Manjushri
Manjushri is a bodhisattva who represents prajñā of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word "mañju" and an honorific "śrī"; it can be literally translated as "Beautiful One with Glory" or "Beautiful One with Auspiciousness". Mañjuśrī is also known by the fuller name of Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, literally "Mañjuśrī, Still a Youth" or, less literally, "Prince Mañjuśrī". Another name of Mañjuśrī is Mañjughoṣa.
In Mahāyāna Buddhism
Scholars have identified Mañjuśrī as the oldest and most significant bodhisattva in Mahāyāna literature. Notable traits of Mañjuśrī include:Buddha appearing as Bodhisattva
According to Mahayana Sutras, Mañjuśrī is always a Buddha with the highest Awakenment all the time, including in the past, present, and future, but just appears as a Bodhisattva in our world.In Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra, the Buddha revealed that countless eons ago, Mañjuśrī had achieved Buddhahood with the name Dragon Superior Tathāgata.
In Tathagata's Unimaginable State Sutra, it is written that when Sakyamuni Buddha attained the highest Awakenment, countless Buddhas from other worlds, appearing as Bodhisattvas, came to our world to congratulate him and assist his Dharma-teaching work, and Mañjuśrī was one of those Buddhas who appeared as Bodhisattvas.
Another Sutra, Bodhisattva in the Womb Sutra reveals that Mañjuśrī is actually a Buddha, but in order to assist Sakyamuni Buddha's Dharma-teaching work, he appears as a disciple of the Buddha. In the Sutra Mañjuśrī says:
My bodies are as many as the atoms of the universe, appearing as Buddhas in countless Buddha-Worlds elsewhere.
I was previously the teacher of Sakyamuni Buddha, and now I appear as his disciple.
I would like to manifest my Buddha body, but this world should have only one main Buddha at this moment.
Therefore I appear as a disciple in this world, and appear as Buddhas in other Buddha-Worlds.
In Aṅgulimālīya Sūtra it is written that Mañjuśrī is a present Buddha whose Buddha-world is in the north:
To the north, passing worlds as numerous as the sands of forty-two Ganges Rivers, there is a world called Constant Joy, where the Buddha is called Joy Store Mani Jewel Accumulation Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyak-Saṁbuddha...... Is that Tathāgata anyone else ? Mañjuśrī is actually that Buddha.
Mañjuśrī will also become a Buddha in the future. According to Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra, when Mañjuśrī becomes a Buddha in the future, he will be called Universally Seen, and his Buddha-World will be extremely vast and sublime.
Mother of all Buddhas
According to Mahayana Sutras, Mañjuśrī is the one who guides all living beings of the past, present and future towards Buddhahood, therefore he is honored as the Mother of all Buddhas of the past, present and future.As it is written in Mahayana Sutra on Contemplating the Ground-Like Heart Concerning the Legend of the Buddha :
Manjusri the Great Holy Lord
is the Mother of all Buddhas of the past, present and future.
All Buddhas of the ten directions,
when they first arouse their hearts to seek Bodhi,
they do so because of Manjusri's teaching and guidance.
Mahayana Sutra on Contemplating the Ground-Like Heart Concerning the Legend of the Buddha also says :
The Buddha said to Manjusri: "You are indeed the Mother of all Buddhas of the past, present and future. All Tathagatas, when they first arouse their hearts, or carry out their practice for Bodhi, they do those things because of your guidance. "
Placing the Bowl Sutra says :
The Buddha said : "... I achieved Buddhahood all because of Manjusri's benevolence. Furthermore, all the countless Buddhas in the past were disciples of Manjusri, and all those who will become Buddhas in the future, they will achieve Buddhahood because of Manjusri's mightiness, benevolence, and divine power."
In the Lotus Sūtra, Mañjuśrī also leads the Nagaraja's daughter to enlightenment. He also figures in the Vimalakīrti Sūtra in a debate with Vimalakīrti where he is presented as a Bodhisattva who discusses non-duality with him.
Eternal Youth
Although Mañjuśrī, in the previous innumerable eons, had helped countless living beings achieve Buddhahood, the great mentor himself remains a youth forever. In Mahayana Sutras, Mañjuśrī is frequently called Manjusri the Youth.Symbolizing Prajñā the Transcendental Wisdom
As a symbol of Prajñāpāramitā, Mañjuśrī is often depicted as a youth holding the Sword of Wisdom in one hand, and a Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra in another hand. In Mahayana Buddhism he is often honored as Mañjuśrī the Great Wisdom.An example of a wisdom teaching of Mañjuśrī can be found in the Saptaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. This sūtra contains a dialogue between Mañjuśrī and the Buddha on the One Samādhi. Sheng-yen renders the following teaching of Mañjuśrī, for entering samādhi naturally through transcendent wisdom:
Vajrayāna Buddhism
Within Vajrayāna Buddhism, Mañjuśrī is a meditational deity and also considered a fully enlightened Buddha. In Shingon Buddhism, he is one of the Thirteen Buddhas to whom disciples devote themselves. He figures extensively in many esoteric texts such as the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa and the Mañjuśrīnāmasamgīti. His consort in some traditions is Saraswati.The Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa, which later came to be classified under Kriyātantra, states that mantras taught in the Śaiva, Garuḍa, and Vaiṣṇava tantras will be effective if applied by Buddhists since they were all taught originally by Mañjuśrī.
Manifestations
Iconography
Mañjuśrī is usually depicted as a male bodhisattva wielding a flaming sword in his right hand, representing the realization of transcendent wisdom which cuts down ignorance and duality. The scripture supported by the padma held in his left hand is a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra, representing his attainment of ultimate realization from the blossoming of wisdom.Mañjuśrī is often depicted as riding or seated on a blue lion, or sitting on the skin of a lion. This represents the use of wisdom to tame the mind, which is compared to riding or subduing a ferocious lion.
In Chinese and Japanese Buddhist art, Mañjuśrī's sword is sometimes replaced with a ruyi scepter, especially in representations of his Vimalakirti Sutra discussion with the layman Vimalakirti. According to Berthold Laufer, the first Chinese representation of a ruyi was in an 8th-century Mañjuśrī painting by Wu Daozi, showing it held in his right hand taking the place of the usual sword. In subsequent Chinese and Japanese paintings of Buddhas, a ruyi was occasionally represented as a Padma with a long stem curved like a ruyi.
Another manifestation of Mañjuśrī that is venerated in Chinese Buddhist tradition is the Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Bowl Mañjuśrī:zh:千臂千钵文殊菩萨|. The canonical source for this iconographic form is the "Mahāyana Yoga of the Adamantine Ocean, Mañjusrī with a Thousand Arms and Thousand Bowls: Great King of Tantras":zh:千臂千钵曼殊室利经|, usually known simply as the "Sutra of Mañjusrī with a Thousand Arms and Thousand Bowls". In this manifestation, Mañjuśrī is depicted with a thousand arms, each holding an alms bowl, with each bowl containing a figure of Śākyamuni Buddha.
He is one of the Four Great Bodhisattvas of Chinese Buddhism, the other three being Kṣitigarbha, Avalokiteśvara, and Samantabhadra. In China, he is often paired with Samantabhadra.
In Tibetan Buddhism, Mañjuśrī is sometimes depicted in a trinity with Avalokiteśvara and Vajrapāṇi.
Mantras
Arapacana mantra
A mantra commonly associated with Mañjuśrī is the following:The Arapacana is a syllabary consisting of forty-two letters, and is named after the first five letters: a, ra, pa, ca, na. This syllabary was most widely used for the Gāndhārī language with the Kharoṣṭhī script but also appears in some Sanskrit texts. The syllabary features in Mahāyāna texts such as the longer Prajñāpāramitā texts, the Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra, the Lalitavistara Sūtra, the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, and the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. In some of these texts, the Arapacana syllabary serves as a mnemonic for important Mahāyāna concepts. Due to its association with him, Arapacana may even serve as an alternate name for Mañjuśrī.
The Sutra on Perfect Wisdom defines the significance of each syllable thus:
- A is a door to the insight that all dharmas are unproduced from the very beginning.
- RA is a door to the insight that all dharmas are without dirt.
- PA is a door to the insight that all dharmas have been expounded in the ultimate sense.
- CA is a door to the insight that the decrease or rebirth of any dharma cannot be apprehended, because all dharmas do not decrease, nor are they reborn.
- NA is a door to the insight that the names of all dharmas have vanished; the essential nature behind names cannot be gained or lost.
Other mantras
According to the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa, "the ultimate heart essence of Mañjuśrī, which accomplishes all endeavors" is the following mantra:Namaḥ sarvabuddhānām oṁ maṁThe Sādhanamālā also contains a popular mantra which refers to Mañjuśrī as the "lord of speech" :
Oṃ Vāgīśvara MūḥThis mantra is very popular in Nepal, where Vāgīśvara Mañjuśrī is a popular deity.
Another Mañjuśrī mantra is the mantra for Mañjuvajra, a tantric form of Mañjuśrī associated with the Guhyasamaja tradition, it is:
Oṃ Mañjuvajra Hūṃ