(c) Amitabha Buddha (Amit'a-bul in Korean)

Amitabha Buddha emanates from the medita-tion of the primordial Buddha; he is the Nirmanakaya. He is the Buddha of Infinite Light and governs the Pure land, the Western Paradise. In India, where Buddhism began, people felt relief from the extreme heat of the day when the sun reached the western sky. Thus, Amitabha's paradise came to be associated with the west.
Appropriately, he sometimes wears the color red.

Amitabha has vowed to save all beings who call on him. He assists them by admitting them to his Pure Land where they will know no hindrances to achieving enlightenment. The Pure Land is no different from the Pure Mind, the state in which one is free from illusion.

Sometimes it is almost impossible to know if one is looking at a figure of Amitabha or Sakyamuni because their faces are so similar and their symbolic hand gestures are often the same. Each is generally depicted as the central figure of a triad. When trying to discriminate between the two, it is helpful to identify the images which flank the central figure. For exam-ple, if the side figures are Avalokitesvara and Mahastamprapta (Taesaeji Posal, in Korean) the Bodhisattva of Power, the central Buddha is Amitabha. If there is a separate building for this triad, then it is called the Temple of Supreme Bliss. Amitabha often holds his left hand in the "fulfilling the vow" pose, the palm turned outward in a gesture of offering. This pose is found most commonly in standing figures. When he is seated, the left palm is often simply held face upward in the lap. The right hand is raised, a gesture of fearlessness. Three forms of this right hand gesture are: the thumb touch-ing the index, middle, or ring finger.
The thumb and index finger form a circle which represents the perfection of wisdom.