō, see SUKHĀVATĪVYŪHA. See also AMITĀYUS.

Amida. The Japanese pronunciation of the name of the Buddha Amitābha or Amitāyus. This Buddha serves as the primary object of devotion and agent of salvation for the various schools of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan, such as the Jōdo Shū, the Jōdo Shinshū, and the Jishū. See also Wu-liang-shou fo.