Manjushri

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Manjushri ( Sanskrit : m., मञ्जुश्री, Mañjuśrī ; Chinese  文殊 , Pinyin Wénshū , W.-G. Wen-shu ; Japanese 文殊 菩薩 Monju ; Tibetan འཇམ་ དཔལ་ དབྱངས ། Wylie 'jam dpal dbyangs ) is a figure from Buddhism . He is known as both a Buddha and a Bodhisattva - an emanation of Vairocana  - because he has several aspects depending on the country and tradition.

Manjushri, along with Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani, is one of the three great Bodhisattvas. He helps to overcome ignorance and gain wisdom. On the right with the “male hand” or the “method hand” he carries the sword that cuts through ignorance and at the same time brings light into the darkness as a torch. In his left, “female” hand or “wisdom hand”, he holds the book of transcendent wisdom. He is the protector of scholars and students, gives inspiration and knowledge when you call him. The first day of the Tibetan year is dedicated to him. He is called in the morning to drive away the demons of darkness with his flaming sword and to bring the light. Manjushri is also known as the heavenly builder who assists earthly architects to build worthy temples.

In the Buddha aspect, he is depicted with a sword and a book or scroll . The sword represents wisdom or prajna . In some countries such as Japan he is often depicted as a Bodhisattva with feminine features and / or riding a lion. Every Buddha has a mantra , Manjushri's mantra is: OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI ( Tibetan ༀ ་ ཨ་ར་ པ་ ཙ་ ན་ དྷཱ ི Wylie om a ra pa tsa na d + hIH ).

Manjushri is also known as: Bodhisattva of Knowledge and Learning, Buddha of Wisdom or Wisdom Buddha. He is one of the traditional Japanese Thirteen Buddhas. The sword is used to cut the veil of ignorance. The scroll or the book represent the perfection of knowledge. According to tradition, he resides on Mount Wu Tai Shan in China. According to legend, Manjushri was a student of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni . Together with this and the other disciple, Samantabhadra , he forms the “Shakyamuni Trinity”.

In the cosmogony of the western Mongolian people of the Kalmyks , Manjushri corresponds to the creator of the earth, Manschischiri. This turns into a large turtle that lies on its back and holds the earth above the surface of the water. When the turtle moves a toe, an earthquake occurs.

In the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the Chinese emperors of the Qing Dynasty were considered to be the incarnations of Manjushri (Mañjugoṣa, འཇམ་ པའི་ དབྱངས་).

  • Buddha Manjushri, Nepalese statue

  • Statue of Manjushri (Monju) in Senkoji, Onomichi, Japan

  • Bodhisattva Monju, Japanese statue in the British Museum

Web links

Commons : Manjusri  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Manjushri . khandro.net des Urgyen Trinley Dorje (English)
  2. ↑ Hans Wolfgang Schumann: Buddhist world of images . 4th edition. Hugendubel, Munich 2001, pp. 141,142.
  3. ↑ Uno Harva : The religious ideas of the Altaic peoples. FF Communications N: o 125.Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Helsinki 1938, p. 27
  4. ↑ Vladimir Uspensky: The Previous Incarnations of the Qianlong Emperor According to the Panchen Lama Blo bzang dpal ldan ye shes. In: Henk Blezer (Ed.): Tibet, Past and Present . Brill, 2000, pp. 215-228.