Card print of Amitayus, 19th Century, Tibet, Gouache on cotton from the Tibet House US Repatriation Art Collection, Gift of Michael McCormick and Beata Tikos

This tangka (religious painting) represents the Buddha Amitayus, one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas (or Five Transcendent Buddhas). Each of the Five represents a different aspect of enlightened consciousness to aid in spiritual transformation. Amitayus' role is to transform grasping into wisdom and to aid in the attainment of long life. He is depicted as holding a vase of amrita, the precious nectar of immortality which confers longevity, and the leaves of the ashoka tree, which symbolize long life without misery (shoka) of disease. His hands are in dhyana mudra. His body is red, said to be akin to a ruby mountain, radiant like a brilliant pure jewel, eliminating the ignorance and suffering of beings. Amitayus is a compound of amita ("infinite") and yus ("life"), Infinite Life. He is one of the three deities of long life (Amitayus, White Tara & Ushnishavijaya).