[3] In Vajrayana Buddhism, Amitābha is known for his longevity, discernment, pure perception, and the purification of aggregates with deep awareness of the emptiness of all phenomena.

[4] According to the Larger Sūtra of Immeasurable Life, Amitābha was, in very ancient times and possibly in another system of worlds, a monk named Dharmākara.

In some versions of the sūtra, Dharmākara is described as a former king who, having come into contact with Buddhist teachings through the buddha Lokeśvararāja, renounced his throne.

This openness and acceptance of all kinds of people has made belief in pure lands one of the major influences in Mahāyāna Buddhism.

The sutra goes on to explain that Amitābha, after accumulating great merit over countless lives, finally achieved buddhahood and created a pure land called Sukhāvatī (Sanskrit: "possessing happiness").

From there, these same bodhisattvas and buddhas return to our world to help yet more people while still residing in his land of Sukhāvatī, whose many virtues and joys are described.

For example, Kenneth Tanaka writes:Thirty one Sanskrit texts and over one hundred Chinese and Tibetan translations refer to Amitabha* and/or Sukhavati*.

For example, the author of the Ratnagotravibhaga sastra* (Treatise on the Buddha womb Theory) concludes his highly technical work on the tathagatagarbha* (Buddha womb or embryo) doctrine by stating: "By the merit I have acquired through [writing] this [treatise], may all living beings come to perceive the Lord Amitayus* endowed with infinite light.

Other practices developed from these sutras include practices at the time of death, such as visualising Amitābha in the heaven (sun) over their head (Western horizon), think his name as a mantra, and leaving the body as a soul through the acupuncture point Bai Hui (百會).

[citation needed] East Asian Buddhist traditions commonly invoke Amitābha's name in a practice known as nianfo (念佛) in Chinese and nembutsu in Japanese.

In East Asian Pure Land traditions, the main religious practice is the recitation or chanting of the phrase 南無阿彌陀佛 (Mandarin: Nāmó Ēmítuófó, Japanese: Namu Amida Butsu) which means "Homage to Amitābha Buddha".

In the Highest Yogatantra of Tibetan Buddhism, Amitābha is considered one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas known also as the Five Tathagatas together with Akshobhya, Amoghasiddhi, Ratnasambhava, and Vairocana.

Amitābha is associated with the western direction and the skandha of saṃjñā, the aggregate of perception, or distinguishing, and the deep awareness of individuality.

An alternative Tibetan mantra is Om ami dewa hri (Sanskrit: oṃ amideva hrīḥ).

Amitabha's main mantra in Shingon Buddhism is Om amirita teizei kara um (Japanese: オン・アミリタ・テイゼイ・カラ・ウン), which represents the underlying Indic form: oṃ amṛta-teje hara hūṃ.

[18] In Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese, the same Chinese characters used for Amitābha are used to represent his name, though they are pronounced slightly differently: In addition to transliteration, the name Amitābha has also been translated into Chinese using characters which, taken together, convey the meaning "Infinite Light": 無量光 (Wúliàngguāng).

The image of the gold colored statue in the article is of Amitāyus as he is wearing a five-pointed crown, which is the easiest way to distinguish them.

The first known epigraphic evidence for Amitābha is the bottom part of a statue found in Govindnagar, Pakistan and now located at Government Museum, Mathura.

The light, victor who lives in Sukhavati with Lokesvara, the destroyer of the fear arising in the world, bearer of the lotus, and Mahasthamaprapta, the affectionate-hearted one.Regarding textual evidence, the earliest Buddhist sutra mentioning Amitābha is the translation into Chinese of the Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra (般舟三昧經; Bozhōu Sānmèi Jīng) by the Kushan monk Lokakṣema around 180.