Manjusri

Various names and roles

Its name Sanskrit, a combination of manju - (subtle, extraordinary) and of - sri (head, virtue or good omen), is sometimes translated into Chinese (ex: Miaoshou 妙首, Miaode 妙德, Miaojixiang 妙吉祥), but one more often calls it the pusa (bodhisattva) Wenshu, form reduced of Wenshushili (文殊師利), transcription of Manjusri. Its other Chinese names corresponding to its various aspects: Rutong wenshu (孺童文殊), " Wenshu the young person enfant" , symbolizes the destruction of ego, Fawangzi (法王子), " Wire of Bouddha" , recalls that it is sometimes described like its successor in the " world without bouddha" , Fomu (佛母), " Mother of the bouddhas" evoke its role of head of line of the other deities.

It is sometimes represented like an ordinary, old bodhisattva Brahmane companion of the Bouddha, but of others will soutras in make the Master teaching the Dharma with all the boddhisattvas, even a Bouddha which would be with its third misadventure.

Its various aspects are inspired by its image in the will soutras, where philosophical subtleties and metaphysics are often presented by the means of debates between boddhisattvas. In these debates Wenshu is always gaining: it represents one of the elements necessary to reach the illumination, the intelligence, dazhi (大智); the three other principal bodhisattvas represent the compassion dabei 大悲 (Avalokiteshvara), the practice daxing 大行 (Samantabhadra), the wish dayuan 大願 (Ksitigarbha). Its importance grows sometimes until making the Master of the others of it, it then represents the spiritual realization with the more high level.

In the representations Tibetans of the philosophical schools of the Buddhism mahâyâna, Manjusri is the chief of Madhyamika line, Maîtreya being the owner of the Vijranavadin line.

Ksitigarbha, one considers sometimes that the Buddha indicated it like help of the hearts during l'" age without bouddha" , era of disorder before the advent of Maîtreya. Like Avalokiteshvara or Amitabha, it can be regarded as a saver. A Buddhist text in connection with the pilgrimage of the mount Wutai where Manjusri appears affirms that the faithful one which saw it or heard with the shelter of the vicissitudes during 10 Kalpa S. will be the Sutra of the lotus and the Sutra Avatamsaka allots a paradise located at the East to him, much less known it is true than that of Amitabha. Like Avalokiteshvara, it is protean; it often appears in the shape of a beggar to give to faithful the occasion to make a good work.

It can form a triad with the Bouddha and Samantabhadra (it is on the left and Samantabhadra on the right), or Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani in the Bouddhisme Tibetan. In this last school it has a parèdre, Sarasvati. It réincarne in spangled itself line Gelugpa.

Wenshu Pusa and the mount Wutai

Its worship in China particularly developed starting from the Dynasties of North and the South on the mount Wutai, the first of the four mounts Buddhist, identified with the " Mount of fraicheur" who is his field in the Sutra avatamsaka . It was at the beginning especially related to the school Huayan. Carried by religious enthusiasm, a prince of IQ of North would have immolé himself with the bodhisattva. Its favor still grew during the reigns of Wu Zetian, which supported Buddhism for partly political reasons, but especially of Daizong of the Tang. This emperor supported Buddhism indeed tantric which proposes the aspect of saver of the bodhisattva, particularly appreciated in disturbed times of his reign. Wenshu Pusa was set up as a saver of the country; Daizong ordered that its effigy is placed in all the monasteries. The mount Wutai became the site of the first Chinese tantric schools.

A popular belief made réincarner Manjusri and Samantabhadra, another of the four large Bodhisattva S, Master of the mount Emei, in two orphans raised in a monastery, who would have become the famous monks and friendly Hanshan and Shide.

Manjusri and the mount Wutai plays a part in the legend of the beginnings of the Dynastie Qing, which often granted its tantric favor to Buddhism. It is claimed indeed that the founder, Nurhachi, a Jurchen, imposed the name of Mandchous on his clan because he regarded himself as the reincarnation of Manjusri. Its grandson who completed the conquest of China, Shunzhi, was interested in Buddhism since his adolescence and would have pretends his death to become monk on the mount Wutai. These beliefs were cancelled by the historians, but of many texts and anecdotes of the dynasty refer there.

Tibet

Sakya Trizin, which means in Tibetan " holder of the throne of main Sakya, and 41e of this line going back to the 21e century, is regarded as the emanation of Manjushri, Bodhisattva of infinite wisdom.

The 14th Dalaï Lama dedicates a worship with this Bodhisattva. It gave a teaching entitled " The spirit of Manjushri" in New York in May 1998.

April 21st, 2007, the 14th Dalaï Lama declared “the Mountain with the Five Peaks, or Wutai Shan, in China is famous for its association with Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom. My predecessor, the the 13th Dalaï Lama, could go in pilgrimage over there and, since my first voyage to China in 1954, I cherished the hope which I could follow his steps. Recently, the Chinese authorities refused my request, saying that the roads were insuperable. I am sure that the road is clear today. During the current discussions that we had with the Chinese authorities in connection with autonomy Tibetan, my emissary reiterated my wish for this visit. It is many necessary crowned in China, a country where Buddhism developed for a long time. I would like to visit some among these places. And at the same time, while I am over there, I hope to be able to see by myself the changes and the developments which took place as a Popular republic of China. ”

Iconography

Manjusri is in general represented with a sword of fire symbolizing the intelligence (khadga) in the right hand, and the left a book representing transcendent wisdom (Prajnaparamita), that its arm folded up place with the height of the cur. It carries the hairstyle made up of five elements representing the Five Buddhas of wisdom.

Chinese God

In popular Buddhism and the Chinese traditional Religion, Wenshu Pusa is with Wenchangdijun and Confucius one of the divinities to which one addresses oneself to ask for success in the studies.

Random links: