Manjusri
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The Sanskrit term Mañjuśrī can be translated as "Gentle Glory"[1]. Mañjuśrī is also known by the fuller Sanskrit name of Mañjuśrī-kumāra-bhūta.[2]
In the Buddhist tradition
Manjusri is first referred to in early Mahāyāna texts such as the Prajñā-pāramitā Sūtras and through this association very early in the tradition he came to symbolize the embodiment of prajñā.[3] Manjusri later figures extensively in many texts associated with Tantric Buddhism such as the Mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa.[4] Together with the Buddha and fellow disciple Samantabhadra he forms the Shakyamuni trinity (Jp: Sanzon Shaka). In Tibetan Buddhism he sometimes is depicted in a trinity with Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani. Manjusri is mentioned in a number of Mahayana Buddhist sutras, particularly the Prajnaparamita Sutras. The Lotus Sutra assigns him a paradise called Vimala, which according to the Avatamsaka Sutra is located in the east. His consort in some Vajrayana traditions is Saraswati. He is also sometimes called Manjughosha. Within Tibetan Buddhism, Manjusri is a tantric meditational deity or Yidam, and considered a fully enlightened Buddha. In the Shingon school of esoteric Buddhism, he is one of the thirteen deities whom disciples devote themselves too. Manjusri MantraChanting the Manjusri Mantra:
is believed to enhance wisdom and improve one's skills in debating, memory, writing, explaining etc. "Dhih" is the seed syllable of the mantra and is chanted with greater emphasis. In Japanese Shingon Buddhism, this mantra is transliterated and recited as:
IconographyImage:Yamantaka Vajrabhairav.jpg
Yamantaka Vajrabhairav, British Museum
A male Bodhisattva, he is depicted wielding a flaming sword in his right hand, representing his realisation of wisdom which cuts through ignorance and wrong views. The scripture supported by the flower held in his left hand is the Prajnaparamita, representing his attainment of ultimate realisation and Enlightenment. Variations upon his traditional form as Manjusri include Guhya-Manjusri, Guhya-Manjuvajra, and Manjuswari, most of which are Tantric forms associated with Tibetan Buddhism. The two former appearances are generally accompanied by a shakti deity embracing the main figure, symbolising union of form and spirit, matter and energy. Yamantaka'Yamāntaka' (meaning 'terminator of Yama i.e. Death') is seen as a wrathful manifestation of Manjusri, the buddha of wisdom. Yamāntaka (Tibetan: Shinjeshe, གཤིན་རྗེ་གཤེད་; Wylie: Gshin-rje-gshed) is a Mahāyāna Buddhist yidam or iṣṭadevatā of the Highest Yoga Tantra class in Tibetan Vajrayana, popular within the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism. In other Buddhist culturesManchuAccording to legend Nurhaci, a military leader of the Jurchen tribes and founder of what became the Chinese imperial Qing Dynasty, believed himself to be a reincarnation of Manjusri. He therefore is said to have renamed his tribe the Manchu. Role in Nepalese mythologyAccording to Swayambhu Purana, the Kathmandu Valley was once a lake. It is believed that Manjusri saw a lotus flower in the center of the lake and cut a gorge at Chovar to allow the lake to drain. The place where the lotus flower settled became Swayambhunath Stupa and the valley thus became habitable. The Newars of the Kathmandu Valley, who adhere to both Buddhism and Hinduism, revere him as the Bodhisattva of Wisdom. References
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