AMITĀYUS, Sanskrit name of one of the transcendental Buddhas, the so-called Dhyāni-Buddhas, of later Buddhism. He became associated with Sukhāvatī, the Pure Land or paradise of the west. Of a Late Khotanese poem in praise of Amitāyus (in Late Khotanese, Armyāya) thirty-six out of an original total of sixty verses are extant (published in transcription by H. W. Bailey in Khotanese Texts IV, Cambridge, 1961, pp. 36-37; tr. and commentary, pp. 129-35).
Bibliography
Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, ed.
G. P. Malalasekera, I, fasc. 3, Sri Lanka, 1964, s.v. Amita (pp. 434-63).
Hôbôgirin, ed.
S. Lévi, J. Takakusu, and P. Demiéville, fasc. 1, Tokyo, 1929, s.v. Amida (pp. 24-30).
Cite this article
Emmerick, Ronald E.. "AMITĀYUS." Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published December 15, 1989. https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_5361