Khan Academy: Seated Amitabha Buddha (Amida Nyorai)

Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of a historical figure known as the Buddha Shakyamuni, who lived about 2,500 years ago. This sculpture shows Amitabha, identified as the Buddha of the Western Paradise. Amitabha is shown seated in deep concentration with half-closed eyes and hands held together at the lap in the gesture of meditation. He wears a simple monk's robe, draped over the shoulders, leaving the flesh of his chest and the lower part of one arm exposed. His hair arrangement, typical for Amitabha, is composed of hundreds of curls, and raised at the top in a cranial bulge that is one of the marks of the Buddha's supernatural powers.