| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Combat | ATK 60 DEF 95 SPR 100 SPD 80 INT 95 |
| Rank | Buddha of the Western Pure Land / Lord of Sukhavati / The Buddha of Salvation by Faith |
| Domain | Infinite light, infinite life, the Pure Land (Sukhavati), salvation through faith and the recitation of his name |
| Alignment | Buddhist Sacred |
| Key Act | Made 48 vows as the bodhisattva Dharmakara, the most consequential being the 18th: that any being who calls his name with sincere faith, even ten times, will be reborn in his Pure Land at death -- the foundational doctrine of Pure Land Buddhism |
| Source | *Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra*; *Smaller Sukhavativyuha Sutra*; *Amitayur-dhyana Sutra*; the writings of Honen (1133-1212) and Shinran (1173-1263) |
“Namu Amida Butsu” — “I take refuge in Amitabha Buddha.” (The nembutsu, the simplest and most consequential phrase in East Asian Buddhism.)
Amitabha (Sanskrit: “Infinite Light”; Japanese: Amida; Chinese: Amituofo) is the most-worshipped Buddha in East Asia by sheer headcount. Pure Land Buddhism — founded on Amitabha’s Original Vow that anyone who sincerely calls his name will be reborn in Sukhavati (“the Land of Bliss,” his Pure Land in the West) — spread from China to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, where it became the dominant form of Buddhism for the laity. In Honen’s Jodo-shu (1175 CE) and Shinran’s Jodo Shinshu (13th century), the nembutsu (recitation of “Namu Amida Butsu”) is the only practice required: salvation is by faith in Amitabha’s vow, not by accumulated merit or self-cultivation. The structural parallel to Protestant sola fide is so striking that 16th-century Jesuit missionaries to Japan accused Shin Buddhism of being “the Lutheran heresy.”
Cross-tradition parallels: Christ as the savior accessed by faith (Romans 10:9-13, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord… you will be saved… whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” — structurally identical to the nembutsu); the Hindu bhakti tradition (salvation through devotion to a personal god); Krishna’s promise in Bhagavad Gita 9.30-31 (devotion overrides sin). Comparative scholars have written extensively on the Pure Land / Protestant parallel.
1 min read
Combat Radar
