Mahasthamaprapta

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Mahāsthāmaprāpta
Silk painting of Mahasthamaprapta from Khara-Khoto. Western Xia dynasty, 13th century.
Sanskritमहास्थामप्राप्त
Mahāsthāmaprāpta
Chinese(Traditional)
大勢至菩薩 or 得大勢菩薩
(Simplified)
大势至菩萨 or 得大势菩萨
(
romaji: Daiseishi Bosatsu)
Khmerមហាស្ថាមប្រាប្ត
(mo-haa-sthaam-praap)
Korean대세지 보살
(
Vajrayāna

AttributesWisdom, Power
icon Religion portal

Mahāsthāmaprāpta is a bodhisattva mahāsattva who represents the power of wisdom. His name literally means "arrival of the great strength".

Mahāsthāmaprāpta is one of the

Sarvanivarana-Vishkambhin
.

In

Gautama Buddha
.

Mahāsthāmaprāpta is one of the oldest bodhisattvas and is regarded as powerful, especially in the Pure Land school, where he takes an important role in the Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra. He is often depicted in a trinity with Amitābha and Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin), especially in Pure Land Buddhism.

In the

samādhi. In the Amitayurdhyana Sutra, Mahāsthāmaprāpta is symbolized by the moon while Avalokiteśvara is represented by the sun.[2]

In the Introductory chapter of the

Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa to hear the Buddha's preaching of the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Sutra. The Buddha also addresses Mahāsthāmaprāpta in chapter 20 of the Lotus Sutra to tell of the Buddha's past life as the Bodhisattva Sadāparibhūta ("Never Despising"), a monk who was abused and reviled by arrogant monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen when he paid them respect by saying they would all become Buddhas. The Buddha explains to Mahāsthāmaprāpta how these arrogant people were punished, but are now bodhisattvas present in the assembly on the path to Enlightenment. The Buddha then praises the great strength of the Lotus Sutra thus: “O Mahāsthāmaprāpta, know that this Lotus Sutra will greatly benefit the bodhisattva mahāsattvas and lead them to highest, complete enlightenment. For this reason, after the Tathāgata’s parinirvāṇa the bodhisattva mahāsattvas should always preserve, recite, explain, and copy this sutra.”[3]

China

Yìnguāng (Chinese: 印光), a teacher of Pure Land Buddhism, was widely considered to be a manifestation of Mahāsthāmaprāpta based on the accounts of two people:
1. Huìchāo (Chinese: 慧超), a former Christian who had never heard of him before
2. Běnkōng (Chinese: 本空), a Buddhist monk and former student
Both of these figures had independent dreams regarding the situation.[4][5][6]

Japan

In Japan, Mahāsthāmaprāpta is associated with the temple guardians

Kongō Rikishi.[7]

He is recognized as one of the Thirteen Buddhas.

Mantra

(Sanskrit):
Namaḥ samantabuddhānāṃ, jaṃ jaṃ saḥ svāhā
(Homage to all Buddhas! Jaṃ jaṃ saḥ! svāhā)[8]

(Chinese):

Ǎn sàn rán rán suōpóhē (唵・散・髯・髯・娑婆訶)

(Japanese):
(Shingon) On san zan saku sowaka (オン・サン・ザン・サク・ソワカ)
(Tendai) On sanzen zensaku sowaka (オン・サンゼン・ゼンサク・ソワカ)

References

  1. ^ "Mahasthamaprapta (Shih Chih, Seishi) - Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia".
  2. ^ "Mahasthamaprapta (Shih Chih, Seishi) - Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia".
  3. . Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  4. ^ 净土的见证(一) Archived 2015-01-04 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ 共尊印光大师势至化身原因一_新浪佛学_新浪网
  6. ^ 印祖的故事-海天佛国奇缘
  7. ^ Josephine Baroni, Helen. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism. p. 240.
  8. ^ The Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra (PDF). BDK America, Inc. 2005.

Bibliography

  • Getty, Alice (1914). The gods of northern Buddhism, their history, iconography, and progressive evolution through the northern Buddhist countries, Oxford: The Clarendon press, p. 100.