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Photograph by David De Armas, Rubin Museum of Art, 2012.
Buddha Amitabha in His Pure Realm
Photograph by David De Armas, Rubin Museum of Art, 2012.
Photograph by David De Armas, Rubin Museum of Art, 2012.

Buddha Amitabha in His Pure Realm

OriginCentral Tibet
Datelate 18th century
Dimensions60 1/8 × 34 1/2 × 1/4 in.
MediumPigment on cloth
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin
Object numberC2006.66.185
Himalayan Art Resources Number200
Project Himalayan Arthttps://rubinmuseum.org/projecthimalayanart/essays/plaque-commemorating-the-bhimaratha-old-age-ritual/
DescriptionBuddha Amitabha, known as the Buddha of Immeasurable Light, is popular among all Tibetan Buddhist traditions. He is said to reside in his Realm of Great Bliss (Sukhavati), a desired realm of higher existence. Depicted in red and wearing the traditional patchwork robes of a monk, he sits in the lotus position with his hands in a meditative gesture (dhyana mudra) holding a bowl of nectar. Here he is shown within a palace, accompanied by the Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Illustrating the wishes of practitioners and devotees, a scene at the lower center shows him receiving people entering his pure realm on a beam of rainbow light.
Not on view