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According to Mahayana
Buddhist sutras he was a king in the remote period of time.
Renouncing his kingdom, he became a monk and was named Dharmakara,
which means 'Treasury of Dharma'. Inspired by the teachings of the
then Buddha of that time, Lokesvaraja Buddha, who taught him the way
to supreme enlightenment many aeons ago, he made forty eight great
vows for the saving of the sentient beings. The Eighteenth Vow,
which is the basis of the Pure Land, ran like this: 'If upon the
attainment of Buddhahood all sentient beings in the ten quarters who
aspire in sincerity and faith to be reborn in my land, recite my
name up to ten times and fail to be born there, then may I not
attain the Perfect Enlightenment…'
Click here to see all Lotus Sculpture's
Amitabha Buddha Statues
Since then, the
Bodhisattva Dharmakara, after five aeons of self-cultivation,
finally attained the Supreme Enlightenment and became the Buddha
Amitabha. This means that his grand and infinitely compassionate vow
is now a reality, the paradise known as Pure Land or Sukhavati has
been established, suffering beings must and will be delivered if
only they will have the full faith to call upon his name.
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Calling the Buddha's
name with full faith is known to the Chinese as 'NIEN-FWO' meaning
'Prayer-recitation'. The Japanese term for this practice is known as
'Nembutsu'. In this practice three important qualities must be
present in the mind: Sincerity, Faith and Aspiration to be reborn in
the Pure Land. The simple prayer or formula that one needs to repeat
is:
"NAMO O-MI-TO FWO"
One may repeat it in Sanskrit 'Namo
Amitabha Buddha' which literally mans 'Homage to the Amitabha Buddha
' or 'I seek refuge in the Amitabha Buddha'.
Click here to see all Lotus Sculpture's
Amitabha Buddha Statues
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