Amitabha literally means “boundless light (光佛)” and “boundless life (無量壽佛).” He was born on the seventeenth day of the eleventh moon, according to Mahayana Buddhist sutras. He was a king in the remote period of time, renounced his kingdom, became a monk and was named Dharmakara, which means “Treasury of Dharma (法藏).” He made 48 great vows for saving the sentient beings. The eighteenth vow, which is the basis of the Pure Land school, runs: “If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten directions who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me aspire to be born in my land, and call my name even ten times, and should not be born there, may I not attain perfect enlightenment.” So people call on his name when they are about to die, convinced that they will be reborn in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss to be received by Amitabha. No wonder he is one of the most popular and well-known Buddhas in China and Japan.

Amitabha is said to attain perfect enlightenment on the tenth day of the second moon. There are some 50 Buddhist temples dedicated to Amitabha, including the Shandao shi (善導寺), Longshan shi (龍山寺) and Huguo Zhan-shi (藹禪寺) in Taipei. Longshan, incidentally, is also dedicated to Avalokitesvara or the Goddess of Mercy. Buddhist masses are held on Amitabha’s birthday and on the day of his attainment of enlightenment.

The faithful are not just taught to recite the name of Amitabha, of course. There are other paths to salvation as well. They may study, meditate, and practice strict self-discipline or even monastic seclusion. All the paths are good. But this is an age of decay, the Pure Land sects have said, citing a venerable Buddhist doctrine, most clearly expounded by the Lotus of the Good Law or the Saddharma-Pundarika (妙法蓮華經). It is the most beloved of all Mahayana scriptures.

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