 Thus, the relationship between Amida and Sakyamuni is not that between two distinct figures, or between the religious symbol taught and the teacher. Rather, it is viewed in a broader framework of Amida’s characteristic as standing both in formless reality and the world of forms, in the eternal and in history. Sakyamuni is not separate from Amida, and in teaching dharma he manifests the activity or movement towards beings that is Amida’s essential quality.