in Japanese Buddhism is the appearance of the Amida

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

on a "purple" cloud (紫雲) at the time of one's death.

Depictions

The Amida would arrive either accompanied by two

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

, making it a triad depiction, or with a large retinue that also includes musicians playing celestial music accompanying the Buddha. The Buddha would then lift the spirit of the deceased up and ascend back to the

pure land A pure land is the celestial realm of a buddha or bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. The term "pure land" is particular to East Asian Buddhism () and related traditions; in Sanskrit the equivalent concept is called a buddha-field (Sanskrit ). Th ...

. The belief of the

Western Paradise Sukhavati (IAST: ''Sukhāvatī''; "Blissful") is a pure land of Amitābha in Mahayana Buddhism. It is also called the Land of Bliss or Western Pure Land, and is the most well-known of Buddhist pure lands, due to the popularity of Pure Land Budd ...

for the souls is the most popular. It has given rise to a type of Japanese paintings (''raigō-zu''). As a ritual, such a painting is carried into the house of a person who is near death. Among the upper classes, ''raigō'' paintings and sculpture became very popular, as they depicted the Amida Buddha coming down in celebration in relation to dead relatives or to one's own house. Some of these paintings are clearly ''

yamato-e is a style of Japanese painting inspired by Tang dynasty paintings and fully developed by the late Heian period. It is considered the classical Japanese style. From the Muromachi period (15th century), the term Yamato-e has been used to distingui ...

'', or Japanese paintings in that they gave artists a chance to paint Japanese landscapes. File:Rapid descent detail 1.jpg, The Amida arriving at the person's home, hanging scroll painting, 13th century File:AmidaRaigo.jpg, ''Raigō'' painting from the late

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

File:Artist Unknown, Japan - Taima Temple Mandala- Amida Welcomes Chûjôhime to the Western Paradise - Google Art Project.jpg, The Amida welcomes Chûjôhime to the

, hanging scroll painting, 16th century, owned by the University if Michigan Museum of Art

References

External links

{{commonscat-inline Buddhism in Japan Pure Land Buddhism Amitābha Buddha