2-724-922 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Buddha Amitabha with Two Attending Bodhisattvas, 1200s. Devotees of the Pure Land Buddhist School, for which this painting was made, held the belief that if a person verbably intones the following six syllables—Namo Amituofo (??????)—with the utmost sincerity, he or she can successfully visualize the apparition of Buddha Amitabha descending along with two celestial attendants. This hanging scroll, which must have served as a visual aid for such ritual practice, is divided into two parts: the sacred words repeatedly written ten times in the upper half, and the descending Amitabha (??? in Chinese), Mahasthamaprapta (the one with a white lotus), and Avalokitesvara (the one with a lotus-shaped incense burner) in the lower half.