Manjusri

Manjushri (Sanskrit: m, मञ्जुश्री, Mañjuśrī ;文殊Chinese, Pinyin wén shū, W.-G. Wen- shu, Japanese:. Monju; Tibetan: ' jam dpal dbyangs ) is a character from the Buddhism. It is available both as a Buddha or as a Bodhisattva - known, because it has several aspects depending on the country and tradition - an emanation Vairocanas.

Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani belongs together with the three great Bodhisattvas. It helps to overcome the ignorance and wisdom. Law with the " male hand " or " hand methods " he beareth not the sword that cuts through the ignorance and at the same time brings as a torch light in the darkness. In the left, "female" hand or " wisdom hand " he holds the book of transcendent wisdom. He is the patron of scholars and students, gives inspiration and knowledge, if you call him. The first day of the Tibetan year is dedicated to him. He is called in the morning to drive with his flaming sword, the demons of darkness and bring the light. Manjushri is also considered the heavenly builder who will stand by the earthly architect to build the temple worthy.

In the Buddha aspect it is represented 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 riding with feminine features and / or on a lion. Each Buddha has a mantra of Manjushri mantra: OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI ( Tibetan: ༀ་ཨ་ར་པ་ཙ་ན་དྷཱི; 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 through the veil of ignorance. The scroll or the book represent the perfection of knowledge. According to one tradition, he resides on Mount Wu Tai Shan in China. Manjushri said to have been a disciple of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, according to legend. Along with this and the other students, 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 Mandschischiri. This turns into a big turtle lying on her back holding the earth above the water surface. If the turtle will move a toe, an earthquake occurred.

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

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

Bodhisattva Monju, Japanese statue in the British Museum