Mañjuśrī
Manjushri (Sanskrit: 𑀫𑀜𑁆𑀚𑀼𑀰𑁆𑀭𑀻, romanized: Mañjuśrī) is a bodhisattva who represents prajñā (transcendent wisdom) 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 (मञ्जुश्रीकुमारभूत), literally "Mañjuśrī, Still a Youth" or, less literally, "Prince Mañjuśrī". Another name of Mañjuśrī is Mañjughōṣa.
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.…
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Encounters mentioning Mañjuśrī
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