阿弥陀(あみだ)

あみだ
noun
Amitabha; Amida Buddha; amidakuji
religionculture
1. Amitabha Buddha; Amida Buddha
The Buddha of Infinite Light and Infinite Life, the central figure of Pure Land Buddhism. Believed to welcome the faithful into the Western Paradise after death.
阿弥陀(あみだ)如来(にょらい)に手(て)を合(あ)わせる。
To press one's hands together in prayer to Amitabha Buddha.
この寺(てら)の本尊(ほんぞん)は阿弥陀(あみだ)如来(にょらい)の立像(りつぞう)だ。
The principal image of this temple is a standing statue of Amitabha Buddha.
浄土宗(じょうどしゅう)では、南無(なむ)阿弥陀仏(あみだぶつ)と唱(とな)えることで極楽浄土(ごくらくじょうど)に往生(おうじょう)できると説(と)いている。
In the Jodo sect, it is taught that by chanting 'Namu Amida Butsu,' one can be reborn in the Western Paradise.
2. amidakuji; lottery by drawing lines
Short for あみだくじ, a method of random selection where participants draw from a set of vertical lines connected by random horizontal rungs.
阿弥陀(あみだ)くじで順番(じゅんばん)を決(き)めよう。
Let's decide the order by drawing lots.
席替(せきが)えは阿弥陀(あみだ)くじでやった。
We decided the seat change by amidakuji lottery.
掃除(そうじ)当番(とうばん)を決(き)めるのに阿弥陀(あみだ)くじを作(つく)ったら、結局(けっきょく)自分(じぶん)が一番(いちばん)大変(たいへん)な場所(ばしょ)に当(あ)たってしまった。
When I made an amidakuji to decide cleaning duty, I ended up getting assigned the hardest area.

A transliteration of the Sanskrit "Amitabha" (Infinite Light). 阿弥陀(あみだ) is one of the most widely worshipped Buddhas in Japan, central to Pure Land Buddhism (浄土(じょうど)教(きょう)). The chant 南無(なむ)阿弥陀仏(あみだぶつ) ("I take refuge in Amida Buddha") is one of the most recognized Buddhist phrases in Japan.

The word also appears in 阿弥陀(あみだ)くじ (amidakuji lottery), named because the pattern of radiating lines was thought to resemble the halo behind Amida Buddha statues. This ladder lottery is widely used in Japan to make random selections — at school, at work, and in everyday life.

Common collocations

  • 阿弥陀(あみだ)如来(にょらい): Amitabha Tathagata
  • 南無(なむ)阿弥陀仏(あみだぶつ): Namu Amida Butsu (the nembutsu chant)
  • 阿弥陀(あみだ)くじ: amidakuji (ladder lottery)
  • 阿弥陀(あみだ)堂(どう): Amida hall (a hall dedicated to Amida Buddha)

Similar words

  • 釈迦(しゃか): Shakyamuni — the historical Buddha, founder of Buddhism
  • 観音(かんのん): Kannon — the Bodhisattva of Compassion, an attendant of Amida
  • 大日(だいにち)如来(にょらい): Vairocana — the cosmic Buddha, central to Shingon Buddhism
general
Added 2026.4.22 19:19 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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