Mahasthamaprapta

Mahāsthāmaprāpta (CH: 大勢至 Dàshìzhì; jp: 勢至 Seishi) is a Bodhisattva which represents the capacity of wisdom and the compassion. It almost always seems assistant of Amitabha, associated with Avalokiteshvara, in the group of the triad of the Pure Ground. The founder of the Japanese branch of this school, Honen Shonin, is sometimes regarded as his incarnation. Like Avalokiteshvara, it is often represented in the Chinese Buddhism in female form. Mahasthamaprapta is also one of the Thirteen Buddhas of the Japanese school Shingon where it appears in the mandala world of the matrix.

Its association with Amitabha and Avalokiteshvara is based on the following texts:

Canon of the school Pure Ground: Soutra of contemplations , large Soutra of Life-Infinite and passage of the Sutra Shurangama in which the bodhisattva reports how he arrived at the illumination thanks to the meditation on the Bouddha and the constant repetition of its name.
Soutra of the great compassion in which the Amitabha future is a protective king of the Dharma whose four wire are Avalokiteshvara, Mahasthamaprapta, Manjusri and Samantabhadra. When it reaches the state of Buddha, his/her two oldest sons become its assistants.

In addition, the Sutra of the Lotus the account with the number of those which were assembled on the Peak of the Vulture to listen to the sermon of Shakyamuni. The Bouddha dedicates the chapter XX to him which illustrates the extent of the compassion. The Comment of Sutra of the Lotus written by Guanding (561 - 632), patriarch of the current Tiantai, compares Avalokiteshvara with the sun and Mahasthamaprapta with the moon.

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